Use of Eso(s) giving me a hard time

[Ean]

I thought I had it clear in my mind:

Este(s) for masculine near

Esta(s) for feminine near

Ese masc. far
Esa fem. far

And
Eso for neutral, which means when:
We don't know the gender of the object, or there is no obvious object in the sentence to where the demonstrative is referring to .

Correct my mistakes up to this point, but if I am correct , why do I see phrases like:

1.This is crazy! translated as : Esto:?: es una locura!
And
2.Quiero esos relojes en mi dormitorio

Esto in 1. is neutral there is no subject in the phrase , why not Eso?

in 2: El reloj is masculine therefore shouldn't it be Eses relojes?
I hope I made my confusion clear
Thank you in advance for your responses

[Rusty]

Demonstrative Adjectives
este = this (masculine singular -- used in conjunction with a masculine noun)
estos = these (m. pl. -- plural form of 'este')
esta = this (feminine singular)
estas = these (f. pl. -- plural form of 'esta')
~
Demonstrative Pronouns
The pronoun 'esto' is most often used to reference an abstract (concept, idea, event, that which was just mentioned, etc.). No plural form exists for this neuter pronoun.
The neuter pronoun may be used when referencing an item that is unknown to you, as in, ¿Qué es esto? (What's this?).
When talking about unknown items, a plural form ('estos') is used, as in, ¿Qué son estos? (What are these?)

~~~

Demonstrative Adjectives
ese = that (m. sing.)
esos = those (m. plural -- plural form of 'ese')
esa = that (f. sing.)
esas = those (f. pl.)

Demonstrative Pronouns
The pronoun 'eso' is most commonly used to reference an abstract (concept, idea, event, that which was just mentioned, etc.). This neuter pronoun has no plural form.
The neuter pronoun may also be used when an item is unknown to you, as in, ¿Qué es eso? (What's that?). If two or more items are unknown, 'esos' may be used. ¿Qué son esos? (What are those?)


Este for masculine singular, near
Estos for masculine plural, near
Esta(s) for feminine sing./pl., near

Ese masc. sing., far (esos m. pl.)
Esa fem. sing., far (esas f. pl.)

Eso for neutral, which means gender unknown
or no object (because an abstract is being referenced).

1. This is crazy! translated as: ¡Esto es una locura!
(This is a reference to an idea or concept (an earlier topic). Neuter, no plural.)

2. Quiero esos relojes en mi dormitorio.
(These items are what I want. Demonstrative adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.)

1. Why not 'eso'?
(Using 'eso' is perfectly fine, but then the translation would need changed to 'That (idea, concept) is crazy!')

2. Shouldn't it be 'eses relojes'?
(As mentioned above, 'esos' is the plural form of the demonstrative adjective 'ese.')

[Ean]

Thank you for clarifying the topic for me. However, on case 1. I still don't understand the difference between :

Esto es una locura

and
Eso es una locura.

Aren't both , esto and eso referring to the same thing? an idea in this case?

[Rusty]

Yes, both refer to the same idea. Since 'esto' infers a nearness and 'eso', the opposite, you may use 'esto' to convey the idea that this was a more recent topic than another, for which you might choose to use 'eso'.

I didn't mention above that 'aquello' is yet another demonstrative pronoun. It refers to an idea that is more remote than 'eso', in the mind of the speaker.

I also didn't include the fact that the words I labeled as demonstrative adjectives also happen to be demonstrative pronouns, when that is their function in the sentence. I left that explanation out because it seemed easier to only identify the parts of speech used in the sentences you were concerned about, making sure you noticed the difference between the adjective form and the pronoun.
When used as pronouns, they (those I categorized first as adjectives) match the gender and number of the referent. If someone asks, "¿Cuál de estos coches prefieres?" you can point at one of the objects in view and say, "Ese" (that one). If you're standing close to the vehicle you'd like, you would say, "Este" (this one).

[Ean]

So, Aquello, Esto, and Eso, Are all used as neuters and the only factor that differentiates them is the distance of the subject we are referring to?

[Rusty]

Distance from the speaker can be the factor used with the non-neuter demonstrative pronouns, since their referent is a noun--this, that, that over there. (And if the object isn't known to you, the neuter form should be used.)

When it comes to the neuter demonstrative pronouns that refer to an idea, how long ago (what time, when) would be the factor. I use 'esto' to refer to the topic at hand (current topic, something just said), while 'eso' refers to a previous topic, and 'aquello' refers to a topic preceding the others just mentioned.

[Ean]

I need to thank you for your time and effort to clarify these to me. Having no teacher at the moment, sometimes this forum seems to be the only way out.

[Rusty]

¡No hay de qué! Por eso estamos.