This, these, that and those

This, these, that and those are demonstrative adjectives or pronouns. We use them to indicate how near or how far a thing is and whether the thing is plural or singular. 

This and these for items that are close

If you can touch something, if it is in your hand or very close to you, then we use “this” for singular things and “these” when you have more than one. Here are some examples:

• This file is very heavy.
• This chair is broken.
• These office supplies are for managers only.
• These reports are out of date.

This and these for abstract nouns (that you cannot touch)

We also use “this” and “these” to talk about nouns that are not physically near but are close in other ways. Such as information presented in a photo or a list of names on the screen.

• Some employees have been seen smoking on company premises. This behaviour is not acceptable. 
• These employees have been sanctioned.

That and those for items that are further away

We use that and those for items that are not close or are further away compared to another item. 

• The options are all good but that candidate has the best profile.
• Those proposals were not good enough, I threw them away.

That and those for distant abstract nouns 

The demonstrative adjectives “that” and “those” specify distant abstract nouns such as dates, times, or rules and theories.

• That rule doesn’t apply in Michigan.
• Those dates don’t work well for my schedule.

This these that and those as demonstrative pronouns

A demonstrative pronoun replaces a noun in a sentence. We use the demonstrative pronoun with a verb or by itself. Some example sentences are:

• This – My computer is very slow today! This is bad for business. 
• These – These are very important documents.
• That – I saw you worked on the Phoenix project, that was a difficult task!
• Those – There are so many designs to choose from, I can only say that I don’t like those.

By this stage, you must have learned how to use demonstrative adjectives & pronouns effectively. You can find similar lessons and grammar resources in our GRAMMAR INDEX. For additional help on how to use grammar rules to write more proficiently, feel free to contact English essay writing services provided by the professional academic writers from SmartWritingService.

This article was written by Break Into English’s blog contributor Elizabeth Drayton.