Demonstrative Pronouns

        A demonstrative pronoun is used to point to something specific within a sentence. These pronouns can indicate items in space or time, and they can be either singular or plural.

           Demonstrative pronouns can be either near or far in distance or time:

Near in time or distance: this, these

Far in time or distance: that, those

Rules: Demonstrative pronouns always identify nouns, whether those nouns are named specifically or not.

For example: “I can’t believe this.” We have no idea what “this” is, but it’s definitely something the writer cannot believe. It exists, even though we don’t know what it is.

Demonstrative pronouns are usually used to describe animals, places, or things; however they can be used to describe people when the person is identified, for example: “This sounds like Mary singing.”

• This was my mother’s ring.
• That looks like the car I used to drive.
• These are nice shoes, but they look uncomfortable.
• Those look like riper than the apples on my tree.