This that these those exercise

Grammar: How to Use This/That/These/Those

This lesson will explain the difference in meaning and grammar between the words this/these and that/those.

This & These : Objects That Are Close

Use this to talk about a singular object (one thing) that is close to you.

Use these to talk about plural objects (more than one thing) that are close to you.

That & Those : Objects That Are Far

Use that to talk about a singular object (one thing) that is far from you.

Use those to talk about plural objects (more than one thing) that are far from you.

The Grammar: Two Ways to use ‘This/That/These/Those’

The words this/that and these/those can be used in two ways.

1) As a (Demonstrative) Adjective before a Noun

In the below sentences, the determine (this/these) tell you which noun you are talking about.

Do you remember the cats from above? They are far from us now, so we can use ‘That/These’.

When the words this/these/that/those come before a noun, they function as adjectives. Technically, these words are called demonstrative adjectives.

2) As a Pronoun (without a Noun)

What is ‘This’? It is what we are doing now. We are studying grammar. This = this lesson. «I understand this» is the same as «I understand this (lesson)». However, because the noun (lesson) is clear, we don’t need to use it. Instead, we just use ‘this’. ‘This’ becomes the noun of the sentence, and it’s called a pronoun because it refers to something else.

Do you remember the happy cats?

Summary: This/These vs That/Those

This/that can also describe ideas that are close (here) and farther away. For example, here are two topics:

Do you think you understand? Try the practice exercises below.

Practice Exercises: This/These/That/Those

Questions? Find a mistake? Please leave a comment below.

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8 comments on “ Grammar: How to Use This/That/These/Those ”

I love this romantic movie but that movie, which I saw last week was so boring..

Good. If you are using a comma before ‘which’, that means you are making a non-defining adjective clause. In this case, you should end the clause with another comma, like this: “…but that movie, which I saw last week, was so boring.” If you want to make it a DEFINING adjective clause, use ‘that’ and no commas instead of which. For more information, see this post: https://www.englishcurrent.com/grammar/study-defining-adjective-clause-punctuation/

I Am So Glad With This Group Because We Are Learning The Good Things. I Beg You To Go On

i think this is the easy way to clear your mind about the words this,these,that and those i really appriciated that you guys are doing really a great job.

hello, good night a big greeting, very funny

These cats are happy.

4. This website is called EnglishCurrent. It has lessons on articles, prepositions, and idioms. Those pages can also be useful for students.

i was thinking that “Those pages can also be useful for students.” should be “These” since we are talking about your website as “This”.

See “Summary: This/These vs That/Those” from above.

Yes, that’s true. I’ve changed the sentence a bit to make it less ambiguous. Thanks.