Taken from http://lifeokblog.blogspot.co.il

By Olga Koliichuk

This, that, these, those are demonstrative pronouns, which means they indicate some objects.

THIS is used with nouns in the singular and denotes that the object is close to the speaker. It’s here.

Examples:

This cup is clean.

This picture is by Vincent Van Gogh.

This exercise is too hard.

THAT is used with nouns in the singular and denotes that the object is at some distance from the speaker. The object is over there.

Examples:

That dog runs fast.

I think I’ve seen that building before.

THESE is used with nouns in the plural and denotes that the objects are close to the speaker. The objects are here.

Examples:

We bought these oranges last Thursday.

These shops have just been constructed.

THOSE is used with nouns in the plural and denotes that the objects are at some distance from the speaker. The objects are over there.

Examples:

I need to bring those papers to the boss.

I want you to throw those dirty socks in the laundry bin right now.

See if this table helps you understand it better:

this	that	these	those
one	one	more than one	more than one
nearby	far	nearby	far
this butterfly	that dog	these cats	those pens

 

Now do some exercises:

 

Exercise 1. Put this, that, these, those in the following sentences.

1. ___ pens are red. They are here.
2. ___ computer over there looks newer.
3. I can’t see ____ mountains in the distance.
4. ____ kids in the garden are so noisy!
5. ___ flowers smell so pleasant!
6. ___ trip was amazing.
7. Please give me ___ book from the third shelf.
8. What did ___ boy from the party yesterday look like?
9. I can’t write down ___ text because I don’t have a pen.
10. ___ markers seem to be out of color.

Exercise 2. Put the singular sentences into the plural and vice versa. The first two have been done for you.

“Vice versa” means “the other way.”

1. This dog is angry. – These dogs are angry.
2. These cats are wild. – This cat is wild.
3. Those kites are flowing in the air.
4. That movie was really amazing.
5. I don’t like this restaurant because the service is slow.
6. These cookies are delicious.
7. We have never been to that small town.
8. Do you accept this attitude?
9. Why should they have to suffer from those mean remarks?
10.  These bright colors are appealing.

Answers: scroll down

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exercise 1.

1. __These___ pens are red. They are here.
2. __That_ computer over there looks newer.
3. I can’t see _those___ mountains in the distance.
4. _Those___ kids in the garden are so noisy!
5. _These__ flowers smell so pleasant!
6. _That__ trip was amazing.
7. Please give me _that___ book from the third shelf.
8. What did _that___ boy from the party yesterday look like?
9. I can’t write down _this__ text because I don’t have a pen.
10. _These__ markers seem to be out of color.

Exercise 2.

1. This dog is angry. – These dogs are angry.
2. These cats are wild. – This cat is wild.
3. Those kites are flowing in the air. – That kite is flowing in the air.
4. That movie was really amazing. – Those movies were really amazing.
5. I don’t like this restaurant because the service is slow. – I don’t like these restaurants because the service is slow.
6. These cookies are delicious. – This cookie is delicious.
7. We have never been to that small town. – We have never been to those small towns.
8. Do you accept this attitude? – Do you accept these attitudes?
9. Why should they have to suffer from those mean remarks? – Why should they have to suffer from that mean remark?
10.  These bright colors are appealing. – This bright color is appealing.