Unit 13 - Demonstratives - This/That/These/Those

Demonstratives - This/That/These/Those

Unit 13 - Demonstratives - This/That/These/Those

English demonstratives are words used to indicate the proximity of an object or group of objects to the speaker and the listener. The four most commonly used demonstratives in English are "this," "that," "these," and "those."

"This" and "these" are used to refer to objects or groups of objects that are near the speaker, while "that" and "those" are used to refer to objects or groups of objects that are farther away.

For example, "this book" and "these pencils" are used to refer to objects that are close to the speaker, while "that car" and "those buildings" are used to refer to objects that are farther away.

Understanding and using English demonstratives correctly is important for clear and effective communication.


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Audio Examples

1.
Hey, these hot dogs look good.

Yep, I like them too. Try some of those tacos as well, they're delicious.

OK. And what's this?

That's chicken soup, it's really good too. Eat up!
-----

2.
Do you like this sweater?

Yea, that looks good. I like this one as well.

Oh yea, that looks great! It goes well with these shorts.

And these boots are cool as well. Try them on!

Oh yea. I want the shorts, boots, and the sweater.

Let's buy them!
-----

3.
These pants are really big.

Look at these pants. They're so small!

How about those shoes?

Which shoes?

Look, those. They look really weird.

Come on, let's go to a different store. We need the right size!

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Key Vocabulary

these
hot dog
try
taco
as well
delicious
and
soup
sweater
looks good
this one

shorts
boots
cool
pants
so
small
which
weird
different
right
size



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Unit 13 Grammar

This/that/these/those show the relative distance between the speaker and a noun.

This refers to something near to the speaker, that to something further away. These is the plural of this, and those is the plural of that.




Sometimes demonstratives are pronouns, for example:
- "This is my Mom." Mom is near to the speaker
- "These are my books." The books are near the speaker.
- "I don't like that." He doesn't like something that is farther away.

Sometimes demonstratives can also be adjectives, for example:
- That man is a doctor.
- I like those jackets.
- I don't like that movie.


Grammar Exercises


Exercise 1

Complete the sentences using this, that, these or those.

Example: I like this picture. (this, these)

1. is a red box.

2. is a blue box.

3. are boxes.

4. are boxes

5. is a red box and is a blue box.

Answers
1. = "This";
2. = "That";
3. = "These";
4. = "Those";
5. = "This";
6. = "That";


Exercise 2

Complete the sentences using this, that, these or those.

Example: I like this picture. (this, these)

1. shirt looks great.
(That, Those)

2. Look at man over there.
(this, that)

3. is a beautiful day today.
(That, This)

4. Do you like flowers?
(that, those)

5. What are the answers to questions?
(this, these)

6. I love shoes but I don't like shirt.
(these, that), (those, that)

7. Let's watch a movie.
a good idea.
(This is, That's)

8. Whose house is ?
(those, that)

9. This book isn't very good , but book's great.
(that, this)

Answers
1. = "That";
2. = "that";
3. = "This";
4. = "those";
5. = "these";
6. = "these";
7. = "that";
8. = "That's";
9. = "that";
10. = "that";


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