They vs. These or Those
'These' and 'Those' are called plural demonstratives. We use them as determiners and pronouns. But are they interchangeable with the plural pronoun 'they'?
What Is The Difference between These and Those?
'These' and 'those' are called demonstratives. They can either be determiners or pronouns.
We use 'these' and 'those' to talk about things based on their position and distance. If the things are close to us, we use 'these'; and when they are far away from us, we use 'those'.
These and Those as Determiners
If we use 'these' and 'those' with plural nouns, they are determiners.
I want
These and Those as Pronouns
If we use 'these' and 'those' alone without them being followed by plural nouns, they are pronouns.
I've made my decision. Let's buy
Can 'They' Be Used as a Demonstrative, Too?
'They' can be used to demonstrate plural nouns at any distance or position. It can be a substitute for both 'these' and 'those'.
'They' can be the safest choice, because the distance is not relevant.
'What are these?' '
Here, you can also say 'these are my clothes'.
'These' and 'those' alone (as pronouns) cannot refer to people unless maybe when you want to be offensive or sarcastic. They are always used to refer to things.
I want
This sentence is ok, because we used a noun after 'these'.
These are so nice and friendly.
'These' alone cannot be used to refer to people.
They can both refer to a group of people and animals and things.
What Is Another Difference between These and Those with They?
Another difference between 'these' and 'those' with 'they' is that 'these/those' can be both subjects and objects in a sentence. But 'they' can only be the subject of a sentence.
I found they in the library.)
Here, 'these' is the object of our sentence and we cannot replace it with 'they'.
How much are