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Them vs. These or Those

demonstrative determinersdemonstrative pronounsobject pronounsthemthesethose

'These' and 'Those' are called plural demonstratives. They can be subjects or objects. 'Them' is an object pronoun. So, can they be interchangeable?

"Them" vs. "These" or "Those" in the English Grammar

Demonstratives

'These' and 'those' are called demonstratives. They are used to show the 'distance' or 'nearness' between us and the noun.
'These' is the plural form of 'this'. And the plural form of 'that' is 'those'.

Difference between 'These' and 'Those'

  • These is used to refer to a plural noun near to us (physically or temporally)
  • Those is used to refer to a plural noun far from us (physically or temporally)

'These' and 'those' can be both subjects and objects of our sentence.

These are my kids.

Here, 'these' is the subject of our sentence.

I've made my decision. Let's buy these for her! She'll look great in these shoes.

Here, 'these' is the object of our sentence.

Those were the days we thought they'd never end.

Here, 'those' is the subject of our sentence.

Do you remember those?

Here, 'those' is the object of our sentence.

Can 'Them' Be Used as a Demonstrative Pronoun?

'Them' is an object pronoun. It is the accusative form of the pronoun 'they'. In formal standard English, 'them' cannot be used as a substitute for a demonstrative pronoun. But when 'these' and 'those' are used as an object pronoun, it is interchangeable in informal and colloquial language.

Some of those can be considered appropriate for the occasion.

Some of them can be considered appropriate for the occasion.

'Them' cannot grammatically be used as a demonstrative pronoun. But it is often used in informal language.

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