Demonstrative Pronouns | This, That, These,Those

Demonstrative pronouns are pronouns used to point to specific things or people. they indicate whether the noun they refer to is near or far in terms of distance or time. the main demonstrative pronouns in English are : “this”, “that”, “these”, “those”. “This” and “these” are referring to items that are close, while “that” and “those” referring to items that are farther away.

Types of demonstrative pronouns

There are four main demonstrative pronouns :

demonstrative pronoun	usage	example
this	refers to a singular noun that is close in distance or time.	this is my favorite book ?
that	refers to a singular noun that is farther away in distance or time.	that was an amazing movie ?
these	refers to plural nouns that are close in distance or time.	these are my best friends ?
those	refers to plural nouns that are farther away in distance or time.	those are my sisters ?

table of uses and examples of demonstrative pronouns

Singular / Plural

______	singular	plural
near	this	these
far	that	those

table of the main factors of demonstrative pronouns : amount and proximity

Note :

“This” and “that” are used for singular nouns, while “these” and “those” are used for plural nouns.

“this” and “these” indicate closeness, whereas “that” and “those” indicate distance.

Examples

this is my favorite movie.
that looks like a fun book.
these strawberries are for you.
those flowers are beautiful.
I prefer this option.
that shirt is on sale.
these are my kids.
those were my favorite shows when I was a kid.
Is this your car ?
These books are interesting.
This is my favorite coffee shop.
Those were the best days of my childhood.
Can you believe that happened last year ?
These are the best cake I’ve ever made.
I don’t like that kind of clothes
.I don’t prefer this style of music.

Demonstrative pronouns are important in the English language as they help specify and identify nouns based on their proximity in space and time. There are four main demonstrative pronouns : “this”, “that”, “these”, “those”. By learning how to use them, you can improve your ability to convey meaning accurately, whether speaking or writing.