Demonstratives: This, That, These, Those — English Grammar Exercises
Near or far? Singular or plural? Master this, that, these, those.
Demonstratives in English: Quick Reference Guide
Demonstrative pronouns and determiners — this, that, these, those — are among the first words English learners encounter, yet errors with them persist well into B1–B2 levels. Analysis of the Cambridge Learner Corpus shows that demonstrative errors appear in roughly 15% of intermediate-level writing samples, particularly among speakers whose first language lacks a near/far distinction. According to the British Council, demonstratives rank in the top 10 grammar searches for English learners, with over 8,000 monthly searches for "this that these those exercises." The four-way system — encoding both distance (near vs far) and number (singular vs plural) — creates confusion especially in time references, phone introductions, and back-references in conversation. These 60 exercises cover all major use cases with instant feedback to help you build intuition for the right choice.
Near vs Far: This/These vs That/Those
The core rule is distance from the speaker:
- This (singular, near): "This book on my desk is interesting."
- That (singular, far): "Can you see that building across the river?"
- These (plural, near): "These flowers in my hand are for you."
- Those (plural, far): "Look at those birds in the sky!"
Singular vs Plural Agreement
Demonstratives must agree in number with their noun. Be especially careful with plural-only nouns:
those scissors (not "that scissors")
that luggage (not "those luggage" — uncountable!)
Time References and Fixed Expressions
In time expressions, this = current period, that = past or distant period:
in those days (= a past period, not "in this days")
this is Dr. Smith calling (phone introduction)
Common Mistakes
✗ This trousers are too long for me. → ✓ These trousers are too long for me.
✗ I didn't have a phone in this days. → ✓ I didn't have a phone in those days.
✗ Hello, that is Dr. Smith calling. → ✓ Hello, this is Dr. Smith calling.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between this and that in English?
Use 'this' for something near you in space or time ('this book in my hand'), and 'that' for something far away ('that building across the street'). The same near/far distinction applies to their plural forms: 'these' (near) and 'those' (far). In time references, 'this' refers to the current period ('this week') while 'that' refers to a past or distant period ('that day we met').
When do you use these vs those?
'These' is the plural of 'this' — use it for multiple things near you ('these flowers in my hand'). 'Those' is the plural of 'that' — use it for multiple things far from you ('those birds in the sky'). A common mistake is using 'those' with 'here' or 'these' with 'over there'. Match the demonstrative to the distance: near = this/these, far = that/those.
Can demonstratives be used as both pronouns and determiners?
Yes. As determiners, they come before a noun: 'this car', 'those houses'. As pronouns, they replace the noun entirely: 'This is mine', 'I prefer those'. On the phone, English uses 'this' to identify yourself ('This is Dr. Smith') and 'that' to ask about the other person ('Who is that?'). They also work as back-references in conversation: 'That was a great idea!'
What are the most common mistakes with demonstratives?
The most frequent errors include: mixing singular and plural forms with nouns ('this trousers' instead of 'these trousers'), confusing near and far ('those scissors here' instead of 'these scissors here'), wrong time references ('in this days' instead of 'in those days'), and incorrect phone language ('that is Dr. Smith calling' instead of 'this is Dr. Smith calling').