A Video About Demonstrative Pronouns (this, that, these, those)
What are the demonstrative pronouns this, that, these, those
THIS, THAT, THESE and THOSE are called determiners. Determiners are used to point at things or people with words (not literally with your finger!)
Imagine if you are in a bag shop and you would like to ask how much the red bags on the top shelf are, you can literally point to them, but you can also use words to point at them “How much are those red bags on the shelf?”
THIS, THAT, THESE and THOSE can be used as demonstrative pronouns. Remember the bag shop from the previous paragraph? Well, you could have also said “How much are those?” and pointed in the direction of the red bags.
NOTE: When these words are used as determiners, they need to accompany a noun, as pronouns, they don’t need a noun.
Rules for demonstrative pronouns in English
1. THIS and THAT are used for SINGULAR nouns or uncountable nouns
e.g. I really like the taste of THIS soup
2. THESE and THOSE are used for PLURAL nouns
e.g. I think that THOSE computers are not working.
Usage of demonstrative pronouns in English
To refer to periods of time
e.g. this afternoon
To check the identity of people
e.g. Is that your brother?
To speak on the phone
e.g. Hello, is this Paul?
Physical and emotional distance:
So, if both THIS and THAT are used for singular nouns, what’s the difference?
THIS and THESE are used to refer to people and things that are physically close to us, to people or things that we feel a strong emotional connection to, or to situations that are occurring in the present time.
THAT and THOSE are used to refer to people or things that are physically far away from us. We also use them to refer to situations that are not related to the present, i.e. they happened some time before.
Exercises about Demonstrative Pronouns
Exercise 1: Complete the sentences with THIS or THAT
Exercise 2: Complete the sentences with THIS, THAT, THESE or THOSE
Exercise 3: Decide if the following sentences are CORRECT or INCORRECT
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