Demonstratives - This/That/These/Those
Unit 13 - Demonstratives - This/That/These/Those
English demonstratives are words used to indicate the proximity of an object or group of objects to the speaker and the listener. The four most commonly used demonstratives in English are "this," "that," "these," and "those."
"This" and "these" are used to refer to objects or groups of objects that are near the speaker, while "that" and "those" are used to refer to objects or groups of objects that are farther away.
For example, "this book" and "these pencils" are used to refer to objects that are close to the speaker, while "that car" and "those buildings" are used to refer to objects that are farther away.
Understanding and using English demonstratives correctly is important for clear and effective communication.
Audio Examples
1.
Hey, these hot dogs look good.
Yep, I like them too. Try some of those tacos as well, they're delicious.
OK. And what's this?
That's chicken soup,
it's really good too. Eat up!
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2.
Do you like this sweater?
Yea, that looks good. I like this one as well.
Oh yea, that looks great! It goes well with these shorts.
And these boots are cool as well. Try them on!
Oh yea. I want the shorts, boots, and the sweater.
Let's buy them!
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3.
These pants are really big.
Look at these pants. They're so small!
How about those shoes?
Which shoes?
Look, those. They look really weird.
Come on, let's go to a different store. We need the right size!
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Key Vocabulary
|
these |
shorts |
Unit 13 Grammar
This/that/these/those show the relative distance between the speaker and a noun.
This refers to something near to the speaker, that to something further away. These is the plural of this, and those is the plural of that.
Sometimes demonstratives
are pronouns, for example:
- "This is my Mom." Mom is near to
the speaker
- "These are my books." The books
are near the speaker.
- "I don't like that." He doesn't
like something that is farther away.
Sometimes demonstratives
can also be adjectives, for example:
- That man is a doctor.
- I like those jackets.
- I don't like that movie.
Grammar Exercises
Exercise 1
Complete the sentences using this, that, these or those.
Example: I like this picture. (this, these)
1.
is a red box.
2.
is a blue box.
3.
are boxes.
4.
are boxes
5.
is a red box and
is a blue box.
Answers
1. = "This";2. = "That";
3. = "These";
4. = "Those";
5. = "This";
6. = "That";
Exercise 2
Complete the sentences using this, that, these or those.
Example: I like this picture. (this, these)
1.
shirt looks great.
(That, Those)
2. Look
at
man over there.
(this, that)
3.
is a beautiful day today.
(That, This)
4. Do you
like
flowers?
(that, those)
5. What
are the answers to
questions?
(this, these)
6. I love
shoes but I don't like
shirt.
(these, that), (those, that)
7. Let's
watch a movie.
a good idea.
(This is, That's)
8. Whose
house is
?
(those, that)
9. This
book isn't very good , but
book's great.
(that, this)
Answers
1. = "That";2. = "that";
3. = "This";
4. = "those";
5. = "these";
6. = "these";
7. = "that";
8. = "That's";
9. = "that";
10. = "that";