9. This, that, these, those

This , that , these , those

This, that, these  and those  are demonstratives . We use this, that, these  and those  to point to people and things. This  and that  are singular. These  and those  are plural. We use them as determiners and pronouns.

determiners pronouns
  • What’s in this box?
  • That water tastes strange.
  • I might get myself a pair of those shoes.
  • Come and look at this.
  • That’s a very good idea.
  • Can I have one of these?

This , that , these , those  as determiners

Pointing to things

as determiners:

We use this  and that  with singular and uncountable nouns:

  • Try to repeat this exercise every morning and evening.  ( this  + singular countable noun)
  • What does this music make you think of?  ( this  + singular uncountable noun)
  • I’ve never been to that part of France.  ( that  + singular countable noun)
  • Can I have some of that juice, please?  ( that  + singular uncountable noun)

We use these  and those  with plural nouns:

  • You can use any one of these computers.  ( these  + plural noun)
  • I need to paint those windows.  ( those  + plural noun)

Time phrases

We often use this  with words describing time and dates like morning, afternoon, evening, week, month, year  to refer to ‘the one that’s coming’ or ‘the one we’re currently in’:

Examples:

  • I’ll be with you some time this evening.
  • Johan seemed very happy this afternoon.
  • Ian is in Germany all this week.

This , that , these , those  as pronouns

Referring to things or ideas

We normally use this, that, these  and those  as pronouns to refer to things or ideas:

Examples:

  • Put the butter, chocolate and sugar in a saucepan. Heat this over a low flame until it melts.
  • We’re going to eat first and then go to the film. Are you happy with that? Â

    (Are you happy with the idea of eating first, then going to the film?)

  • [talking about the TV]:   Can you turn that off if you’re not watching it?

  • [talking about shoes]:    What color are those? Black or dark blue. I can’t tell.

Referring to people

We can use this  and that  as pronouns to refer to people when we want to identify ourselves or others, or to ask the identity of other speakers:

Examples:

  • Linda, this is my mother, Anne.
  • Is that your brother over there?

We often do this in telephone calls and in answer-phone messages:

Examples:

  • Hello, is that Ken Orm? This is Jane Bromham here.

This  and these , that  and those : uses

Physical closeness and distance

We use this  and these  most commonly to point to things and people that are close to the speaker or writer, or things that are happening now:

Examples:

  • Shall I use this knife here?
  • [pointing to something]: Is this what you mean?
  • I’ll mail/post these letters on my way home.
  • [pointing to a pile of books]: Do these belong to the Bradshaws?

We use that  and those  most 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:

Examples:

  • What’s in that bottle over there?
  • Could you blow out those candles near you?

Sometimes they are not visible to either the speaker or listener:

  • Budapest! That’s my favorite place!

Emotional distance

We sometimes use this, these, that, those  to identify emotional distance. We use this  and these  to refer to things that we feel positive about, that we are happy to be associated with, or we approve of :

Examples:

We use this  and these  to create approval/positivity :

  • I love these new woollen mobile phone covers that you can get.

We use that  and those  to create distance :

  • What are you going to say to that sister of yours?

  • [talking about a restaurant]: I didn't like the decoration. It had those awful paintings.

Shared knowledge and new information

We sometimes use that  instead of the  to refer the listener to shared knowledge, often when we are telling a story or explaining something:

You know that old shop on the corner? Well, they’re going to turn it into a restaurant.

Examples:

  • We sometimes use this  instead of a/an  to refer to something important or recent, or to introduce a new person or thing in a story:
  • This guy knocked on the door and asked if I wanted new windows.
  • Then suddenly she pulled out this big pile of papers from her briefcase and threw them on the table.

See also:

Substitution with that, those

In formal contexts, we can use that  and those  as substitutes meaning ‘the one(s)’:

Examples:

  • The most important information is that given at the beginning of the manual.  ( that  substitutes for the information )
  • The methods employed are those familiar to researchers.

     (The above is more formal than below )

  • The methods employed are the ones familiar to researchers .

In formal contexts, especially in academic style, we use that of/those of  instead of the one of/the ones of  or the … one/the … ones . This is preferred to the possessive X ’s one/X’s ones :

Examples:

  • The proton has a similar mass to that of a neutron.  (preferred to The proton has a similar mass to the neutron’s .)
  • The emotions in the poems are those of loss and grief.

    Not : The emotions in the poem are loss and grief ones.

We normally only use that  as a substitute for a thing, not for a person or animal:

Examples:

  • A:  Have you met Mr Kelly?
  • B: The one  who works at the town hall, or his brother?
  • A: The one  at the town hall .

Not: That who works at the town hall.

We can use those  as a substitute for persons, animals or things:

Examples:

  • There are sports facilities for guests. Those interested in golf can enjoy our eighteen-hole course.

We use it, this and that to introduce further information about a topic already mentioned. However, the words have different uses.

We use it to continue to refer to the topic we are already writing or speaking about:

Examples:

  • The heart is the central organ in our bodies. It is used to pump oxygen around the body through the bloodstream. (It refers back to The heart)
  • The new album by ‘The Noughts’ went on sale yesterday. It is their third album in three years and is set to become as great a success as previous releases.

Warning: we don’t use it when we first give information about a topic, for example immediately after a chapter or section title in a text:

Examples:

  • (b) Green application form
  • This must be signed by all applicants and returned by 30 November 2009.
  • Not: It must be signed …

We can use this  to refer back to whole clauses and sentences and to previous parts of a text. This highlights the information referred to much more strongly than  it. Writers often use this when a point or idea is to become an important part of the discussion that follows:

Examples:

  • More and more people are discovering that Tai Chi is one of the most valuable forms of exercise. This has led to a big demand for classes. (This refers back to a whole sentence.)
  • Heavy rains and stormy conditions throughout the summer have led to severe shortages in strawberries and other soft fruits. This has led to price rises in many supermarkets and shops.

We use that in a similar way to this. However, when we use that, we distance ourselves more from the topic or from aspects of the topic:

Examples:

  • For many traditional football supporters, it is a problem that so many young girls and women attend football matches these days. That is a sexist attitude of course.

That is also used to refer to ideas associated with another person:

  • The chairman apologized for the poor performance of the company and promised a better future for investors. That was a promise many people felt he could not possibly keep.