Demonstratives: This, That, These, Those — English Grammar Exercises — English Grammar Exercises
This book? That one? These shoes or those? 45 questions across 3 practice blocks on near and far, singular and plural, time and fixed expressions.
Show rules
this / that / these / those
| Near (here, now) | Far (there, then) | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | this | that |
| Plural | these | those |
✅ this book (in my hand) — that book (over there)
✅ these shoes (here) — those shoes (across the room)
As an adjective or a pronoun
- adjective (before a noun): this book, those people
- pronoun (alone): This is great. Who are those?
Time
- this week / month / year — the current one; this morning — today
- that day / time / summer — a specific moment in the past
- these days = nowadays; in those days = in the past
Introducing people and the phone
- Introducing people: This is my friend Tom. (never "that")
- On the phone, identifying yourself: Hello, this is Anna.
- On the phone, asking who it is: Is that Sarah?
that for referring back
Use that to refer back to a fact or statement already mentioned: "She got the job." "That's wonderful news!"
Use this for something you are about to say or show: "Listen to this..."
Common mistakes
| ❌ | ✅ |
|---|---|
| this shoes | these shoes |
| that days | those days |
| That is my friend Tom. | This is my friend Tom. |
| Look at this birds. | Look at those birds. |
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___ book here on my desk is really fascinating.
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This
'This' for one thing that is near the speaker — 'here on my desk'.
-
Can you see ___ tall building over there?
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that
'That' for one thing that is far from the speaker — 'over there'.
-
___ shoes here are far too small for me.
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These
'These' for more than one thing that is near — 'shoes here'.
-
Who are ___ people standing across the street?
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those
'Those' for more than one thing that is far — 'across the street'.
-
I'm extremely busy ___ week — I have three deadlines.
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this
'This week' refers to the current week.
-
Mum, ___ is my friend Tom from university.
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This
When introducing people, English always uses 'this' — never 'that'.
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She passed all her exams. ___ is wonderful news!
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That
Use 'that' to refer back to a fact that has just been mentioned.
-
I bought ___ flowers for you this morning.
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these
'These' for more than one thing that is near the speaker.
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Life was much simpler in ___ days, before the internet.
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those
'In those days' refers to a time in the past.
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What's ___ strange noise coming from upstairs?
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that
'That' for one thing that is not near the speaker.
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Try ___ — I think it's the best cake I've ever made.
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this
'This' as a pronoun for something near the speaker, being offered now.
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___ exercises we are doing now are quite difficult.
Show answer
These
'Exercises' is plural and near — use 'these'.
Demonstratives in English: A Complete Grammar Reference
English demonstratives — this, that, these, and those — encode two grammatical contrasts simultaneously: proximity (near vs far from the speaker) and number (singular vs plural). Despite their apparent simplicity, demonstratives generate consistent errors at A2–B2 level. Data from the International Corpus of Learner English shows that demonstrative agreement errors — using a singular form with a plural noun or vice versa — account for approximately 12% of all determiner errors at intermediate level. A separate study of learner phone discourse found that nearly 40% of non-native speakers used the wrong demonstrative in telephone self-introduction, producing 'That is John speaking' instead of the standard 'This is John speaking'. Beyond physical proximity, demonstratives extend into time reference, discourse back-reference, and a productive class of fixed expressions — each with its own distribution that must be learned alongside the core near/far contrast.
The Core Distance System
The primary function of demonstratives is to locate a referent in space relative to the speaker. This and these mark proximity; that and those mark distance.
These flowers in my hand are for you. (plural, near)
Can you see that building across the river? (singular, far)
Look at those birds in the sky! (plural, far)
When both near and far referents appear in the same sentence, the contrast becomes explicit: 'Is this your umbrella here, or is that one by the door yours?' The word 'here' reinforces nearness; the distance of the door reinforces 'that'.
Number Agreement with Special Nouns
The singular/plural contrast creates difficulty with nouns whose grammatical number does not match their meaning. Two categories require particular attention: plural-only nouns and uncountable nouns.
These glasses don't fit. ✓ (not 'this glasses')
These scissors are sharp. ✓ (not 'this scissors')
This information is very useful. ✓ (not 'these information')
That luggage over there is mine. ✓ (not 'those luggage')
The rule is consistent: grammatical number governs the demonstrative, not conceptual count. Trousers, scissors, and glasses are plural regardless of how many items they refer to; information, luggage, and news are singular regardless of how much they contain.
Common Mistakes
✗ This trousers are too long. → ✓ These trousers are too long. (plural-only noun)
✗ Those luggage is mine. → ✓ That luggage is mine. (uncountable = singular)
✗ I didn't have a phone in this days. → ✓ I didn't have a phone in those days. (past time = 'those')
✗ Hello, that is Dr. Smith calling. → ✓ Hello, this is Dr. Smith calling. (phone self-ID = 'this')
✗ "I got the job!" — "This is great news!" → ✓ "That is great news!" (reacting to what was said = 'that')
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between this, that, these, and those?
The four demonstratives divide along two axes: distance and number. 'This' (singular, near) and 'these' (plural, near) refer to things close to the speaker. 'That' (singular, far) and 'those' (plural, far) refer to things away from the speaker. Near and far can be physical — 'this book in my hand' vs 'that building across the river' — or conceptual, as in time references and back-reference to things already said.
When do you use 'this' vs 'that' on the phone?
On the phone, 'this is...' identifies the caller: 'Hello, this is Sarah speaking.' To ask who the other person is, say 'Is that Maria?' — because the other person is experienced as distant. A common learner error is 'That is Dr. Smith calling', which should be 'This is Dr. Smith calling'. The rule: use 'this' to introduce yourself and 'that' to refer to the person on the other end.
What is the difference between 'these days' and 'those days'?
'These days' refers to the present period: 'These days everyone uses a smartphone.' It is equivalent to 'nowadays'. 'Those days' refers to a past period the speaker is looking back on: 'In those days, people wrote letters.' A common mistake is using 'this days' or 'those days' for a present context — neither is correct.
How do demonstratives work with uncountable and plural-only nouns?
Uncountable nouns (information, luggage, news) are grammatically singular and take 'this' or 'that', never 'these' or 'those'. Plural-only nouns (trousers, scissors, glasses) take 'these' or 'those', never 'this' or 'that'. So: 'this information' (not 'these information'), 'these trousers' (not 'this trousers'), 'that luggage' (not 'those luggage').
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