British council this that these those

This, that, these, those

I might get myself a pair of those shoes.

This, that, these, those as determiners

Pointing to things

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’:

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:

Put the butter, chocolate and sugar in a saucepan. Heat this over a low flame until it melts.

[talking about the TV]

Can you turn that off if you’re not watching it?

[talking about shoes]

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:

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

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:

[pointing to something]

I’ll 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:

Could you blow out those candles near you?

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

Budapest! That ’s my favourite 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:

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.

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.

Substitution with that, those

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

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. (more formal than 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:

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.

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

This, that, these, those

I might get myself a pair of those shoes.

This, that, these, those as determiners

Pointing to things

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’:

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:

Put the butter, chocolate and sugar in a saucepan. Heat this over a low flame until it melts.

[talking about the TV]

Can you turn that off if you’re not watching it?

[talking about shoes]

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:

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

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:

[pointing to something]

I’ll 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:

Could you blow out those candles near you?

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

Budapest! That ’s my favourite 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:

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.

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.

Substitution with that, those

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

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. (more formal than 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:

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.

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

Time to learn English!

→ RULES

Why do we use this and these?

We use this (singular) and these (plural) as pronouns:

– to talk about people or things near us:

This is a nice cup of tea.
Whose shoes are these?

– to introduce people:

This is Janet.
These are my friends, John and Michael.

WARNING:
We don’t say These are John and Michael.
We say This is John and this is Michael.

– to introduce ourselves to begin a conversation on the phone:

Hello, this is David, Can I speak to Sally?

Why do we use that and those?

We use that (singular) and those (plural):

– to talk about things that are not near us:

What’s that?
This is our house, and that’s Rebecca’s house over there.
Those are very expensive shoes.

– We also use that to refer back to something someone said or did:

this, these, that, those with nouns

We also use this, these, that and those with nouns to show proximity

We use this and these for people or things near us:

We have lived in this house for twenty years.
Have you read all of these books?

… and that and those for people or things that are not near us:

Who lives in that house?
Who are those people?

English Grammar – THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE

Test your understanding of this English lesson

297 COMMENTS

thx Rebecca u r the best keep going

you are the nonsense

rebecca is a huge elephant

Mehdi shame on you. say something nice or shut up.

Moderator note: This inappropriate comment has been replaced with a cat gif.

Be polite, Mehdi.

then dont use engvid anymore lol… to me engvid is effective lol..

thanks rebecca that was so great and easy to remember

This is a nice website

Ty kindly our teacher

Rebecca,you are the toppest!

Thanks Mss Rebeca, That class was important.

hii rebecca.i really like your classes.they are very helful.hope you go on with dis classes at engvid.com hope you good luck.

thank you very mach, it’s was very helpful.

thsi is my first day and my first lesso I learned from you. You area great teacher, your not to fast to speak so we can understand you very much. Thanks

thank u very much. you give me chance to improve my basic english skill. i expect you will guide me more as like a new student.
Thanks again
have a nice day

this is my first day i hope i learn the english u r good teacher

I know you are in 2NE1 group.

you look like koreans. aren’t you?

i just opened the vedio but its not working
why.

When you meet someone for the first time it’s always easier to remember their names if you use these / those names right away.
these or those?

In your sample sentence, I would actually say one of the following:

When you meet people for the first time it’s always easier to remember their names if you use them /the names right away.

My best to you, bonhob.

i did not know those gramers thanks aloooooot rebica

thank you a lof >> great lesson ^^

yes…. succcess 100

It is great lesson

carry on and never give up

thanks for the class

thanks alot Teacher

hi thanks Teacher,God bless all of u Teachers.

Thank you very much

it was a great lesson

Perfect, but I couldn’t choose two answers at the same time,that’s why I’ve do a mistake.

I love the way you explain! thanks so much.

Thanks a lot, Grace. So glad to help. Always a pleasure to hear from another teacher. My very best wishes to you.

hi all…i am deeply disapointed cause it´s been 3 days i cannot watch any lesson…to me the screen is black…..please help me asap….i am missing all my studies …..xoxoxo

Mmm… no one else has reported problems. Please try: clearing your cookies, updating your browser to a new version of Chrome, Safari, or Firefox, or updating your Flash player.

Hi Rebecca,
Thanks for the lesson.
I remembered to have learnt once than “That” was used, as you said, for a long distant object but also to emphasize a negative sentiment. (e.i I don’t like that book) even if the object is near you. Is it correct?

Yes, you can use the word “that” in this way!

Good for you, Milly. My best to you.

Hi Rebecca Thank you so much for your lessons

I love the way you explain! thanks so

Hi Rebecca u r simply awesome mind blowing video but i have one confusion in how to ask question using do,does,did,have,has,had.
plz help me

wao a great lesson.its really helpfull plz deliver a lesson on should would could i feel difficulty by using this

thxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx so much

I lake this curso is ise

Hi Rebecca,
Thanks for the lesson.
I like your way of teaching
Thank you for sharing

Hi Rebecca,
Thanks for the lesson.
I like your way of teaching
Thank you for sharing

I like this lesson…thanks..

thank you so much..

Thanks for this lesson. It’s interesting.

Thank you very much for this lesson… May God bless you!

thanks it is dood way to inpropve English tahnks agan to provite your web site

thanks this is good way to inprove our English thanks agan you porviete urs web site

thank you very much. FOR TEACHING ME……… i hope i passed the IELTS exam

thanks for this lesson.

thank u for teaching me.

Hi Rebecca. I really love your lesson! You´re great! Thank you very much for your teaching! Kisses…

thank u Mss Rebecca

I learned a lot from these lessons. Is it correct sentence? Please help me out. Thanks very much Rebecca.

i learned here thank you so much

i like ur lessone so much keeppit up

hi,
Thanks for giving a good and easy point of comparing the words. )I have students and the lesson u gave us will be the guide for my lesson:)I’ll keep in touch..

Thanks for your feedback, Melike. I wish you all the best with your career teaching English. May you have as much fun as I have had through the years! Stay in touch.

thanks a lot for your teaching

Hi Rebecca
Thanks a lot for your teaching

Hi Rebecca,thanks for the lesson.

I love this website … I really learned too much! … Thank you for all teachers!

Hi Rebecca!
Those lesson´s points were very useful to me!
Thanks

Really it is great.. thanks alot Rebecca…

very very helpful it is…

Thanks for watching and for writing. With determination, no goal is impossible and you will soon find that you can speak English too. Use every opportunity you have to speak with someone. All the best to you, devon.

This Rebecca is a wonderful teacher.

Awww…that’s sweet. Thanks! My best to you, Abdou.

Very, very good Rebecca. Tks.

that was very easy
and thanks to you rebecca

thank you very very much

Hi Rubecca ji i really understand it

thanks a lot; this is one of great lesson

Its first lesson of mine on this website and its really helpfull

Rebeca thank you so much,I like your lessos.

I think, no 1 is “this book”. why should it is wrong??

I’m sad to say that you’re wrong exactly yenny…The answer really “this”..maybe you haven’t seen properly..

This was an important lesson. I like listen an English teatchear. I´ll listen more of your lessons.
Congratulations. See you tomorrow.

thanks rebeca for your clss it was bery inportant for my same times i comfius abaut these this please can you esplein my mor abaut those

Hi Rebecca, I have question. Are compound words always written together?

Sorry, I did not say thanks before. You classes are very easy to understand. Thanks again for taking time to help us.

can I say this sentence? I like that opinion and I like those opinion or I like this opinion and I like these opinion. thank you Rebecca for your help

u r awesome in teaching…thnk u rebecca

thank u very much so helpfull

Thank you very much, it was very helpful

Rebbeca,
Your classes are pretty good! Thank you!

Thanks for the lesson!

thank mss rebecca for lesson > god bless you

this is really good to improvement English grammer..

seriously ur lectures r so awesome nd this give me confidence that my english will be better..
thanks a lot.

thank you so much for the lesson

Good teacher. Your topics are all interesting. Love it. God bless. Hope you could help us distinguish american words vs. australia. These two native english speaking countries are my concerns.

Thank you madam

thank you Ms. Rebecca, you are wonderful. 🙂

hi Rebecca
how are you ı wish you are okay. ı wish you long life.
for the first time when ı have seen thıs english website ı burn happy because it is good for me and for all the students.
really.I liked the way you explained to me the difference between this.that.these and those. as matter of fact your explanation is easy as a cup of tea even the newly born baby can understand easily.you and Ronnie please dont stop it keep going. but one more time. when you are online tell me in order to have a conversation with so as to benifit from you thanks my email is zakicute@hotmail.com

Hi Rebecca, How r u? Those lessons was great and important for me cause i always made mistakes about how to use This, These, That and Those. Thank u very much, you’re lessons is the best one really. Just Keep it up!!

Basic English Grammar – THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE

Test your understanding of this English lesson

348 COMMENTS

New effects. Nice.

Thanks! Soon we will have engVid 3D!

Thank’s for guiding me in my test…

Thanks I enjoy the quiz..

This quiz is easy.

Alex, could you please make a lesson about difference between JOB and WORK. Thanks.

Hi Alex, Good job

thanks a lot Alex. god bless you

tnx, very interesting.

Thank you Alex! Goodluck!

Thanks Alex for this easy lesson.

thanks for all the help us

thank you for THIS lesson! =)

thank for your lecture.

Alex makes me happy in english.

thkx for this good job go on we wait the new thkx again

alex i really interest this leason and i like the way teach

alex im still confusin this words •This apple.
•That apple.
•These apples.
•Those apples

This and that are singular
These and those are plural

This can be used when you are near by persons or something.

Example for this: You and your friend are sitting together and referring/looking some picture/photo and you are saying to your friend “see this picture is very nice”

These can be used when you are near/very close by persons or something but it should be plural manner.

Example for these: You and your friend are sitting together and referring/looking some pictures’/photos’ and you are saying to your friend “see these pictures’ are very nice”

Now I’m giving an explanation about “that”

Please read this scenario carefully:

That can be used when something is far or you are ignoring something.

Example for something far “That”:

Just make an assumption you are walking on street with your girl friend and you are saying “see that rose is awesome”

Example for something far “Those”:

Just make an assumption you are walking on street with your girl friend and you are saying “see those roses’ are awesome”

Note: When you are combing more than one rose you should say “those” and if it is only one rose then you should say “that”.

Example for ignoring something “That”:

If anyone giving chocolate to you for his/her birthday and you are saying I don’t want this “5 star” chocolate and I want that Diary milk chocolate.

Hope you are perfect with these examples.

Warm Regards,
Mohammed Shahith(India)

very good.
This and That are use to indicate singular
-this:use when item or person is close by or in your hands.
-that:when is away from you.
These and Those are use to indicate plural;
-these:items or peoples are close to you.
-those:items or peoples are away from you.

that are great examplos i do know if i wrote is correct to you because i am learning english together that website thanks for the tips.

Very very good lesson
Thanks

hi,thanks for all your help.

meraba, bu videoları nasıl izleyebiliriz bende açılmıyo videoyu göstermiyo yardımcı olabilir misin?

hiiiiiiii alex u r amazing……..
u r gr8 teacher,its really help for me…
thankx a lot..

thanks for this session

Good Day sir,
I m sorry. I haven’t rated this one cause i didn’t watch it. I am just collecting all the videos so i can i watch it later. sir i have one request can you pls upload video or mail me…..how to use “has/have been, would, could, can, has, have, do, does, did…in sentence coz sometime i really get confused when to use what depending on the situation. It will be of great help….Thanking you in anticipation.

thank you very much,Alex

i get it all those things…
thanx Alex…..

Hi Alex! Thanks for the lesson 😉
May I ask you something?
How is right to say with the noun “days”
like for example if I wanna say: I’ve been working hard these days
Is it right?
and another example the sentence “these couple days” – Does it sound wrong and english speakers don’t say like this?

Thanx, alex, uor movies are very usefull =)

Absolutely fine and please go-ahead.

Warm Regards,
Mohammed Shahith(India)

i wish the best for you

Thank you sit this example is very helpful.

you are really great alex
pls continue like many classes

Thank you so much!
It’s Great

thank you for sharing it with us

Thank you so much…
This mv really helpful for my writing…

alex,
you did your great job, it is very useful to me
Venky – India

Thanks Alex about everything it is very good lessons

I am struggling with the five “w”s I would really like it if I had a lesson on it.

thanks Iam v. happy to hear u but where is Alain bye

This lesson is very fine to me. Thanks.

wow! very very good

Hello Alex! Your lessons are easy to learn, you are a very good teacher. Thank you.

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii dear vry nice…………………………………. i like thaz engvid

Hi Alex, thanks so much

Respect the maximum.
Your are capable to explain my 4 important words in 5 min.
My lousy school teacher needed more than 2 years.

Thank you a lot!

Greetings fom
Thomas from Germany

thkz a lot alex

nice and Thanks

Deep thnx for Alex

I am Naveed Khattak from Pakistan
I thanks a lot to the whole eng vid teams

Thx 🙂 Kisses from Poland 🙂

thanks Alex
very nice, very simple, really you are the best teacher i listen to.

very thank full

Alex, it’s one of greatest classes that I ever seen, and I use to really confused with using those and ( this / these) but now it’s crystal clear, so Thanks again Alex, God bless u..

very good. thanks Alex.

thank you very mush

cool! thanks for this video, i like the way you teach and the way you speak. your accent is easy to understand

pl.give instruction me.how to listen your lessen

Please focus your attention at him, remove fearness/Scareness and create confidence on you like you can do anything.

I wanted to say one important thought to entire readers and especially for you.

When you are something nervous or unconfidence please read below mentioned note:

Scareness is the greatest weakness of success for human being so remove your fearness from your life and
Create confidence on you like anything you can do it without objecting – Mohammed Shahith (India)

Warm Regards,
Mohammed Shahith(India)

Really…these video is very helpful to improve good english…From India

This is my f***ing comment jejeje… Many thanks for this lesson. also thank you for those lesson that you gave me.

Thanks, Alex.
from Mongolia.

thanx alot alex
from jordan

Thanks Alex. too good.

Alex you are better than others teachers because
you speak slowly.Thanks a lot!

Thanks Alex for good lecture

hi, alex thnx for good job.

good job, your video can help improving my english course. thank you, alex

thank you very much,it was very helpuful,you are a good and nice teacher 🙂

hi,sir nice your program

when i am watching program on tv and want to talk about someone in the program can i use this

hi Mr alex
how to answer this question
A: i`lost my books.
B: were did you lost (these/those) books

This teacher( Alex) is very very good.
Thanks so much!

Hi,
With respect to phone conversation you and your friend are for away so better you can say Yeah, I love “that” topic because its too tragedy

Please let me know if you have any question.

Warm Regards,
Mohammed Shahith (India)

I’m liking this website. I am new here, thank you. I would like to learn more.

very good lesson

THAT was a good lesson.

Hi Alex, thanks for the video. I have a question about how to use “his, her, its, their, our and mine”, I know how to use most of them but for example when you say “That person was with his/her/its?? dog? when you don’t specify a gender, how do you know which of these 3 options you have to use? the same case happens when you use “anyone/someone/everybody/etc… Thank you!

Alex,couid you please make a lesson about parts of speech…

Good lesson but I would like to see my teacher in Avatar version.

It’s very useful

thx alot alex u r sooooooooo flexable

thanks a lot is very interesting

it is nice thank u very much

Nice lesson, thank u very much

thanks.. i took this lesson in my school today

one mystake. I likely cannot read:) – incorrect no correct 🙂

EngVid dot com is pretty good engine for practising of skills:)

or single mystake, the only mistake? Alex, which of these posibilities is a better?

omg mistake in word mistake :D.. so just “mistake” :-))

really it’s easy,and nice. Thank very much alexs

i have got 5 out 6.

is this correct?(one of these days)

Very easy. I liked!
Nice video.

Thanks alot Mr.Alex…nice video

I can’t understanding.Why the sentence: (These sunglasses are great!)is incorrect.(That boys is wearing a red hat.) is correct.

You are right. The sentence “These sunglasses are great” is correct, and “That boys is wearing a red hat” is incorrect. Does the quiz say something different?

Hi teacher can you tell me that where we can use “IT” because you said that this is used for near,and that is used for far. Reply me please

Sorry.I know where I went wrong.

Hi sir
First I like to say:Tashidelek. in my native langauge it’s mean’s greating. thank you very much. From Tibetan.

Thanks!!…..it can help me to improved my english..

Alex, you are a very good teacher. Your lesson is clear for me.I would to say thanks you. Best wish for you!

thanks so much Alex! this was very helpful.

simply great Mr.Alex

how can improved loeran english thakis

hi Alex, you are a wonderful, you always did a good job. I appreciat it,Good bless you.

sorry, I made mistake, God bless you

haha so good (?) zz

can u plz tell me how i can undrestant the last quation
thanks

really very very useful…..

thank you very much!
this lesson is very helpful to me!
thank you again

could u help me?The goverment wants to…a new scheme to encourage people to start their own businesses.Which one i can put? Hand out, find out, try out or pass by.

interesting….but your audio is mute i hear nothing..

i love to learn english because it is useful in communicating different people all over the world…thank your for making it…

It really helps.Thanks a lot!

It really helps. Thanks a lot!

Thanks Alex for the demo on this, that, etc. I am taking a grammar exam this Wed to complete my Tefl Certificate. Having left school age 14 & I’m now 53 I’m really struggling to understand, but working hard at it. Right now I’m studying past exam questions & trying to answer them. I am doing error corrections right now, I must write the sentence in the correct form & explain the rule I would describe to the student. The latter part of the question is giving me the most trouble. Can you please help me to understand how to explain the rules simply. I am in Granada right now, the students I’ve been practicing with are spanish. I firstly need to understand these rules or how can I possibly help speakers of another language to understand. Thats really difficult in a 4 week programme.
The immediate question is:
1. This box contains less oranges than that one.
2.The new book is gooder than the previous one.
3.The eggs are adding to the cake mixture.
4.If I were rich, I will buy a swimming pool.
Alex I have tried to correct 2 previous sentences & spent hours doing so. I dont think they are entirely correct but if I continue this way it will be next Wed. before I finish this sample paper. Would you please help me somewhat get a handle on the rules for the above 4 so that I can then go ahead & try to correct & explain rules for the next 6 questions myself. Many thanks. Hope I hear from you. I will be really appreciative of any help. Sandy (FRom Dublin Ireland)Go raibh maith agat.

i think you should put more questions in quizes 🙂