What are demonstrative pronouns? The demonstrative pronoun is used to talk about a specific thing, as we can see in the sentence ‘thisis an apple.’ This type of pronoun is used in a lot of sentences during both written and spoken English and as you may be expect, there are rules which are involved with its use.
In this section, we will be looking at the demonstrative pronoun in much more detail and this will enable you to use it within your sentences, making you sound much more fluent.
Demonstrative Pronouns
The demonstrativepronounsare the same words as thedemonstrative adjectives(this,that,these, andthose). They are used to point out specific people or things. They can be either near or far in distance or time, specifically:
- Near in time / distance:this &these
- Far in time / distance:that &those
The demonstrative pronounsthisandthatare singular andtheseandthoseare plural.
Examples:
- Thisis an enormous field.
- Can you seethat?
- Theseare mysuitcases.
- Do not approachthose.
Demonstrative Pronoun vs. Demonstrative Adjective
Demonstrative pronouns point to the object they are replacing and canstand alone and function as a noun.Demonstrative adjectivesdescribe a noun and cannotstand alone.
Examples:
- Theseare delicious cookies.(Theseis used as a demonstrative pronoun that stands alone.)
- Thesetomatoes is fresh.(Theseis used as a demonstrative adjective that qualifies the nountomato.)
Learn how to use demonstrative pronouns (This, That, These, Those) in English with a useful list, example sentences and ESL picture.
All Pronouns in English
- Personal Pronouns
- Possessive Pronouns
- Indefinite Pronouns
- Relative Pronouns
- Demonstrative Pronoun
- Reflexive Pronouns
- Intensive Pronouns
- Interrogative Pronouns
Last Updated on March 9, 2021
Nice one, thank you Sir.
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