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This/That/These/Those – Demonstrative Adjectives

The demonstrative adjectives–this/that/these/those–tell us where an object is located and how many objects there are.

This/ThatThis and that are used to point to one object. This points to something nearby while that points to something “over there.”
Examples: This dog is mine.
This is mine.
That dog is hers.
That is hers.
These/ThoseThese and those refer to more than one object. These points to things nearby while those points to things “over there.”
Examples: These babies have been smiling for a while.
These are mine.
Those babies in the nursery have been crying for hours.
Those are yours.

Posted on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010, at 9:09 am

6 Comments

6 Responses to “This/That/These/Those – Demonstrative Adjectives”

  1. Dorota Naumienko says:
    December 30, 2012 at 4:32 am

    Is it possible to abbreviate the demonstrative adjective ,,those” with a verb ,,are” like that:
    Those’re my…

    Could you send me an explanation?

    Best regards
    Dorota Naumienko

    Reply
    • Jane says:
      January 2, 2013 at 9:07 am

      Demonstrative adjectives are not typically used to form a contraction in English. The Chicago Manual of Style’s Rule 5.103 says, “Most types of writing benefit from the use of contractions. If used thoughtfully, contractions in prose sound natural and relaxed and make reading more enjoyable. Be-verbs and most of the auxiliary verbs are contracted when followed by not: are–aren’t; was–wasn’t; cannot–can’t; could not–couldn’t; do not–don’t; and so on. A few, such as ought not–oughtn’t, look or sound awkward and are best avoided. Pronouns can be contracted with auxiliaries, forms of have, and some be-verbs. Think before using one of the less common contractions, which often don’t work well in prose, except perhaps in dialogue or quotations. Some examples are I’d’ve (I would have), she’d’ve (she would have) it’d (it would), should’ve (should have), there’re (there are), who’re (who are), and would’ve (would have). Also, some contracted forms can have more than one meaning. For instance, there’s may be there is or there has, and I’d may be I had or I would. The particular meaning may not always be clear from the context.” The AP Stylebook considers contractions informal and advises against using them excessively. If you are unsure of a contraction, check to see if it is listed in the dictionary.

      Reply
  2. Al says:
    April 20, 2013 at 3:59 pm

    Indefinite articles is used before singular countable noun.

    BUT

    Is it possible to use Indefinite articles (a,an) before an adjective with Plural or Uncountable noun ?
    regards
    Al

    Reply

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