This, that, these and those — Foreign languages, 7–10
Learn how English points to one or more things by showing whether they are near or farther away.
Pointing near and far
English has four pointing words. This means one thing near you, that means one thing farther away, these means several near you, and those means several farther away. You can point with your hand, but the word also tells the listener where to look.
Why distance changes the word
Imagine a table with a pencil in your hand and books across the room. This pencil and those books tell your listener both what you mean and where it is. English needs this small distinction when several objects could fit the same name. It solves the problem of pointing clearly in speech.
Choose the pointing word
You hold one red ball. Step one: there is one object, so choose this or that, not these or those. Step two: it is in your hand, so choose this. Say This is a red ball. Now place three balls on a shelf far away: there are several and they are distant, so say Those are red balls.
One or many comes first
It is easy to use this for anything nearby, because this feels like a general word for here. But this is only for one nearby thing; these is for more than one. The same split happens farther away: that for one, those for several. Count before you choose.
Shopping, showing and finding
These words help when you point out clothes in a shop, show objects in a photo or help someone find bags at an airport. You can say I like this shirt or Are those your shoes? They are useful when names alone are not enough to show which object you mean.
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