1 Demonstrative Pronouns: THIS, THESE, THAT, THOSE
As the name suggests, demonstrative pronouns demonstrate something. In English we divide them into two groups:
A) The speaker is close to what he/she is pointing to or is speaking about. He/she can say it’s “here”:
a) The speaker is talking about one thing/person (singular number) – THIS
- This apple
b) The speaker is talking about more than one thing/person (plural number) – THESE
- These apples
B) The speaker is not close to what he/she is pointing to or speaking about. It is further away:
a) The speaker is talking about one thing/person (singular number) – THAT
- That apple
b) The speaker is talking about more than one thing/person (plural number) – THOSE
- Those apples
As you can see, with these pronouns we do not distinguish whether it is masculine, feminine, or neuter. Look at these examples:
| Demonstrative Pronouns | Use in the Sentence |
|---|---|
| This | This is my car |
| These | Look at these flowers! |
| That | That house is ours. |
| Those | Who are those people? |
Demonstrative pronouns can appear at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a sentence:
- This is my friend.
- Look at this!
- What is this song?