This, That, These and Those in English Grammar: Rules & Examples

This, That, These and Those in English Grammar: Rules, Examples & Practice

This, that, these और those को demonstratives कहते हैं। इनका प्रयोग किसी व्यक्ति या वस्तु की ओर संकेत करने के लिए किया जाता है। सही word चुनने के लिए दो बातें देखें: चीज़ पास है या दूर, और एक है या एक से अधिक। इस lesson में demonstrative determiners और pronouns का अंतर, examples, common mistakes और answer key सहित exercises हैं।

1. Meaning of This, That, These and Those

इन चारों words का उपयोग किसी व्यक्ति या वस्तु को identify या point out करने के लिए होता है।

Word	Number	Usual distance	Example
This	Singular (एक)	Near (पास)	This book is mine.
That	Singular (एक)	Farther away (दूर)	That house is large.
These	Plural (एक से अधिक)	Near (पास)	These apples are fresh.
Those	Plural (एक से अधिक)	Farther away (दूर)	Those trees are tall.

Distance केवल physical distance नहीं हो सकती; speaker की situation और conversation के context के अनुसार भी this/that का चयन होता है।

2. The Main Rule: Near/Far + Singular/Plural

This + singular noun: this pen, this child, this room.
That + singular noun: that pen, that child, that room.
These + plural noun: these pens, these children, these rooms.
Those + plural noun: those pens, those children, those rooms.

Examples:

This mango is sweet. — यह आम मीठा है।
That mango is sour. — वह आम खट्टा है।
These mangoes are sweet. — ये आम मीठे हैं।
Those mangoes are sour. — वे आम खट्टे हैं।

3. Demonstrative Determiner vs Demonstrative Pronoun

This, that, these और those noun से पहले भी आ सकते हैं और noun की जगह भी इस्तेमाल हो सकते हैं।

Demonstrative determiner (noun के साथ)

This book is interesting.
That car is expensive.
These flowers smell lovely.
Those students are waiting.

Demonstrative pronoun (noun की जगह)

This is interesting.
That is expensive.
These smell lovely.
Those are waiting.

Easy tip: अगर word के तुरंत बाद noun आ रहा है—“this book”—तो यह determiner है। यदि word अकेले noun phrase की तरह काम कर रहा है—“This is mine”—तो यह demonstrative pronoun है।

4. Use the Correct Verb: Is/Are

This और that singular हैं, इसलिए सामान्य statements में इनके साथ is आता है। These और those plural हैं, इसलिए इनके साथ are आता है।

Correct	Incorrect
This is my pencil.	This are my pencil.
That is our classroom.	That are our classroom.
These are my friends.	These is my friends.
Those are ripe bananas.	Those is ripe bananas.

Past tense में सामान्यतः this/that के साथ was और these/those के साथ were आता है: “That was my seat.” “Those were my shoes.”

5. Questions and Negative Sentences

Questions में word order बदल सकता है, लेकिन number agreement वही रहता है।

Is this your bag?
Is that your teacher?
Are these your keys?
Are those your shoes?

Negative examples:

This is not my notebook.
That is not our bus.
These are not ripe yet.
Those are not my books.

6. Common Mistakes

Incorrect: These book are new. Correct: These books are new.
Incorrect: This are my shoes. Correct: These are my shoes.
Incorrect: Those is my friend. Correct: That is my friend. / Those are my friends.
Incorrect: This apples are fresh. Correct: These apples are fresh.
Incorrect: These is a pen. Correct: This is a pen.

सबसे आम गलती singular और plural को mix करना है। Noun और verb दोनों को demonstrative के साथ match करें।

7. Practice Exercise A: Choose This, That, These or Those

Situation के अनुसार सही demonstrative चुनें। Brackets में number और distance की hint दी गई है।

___ pencil in my hand is sharp. (one, near)
___ building across the road is a hospital. (one, far)
___ flowers beside me are beautiful. (many, near)
___ birds on the far tree are noisy. (many, far)
___ shoes I am wearing are comfortable. (many, near)
___ mountain in the distance looks high. (one, far)
___ apple here is red. (one, near)
___ houses at the end of the street are old. (many, far)

Answers

This
That
These
Those
These
That
This
Those

8. Practice Exercise B: Correct the Sentence

This are my notebooks.
Those is a tall tree.
These child are playing.
Is these your keys?
That flowers smell nice.
Those were my bag.

9. Quick Revision

This = one + near.
That = one + farther away.
These = more than one + near.
Those = more than one + farther away.
This/that usually take is in present statements; these/those usually take are.
Past tense: this/that was; these/those were.
Word के बाद noun हो तो determiner; noun की जगह अकेले आए तो pronoun.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between this and these?

This is singular and refers to one thing; these is plural and refers to more than one. Example: “this book” but “these books.”

Can this and that be used without a noun?

Yes. In “This is mine” and “That looks good,” this and that function as demonstrative pronouns.

Do these and those always mean physically near and far?

They often describe distance, but context also matters. Speakers can use this/that to distinguish ideas, items in a conversation or things they are currently discussing.

What should I study next?

Continue with the English Grammar A to Z Learning Guide and review the Pronoun lesson to compare demonstrative pronouns with other pronoun types.