This – That– These – Those
| Singular | Plural | |
| Here | This | These |
| There | That | Those |
These words are called demonstrative pronouns and they are used to show the relative distance between the speaker and the noun.
We use this (singular) and these (plural) to refer to something that is here / near.
Examples:
- This is my car. (singular)
These are my books. (plural)
We use that (singular) and those (plural) to refer to something that there /far.
Examples
- That is our house. (singular)
- Those are my shoes. (plural)
Note that the verb changes (i.e.
You can also use demonstrative pronouns with a noun.
Demonstrative Pronoun Examples
- This party is boring. (singular)
- She likes this.
- That city is busy. (singular)
- Tim wrote that essay.
- These chocolates are delicious. (plural)
- She will take these.
- Those flowers are beautiful. (plural)
- Tim bought those flowers.
If an action near / in time we tend to use this / these.
If an action has finished or is in the past we use that /those.
Examples
- This is a good meal. (at the time of eating)
- Those girls we met last night were intelligent. (an event that happened in the past.)
The expressions this is / that is are also common when you talk on the phone or you introduce people.
Examples
- “Hello, this is John.”
- Cathy, this is my friend Sara. Sara, this is Cathy.