Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative Pronouns (i.e., this, that, these, those) identify or "point to" nouns they replace.

They also

1. indicate whether they are replacing singular or plural nouns and
2. give the location of the object in relation to the speaker.
   
   

For example:

This (referring to a cup of coffee that is near) is hot but
that (referring to another cup of coffee that is farther away) is cold.

	Number of the Noun Replaced		Distance of Object 1 from the Speaker
	Singular	Plural	Near	Far
this		-		-
that		-	-
these	-			-
those	-		-

^{1 Distance in terms of time or space}

Short Quiz:

1. These cookies are delicious. Have you had any of at the other end of the table?
   
   
2. As a pink motorbike whizzed past, Jack shouted, "Look at !
   
   
3. Touching Cheryl's necklace, Jean asked, "Where did you get from?"
   
   

Demonstrative Adjectives

The above same words (i.e., this, that, these, those) can also function like adjectives.
They are called "determiners". Although the forms are the same, their functions are different.

Like adjectives, these same words (this, that, these, those) modify or identify nouns that come after them.
They answer the question, "Which one(s)?"

For example: This cup of coffee is hot.

Test yourself

Remember: an adjective modifies a noun; a pronoun replaces it.

Identify first the pronoun then the adjective in the following:

adjective	pronoun
These pizzas are cold;	give me those.

Main Index | Pronouns Index | LESOL © Virtual Teacher Aide