Hi, can you please help me understand the difference between aquilo e aquele? I have obviously googled it but it’s too grammatical for me to understand 
Olá, @nicola.magnusson 
This Learning Note should help: Introduction to Portuguese Demonstratives – Practice Portuguese
Basically, aquilo and aquele are very similar words, but aquilo is invariable and inherently more general/abstract, while aquele (or the plural aqueles) is used in direct reference to a masculine term, so it’s variable and more specific. The feminine form would be aquela(s).
Aquilo is non-specific f/ex “O que é aquilo” - what is that thing
vs
Aquele/a(s) that is specific f/ex “O que é a aquela casa” - what is that house (and in this latter case agrees with noun gender and number i.e. aquele, aqueles, aquela, aquelas)
This is what my AI app had to say:
In European Portuguese, aquilo and aquele both mean “that”, but they serve different grammatical roles and are used in different contexts. Here’s a clear breakdown:
-–
Aquilo – Demonstrative Pronoun
- Refers to something distant in space or time.
- Used when the object is not named or is abstract/unknown.
- Does not accompany a noun.
Examples:
- Aquilo parece interessante. → That (thing) seems interesting.
- Dá-me aquilo. → Give me that.
-–
Aquele – Demonstrative Determiner
- Also means “that”, but it’s used before a masculine singular noun.
- Specifies a particular known object or person.
- Must be followed by a noun.
Examples:
- Aquele livro é meu. → That book is mine.
- Aquele homem é professor. → That man is a teacher.
My understanding is that aquilo is used way more general. When the ‘thing or person’ that you are referring to is not close to either the speaker OR the person you are speaking to , AND you don’t know its gender or don’t want to call it out.
Where as aquele/aquela is used when the ‘thing or person’ is not close to either the speaker or the person your speaking do but you KNOW the gender of the thing/person