Table

Pay attention to the table of demonstrative pronouns. This and that are used when we talk about the singular, and these and those when we talk about the plural. This and these tell us that the object is literally at arm's length, while that and those tell us that we cannot reach the objects mentioned.

Pronunciation

This and These

This And these are used to refer to people and objects located in close proximity to the speaker, approximately at arm's length.

This

This requires a third person singular verb after itself and is used to refer to one person or thing.

This book belongs to him. — This book belongs to him.

These

These requires a plural verb after itself and is used to refer to more than one person or thing.

These books belong to them. - These books belong to them.

That and Those

That And those are used to refer to people and objects located far from the speaker.

Demonstrative pronouns this, that, these And those used to refer to people or things in a certain way.

This And these denote persons or objects that are in close proximity to the speaker in time or space. When mentioning people or objects more distant in space or time, determiners are used that And those.

This And that are placed before singular nouns, uncountable nouns and pronouns one. These And those are placed before plural nouns and pronouns ones.

This, that, these And those often called demonstrative adjectives.

This and these

This And these denote persons or objects that are completely obvious in a situation. This And these are used to distinguish these persons or objects from a group of similar ones. For example, if you are in a house, you can mark it this house. If we have the keys in our hands, we can talk about them these keys. If you are at a party, you can talk about it this party.

Didn't have a private practice in this fiat.
I am going to walk up these steps towards you.
I’ll come as soon as these men have finished their work.
I like this university.
Good evening. In this program we are going to look at the way in which British music has developed in recent years.

When it is obvious what or who we are talking about, this And these can also be used as pronouns (pronouns).

This And these are part of many expressions relating to the present time period, for example, this month, this week And these days.

That and those

That and those are used in relation to people and objects that are within sight, but distant in space.

When it is obvious who or what we are talking about, that And those used as pronouns (pronouns).

Could you just hold that ?
Please don't take those .

Use

Use this, that, these And those before a noun indicates that the person or thing has just been mentioned. For example, if you just mentioned a girl, when you mention her again you can say this girt or that girl. Usually in such cases, the pronoun (a pronoun) is used to repeatedly mention someone or something, but sometimes this is impossible due to the fact that it is not clear who or what it refers to.

Students and staff suggest books for the library, and normally we’re quite happy to get those books.
Their house is in a valley. The people in that valley speak about the people in the next valley as foreigners.
They had a lot of diamonds, and they asked her if she could possibly get these diamonds to Britain.

In colloquial speech that And those can also be used before a noun to denote people or objects already known to the addressee.

That idiot Antonio has gone and locked our cabin door.
They learned how to eat with those horrible chopstics.
Do you remember that funny little attic apartment?

That can be used before nouns when talking about something that just happened, or something that the speaker just had a direct connection to.

I knew that meeting would be difficult.

That is often used as a pronoun to refer to something that just happened or happened.

Using those instead of the

In a more formal speech those can be used instead the before a plural noun when that noun is followed by a relative clause. When used in this way, the relative clause specifies which specific group of people or objects is being referred to.

… those workers who are employed in large enterprises.
The parents are not afraid to be firm about those matters that seem important to them.

Informal use of this and these

In informal conversation this And these sometimes used before nouns, even if something or someone is mentioned for the first time.

And then this woman came up to me and she said, “I believe you have a goddaughter called Celia Ravenscrofi.”
At school we had to wear these awful white cotton hats.

This, that, these, those are demonstrative or demonstrative pronouns in English. As a rule, this, that, these and those are used to indicate a specific object, creature or phenomenon. When should you use these pronouns? What is their difference? Read more in the article.

Basic Rules

So, the rule about this, that, these and those indicates: in English speech these words can serve not only as pronouns, but also as determiners. Consider the following table.

It's also worth noting that these is the plural form of this, and those is the plural form of that.

Thus, this and that should be used with singular nouns, and these and those should be used with plural nouns.

Using the pronouns this, that, these and those: rule

The first thing to remember is that we use this and that with uncountable nouns as well as singular nouns.

Try to repeat this exercise every morning and evening.

What does this music make you think.

I’ve never been to that part of France.

Can I have some of that juice, please?

• Try to repeat this exercise every morning and evening.
• What does this music make you think about?
• I've never been to this part of France.
• Can I have some of this juice please?

The English rule about this, that, these and those indicates that these and those should be used exclusively with plural nouns:

You can use any one of these computers.

I need to paint those windows.

• You can use any of these computers.
• I need to paint those windows.

Interestingly, according to the rules of the English language, this, that, these and those are used in the context of time.

Demonstrative pronouns and tenses

For example, we often use this with words that describe time and date (morning, afternoon, evening, week, month, year).

In this case, it is important to refer to the time in which the speaker directly speaks, or the time that is coming. For example:

I'll be with you some time this evening.

Johan seemed very happy this afternoon.

Ian is in Germany all this week.

• I'll be with you tonight.
• Johan seemed very happy this afternoon.
• Jan is in Germany this week.

This, that, these, those are the rules for using as pronouns further.

This, that, these, those - pronouns

We use the above words as pronouns when referring to things or phenomena:

Put the butter, chocolate and sugar in a saucepan. Heat this over a low flame until it melts.

Add the butter, chocolate and sugar to the pan. Heat it (this/container with the mixture) over low heat until the ingredients melt.

What color are those? Black or dark blue. I can't see.

What color are they? Black or blue. I can `t get it.

It is acceptable to use this and that if you want to refer to a person:

Linda, this is my mother, Anne.

Is that your brother over there?

• Linda, this is my mother, Ann.
• Is that your brother there?

Demonstrative pronouns are often used in telephone conversations.

Hello, is that Ken Orm? This is Jane Bromham here.

Hello, is this Ken Orme? This is Jane Bromham calling.

Use cases of this and these, that and those

In many ways, the selection of the correct pronoun is determined by the physical proximity of the object/person/phenomenon to the speaker. Those and these, this, that and the writing rules are presented in the following examples:

Translation: Should I use this knife?

I'll post these letters on my way home.

Translation: I will send these letters on the way home.

We use that and those to refer to things and people that are not easily identified in a particular situation.

They are often further away from the speaker, and sometimes closer to the listener:

What's in that bottle over there?

Could you blow out those candles near you?

• What's in that bottle over there?
• Can you blow out those candles next to you?

Sometimes they are not in the field of view of either the listener or the speaker:

Budapest! That's my favorite place!

Translation: Budapest! My favorite place!

Emotional meaning

Oddly enough, in the rule about this, that, those and these and the use of these pronouns, the speaker’s attitude towards them plays an important role. So, we use this and these when thinking about positive things that we like to think about.

I love these new blue walls.

We use that and those to point out things that don't make us feel good.

(talking about the restaurant) I didn’t like the decoration. It had those awful paintings.

I didn't like the decor. There (in the restaurant) these terrible pictures hung.

Generally known information

We sometimes use that instead of the to direct the listener to commonly known information. For example, when telling a story or explaining something, we might say:

Do you know that old shop on the corner? Well, they’re going to turn it into a restaurant.

You know that old corner store? Basically, they're going to turn it into a restaurant.

It is also acceptable to use this instead of the indefinite article a/an if the speaker is referring to something important or relevant, or is going to introduce a new person or mention something new.

This guy knocked on the door and asked if I wanted new windows.

Then suddenly she pulled out this big pile of papers from her briefcase and threw them on the table.

• This guy knocked on the door and asked if I wanted new windows.
• Suddenly she pulled out such a large pile of papers from her pocket and threw it on the table.

What other uses of this, that, those, these are there?

Replacement

In the context of formal speech, it is acceptable to use the demonstrative pronouns that and those as substitutes in the meaning of the one(s), in order to avoid lexical repetitions.

The most important information is that given at the beginning of the manual.

The most important information is that given at the beginning of the manual.

In this case, that replaces the word information.

The methods employed are those familiar to researchers. (sounds more formal than The methods employed are the ones familiar to researchers.)

The methods used are those(methods) that are familiar to the researchers.

In the context of formal writing and speaking, especially in academic style, we use that of/those of instead of the one of/the ones of. The use of demonstrative pronouns in this case is preferable.

The proton has a similar mass to that of a neutron

A proton has a mass similar to the mass of a neutron. In this case we can see that the word mass has been replaced by the construction that of.

The emotions in the poems are those of loss and grief.

Translation: The emotions in the poems are those of loss and grief.

It should be noted that in English the demonstrative pronoun that can be used exclusively as a substitute for a thing or object. This pronoun is not used in relation to animals, people and other living beings. Consider the following dialogue.

B: The one who works at the town hall, or his brother?

You can't say: That who works at the town hall.

A: Have you met Mr. Kelly?

Q: The one who works at the town hall, or his brother?

A: The one who works at the town hall.

However, the use of this plural demonstrative pronoun as a substitute for people and animals is permitted. For example:

There are sports facilities for guests.Those interested in golf can enjoy our course.

There are sports facilities for guests. Those who are interested in golf can enjoy our course.

Demonstrative pronouns are pronouns that help the speaker “point” to object(s) in space without giving a detailed description of them. There are not so many such pronouns, but they all play an extremely important role, since they occur quite often in speech. Let's look at them in pairs and separately.

This vs. That

Pronoun this used in the meaning "this / this / this" and indicates a single object located close to the speaker in space and time (i.e. close by now).

Pronoun that used in the meaning "that/that/that" and points to one object located far from the speaker in space and/or time (i.e. in the distance and/or in the past).

It is worth noting that when we are talking about events from the past, then that is used:

This pronoun is also used when the speaker makes a reference to what has just been said:

And now you can notice that for the Russian language it is not so important which pronoun we use in speech - “that” or “that”. The latter is used in speech quite often and may well replace the pronoun “that” in many sentences.

However, despite the fact that in Russian the difference between these demonstrative pronouns is not given much importance, in English the difference between this and thisthat very significant, and confusion in their use can lead to serious errors. Therefore, when using demonstrative pronouns in your speech, be sure to monitor the location of the object relative to the speaker in space and time.

Both pronouns can be used in a sentence either before a noun or without a noun:

A curious phenomenon in the English language is the choice of pronouns. this or that in a telephone conversation. If a person introduces himself, applies this, and if he asks the interlocutor who is calling – that:

These vs. Those

As you can see, the pronouns discussed in detail above are responsible for indicating an object in the singular, while pronouns are responsible for the plural in the answer these andthose.

Demonstrative pronoun these used to denote several objects that are close to the speaker in space and time. This is a kind of plural form of the pronoun this.

Don't confuse pronouns this and thisthese by their sound. Please note that this [ðɪs ] pronounced with a short vowel sound and a voiceless final consonant, whereas these[ðiːz] pronounced with a long vowel and a voiced final consonant. This is a clear example of the fact that longitude and voicing in English have a meaningful function.

Demonstrative pronoun thоse used to denote a group of objects located far from the speaker in space and/or time. This is also a kind of plural form for the pronoun that.

For simplicity and convenience of remembering the differences in the use of the four pronouns this/that/these/those, you can use the following table:

English versions of the question: “What is this?” and answers to it

Indeed, in Russian there is only one question, but it will be translated into English in four different ways depending on the situation:

1) we are talking about one object that is close to the speaker - in this case, the question uses the demonstrative pronoun this and the singular verb form is:

2) the speaker also asks a question about one object, but in this case the object is far from him in space (or in time) - in this situation the question will contain the demonstrative pronoun that and the predicate is:

3) if the speaker is interested in several objects that are close to him, then the demonstrative pronoun these is used in the question, and the predicate takes the form are:

4) when several objects about which the speaker wants to receive information are located at a distance from him, the demonstrative pronoun those and the plural verb form are are used:

We have considered this situation only in relation to the question “What is this?” and answers to it, which, as you can see, are formulated based on the question itself. However, the same principle is valid for other similar questions, subject to some modifications, for example: “Who is it?”, “What was that?” and so on.

Pronoun it

The pronoun it is not only a personal pronoun with the meaning “it”, which serves to replace neuter nouns, but also a demonstrative pronoun with the meaning “it”:

In this meaning it is close in meaning to the pronoun this. Sometimes they are even interchangeable, but there are some differences in their use.

Differences between it and this

Pronoun such

The Russian analogue of this demonstrative pronoun is the word "such". It serves the purpose of indicating a characteristic of an object. It is worth noting that if such is used before a singular countable noun, then after such should be consumed indefinite articlea/an. If the noun is used in the plural form or is uncountable, then the need for an article disappears:

Pronoun the same

To indicate a certain repetition of the characteristics of an object, the pronoun is used the same. Its Russian analogues, depending on the situation with gender, number and case of the subsequent noun in a Russian sentence, will be the expressions “the same (same) / the same / the same / the same / the same” and so on.

Demonstrative pronouns are very common in English speech, which is why it is so important to understand and remember them well. This article is designed to help you in this exciting process. We hope that it helped you in mastering demonstrative pronouns.

Demonstrative pronouns in English they do not name a person or object, but point to it. Usually demonstrative pronouns include this, that and their plural forms these, those.

Demonstrative pronouns This – That and the difference between them

Pronoun this used to indicate an object or person nearby, like “this” in Russian. Pronoun that indicates an object, a person in the distance, like “that” or “that” in Russian. This in the plural is these, that in the plural is those:

This and that are classified as noun determiners, words that clarify meanings.

I hold the book in my hands, looking at the pictures.

I like this book. - I like this book.

I don't like these pictures. - I do not like these Pictures.

In a bookstore I point to the books on the shelf:

I like that book. - I like that book.

I don't like those books. - I do not like those books.

Pronoun that It is not always appropriate to translate into Russian as “that, that.” More often “this, this” is suitable. For example, I'm talking about a book that the interlocutor mentioned in a conversation. There is no book nearby, it is only mentioned.

I like that book. - I like this book.

This is That as noun pronouns

The pronouns this and that can act not as determiners of a noun, but in roles inherent in the nouns themselves. For example:

This is what we wanted. - This is what we wanted.

That was a good show. – It was a good performance.

I don't like this.- I don't like This.

Can you see that?- You This do you see?

Demonstrative pronouns Such, Same

Demonstrative pronouns also include such And same. Both pronouns do not have special plural forms.

1. Pronoun Such

The pronoun such means “such”, “of this type, kind”. If such comes before a singular noun, put : between them:

It was such an interesting movie. – It was such an interesting film.

Beer? At such a time? - Beer? At this hour?

The pronoun such is often used in surprised exclamations - joyful or not:

Such a wonderful place! – What a wonderful place!

Such a mess! - What a mess!

If such comes before a plural noun, the article is not needed:

I don't know such people. – I don’t know such people.

Why would she ask me such questions? “Why would she ask me such questions?”

2. Pronoun Same

The pronoun same means “the same”, “the same”. Since same identifies a specific noun, it is always preceded by