This, that, theseandthoseare demonstratives.We usethis, that, theseandthoseto point to people and things.Thisandthatare singular.Theseandthoseare plural. We use them as determiners andpronouns.
determiners | pronouns |
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This,that,these,thoseas determiners
Pointing to things
We usethisandthatwith singular and uncountable nouns:
Try to repeatthisexercise every morning and evening.(this+ singular countable noun)
What doesthismusic make you think of?(this+ singular uncountable noun)
I’ve never been tothatpart of France.(that+ singular countable noun)
Can I have some ofthatjuice, please?(that+ singular uncountable noun)
We usetheseandthosewith plural nouns:
You can use any one ofthesecomputers.(these+ plural noun)
I need to paintthosewindows.(those+ plural noun)
Time phrases
We often usethiswith words describing time and dates likemorning, afternoon, evening, week, month, yearto refer to ‘the one that’s coming’ or ‘the one we’re currently in’:
I’ll be with you some timethis evening.
Johan seemed very happythis afternoon.
Ian is in Germany allthis week.
This,that,these,thoseas pronouns
Referring to things or ideas
We normally usethis, that, theseandthoseas pronouns to refer to things or ideas:
Put the butter, chocolate and sugar in a saucepan. Heatthisover a low flame until it melts.
We’re going to eat first and then go to the film. Are you happy withthat?(Are you happy with the idea of eating first, then going to the film?)
[talking about the TV]
Can you turnthatoff if you’re not watching it?
[talking about shoes]
What colour arethose? Black or dark blue. I can’t see.
Referring to people
We can usethisandthatas pronouns to refer to people when we want to identify ourselves or others, or to ask the identity of other speakers:
Linda,thisis my mother, Anne.
Isthatyour brother over there?
We often do this in telephone calls and in answer-phone messages:
Hello, isthatKen Orm?Thisis Jane Bromham here.
Thisandthese,thatandthose: uses
Physical closeness and distance
We usethisandthesemost commonly to point to things and people that are close to the speaker or writer, or things that are happening now:
Shall I usethisknife here?
[pointing to something]
Isthiswhat you mean?
I’ll posttheseletters on my way home.
[pointing to a pile of books]
Dothesebelong to the Bradshaws?
We usethatandthosemost commonly to point to things and people which are not easy to identify in a situation. They are often more distant from the speaker, and sometimes closer to the listener:
What’s inthatbottle over there?
Could you blow outthosecandles near you?
Sometimes they are not visible to either the speaker or listener:
Budapest!That’s my favourite place!
Emotional distance
We sometimes usethis, these, that, thoseto identify emotionaldistance. We usethisandtheseto refer to things that we feel positive about, that we are happy to be associated with, or we approve of:
I lovethesenew woollen mobile phone covers that you can get.
We usethatandthoseto create distance:
What are you going to say tothatsister of yours?
[talking about a restaurant]
I didn’t like the decoration. It hadthoseawful paintings.
Shared knowledge and new information
We sometimes usethatinstead oftheto refer the listener to shared knowledge, often when we are telling a story or explaining something:
You knowthatold shop on the corner? Well, they’re going to turn it into a restaurant.
We sometimes usethisinstead ofa/anto refer to something important or recent, or to introduce a new person or thing in a story:
Thisguy knocked on the door and asked if I wanted new windows.
Then suddenly she pulled outthisbig pile of papers from her briefcase and threw them on the table.
See also:
It,thisandthatin paragraphs
Pronouns
Determiners (the, my,some,this)
Substitution withthat, those
In formal contexts, we can usethatandthoseas substitutes meaning ‘the one(s)’:
The most important information isthatgiven at the beginning of the manual.(thatsubstitutes forthe information)
The methods employed arethosefamiliar to researchers.(more formal thanThe methods employed are the ones familiar to researchers.)
In formal contexts, especially in academic style, we usethat of/those ofinstead ofthe one of/the ones oforthe … one/the … ones. This is preferred to the possessiveX’sone/X’s ones:
The proton has a similar mass tothat ofa neutron.(preferred toThe proton has a similar mass to the neutron’s.)
The emotions in the poems arethose ofloss and grief.
Not:The emotions in the poem are loss and grief ones.
We normally only usethatas a substitute for a thing, not for a person or animal:
A:Have you met Mr Kelly?
B:The onewho works at the town hall, or his brother?
A:The oneat the town hall.
Not:That who works at the town hall.
We can usethoseas a substitute for persons, animals or things:
There are sports facilities for guests.Thoseinterested in golf can enjoy our eighteen-hole course.