How to use This/That/These/Those

We use 'this / that' for singular and uncountable nouns and....................................

• for plural nouns.

• it / they
• that/those

• these / those
• my / your

Answer explanation

We use this/that/these/those to explain what we are talking about. We sometimes use them with nouns and we sometimes use them on their own.

We use this (singular) and these (plural) to talk about things close to us, and that (singular) and those (plural) to talk about things at some distance away from us.

We use 'this / these' for things which are...............................................................

• far away from us

• round
• physically near us

• plural
• on a surface

Answer explanation

We use this/that/these/those to explain what we are talking about. We sometimes use them with nouns and we sometimes use them on their own.

We use this (singular) and these (plural) to talk about things close to us, and that (singular) and those (plural) to talk about things at some distance away from us.

We use that / those for things which are.........................................................................

• red and blue
• far away from us

• fast and slow
• big and small

Answer explanation

We use this/that/these/those to explain what we are talking about. We sometimes use them with nouns and we sometimes use them on their own.

We use this (singular) and these (plural) to talk about things close to us, and that (singular) and those (plural) to talk about things at some distance away from us.

We also use.............................................................

for things which are distant from us in time.

• present tense
• future tense
• adjective
• that/those

We can use 'this / that' to refer to

.......................................................................................... , e.g. what somebody has said.

• phrasal verbs

• abstract ideas

• general things

• nouns

On the phone, we can say, '..................................is Nicolas' (if you are Nicolas) or 'Is ............................Nathalia?'

• This/this

• these/those

• This/that

• That/this

What about...............................................shirt for Jairo (holding a shirt)?
No, hold on, what about..................................one over there?

• these/that

• that/this

• this/those

• this/that

.......................... is a good film. (we're watching it now)
.................was a good film. (we saw it at some time in the past)

• These/This

• This/That

• Those/That

• That/this

What do you think about................................for your Uncle Bob? (pointing to trousers near you)
I've never seen Uncle Bob in trousers like.......................... (There are trousers, but we don't need to repeat trousers).

• These/those

• Those/these

• These/these

• Those/ that

Answer explanation

Are this/these and that/those always used with nouns?

We can also use them as pronouns, without nouns, when it's obvious what they refer to.

What do you think about these for your Uncle Bob? (pointing to trousers)
I've never seen Uncle Bob in trousers like those. (those trousers, but we don't need to repeat trousers)

Can you pass....................................book beside you?

• a
• an
• these

• that