LoginDemonstrative Determiners
In this lesson, master demonstrative determiners, which provide detailed information about specific nouns. Clear explanations and practice exercises to help you learn.
What Are Demonstrative Determiners?
Demonstrative determiner is a type of determiner that is used to point to a specific noun or noun phrase and specify its number and distance. They help to identify the noun that is being referred to in a sentence.
English Demonstrative Determiners
There are four demonstrative determiners in English:
A demonstrative determiner can tell us about the location of something relative to our position; they show us how near or far something is. Near and far can refer to distance or time.
Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
near to us (time-wise/distance-wise) | this | these |
far from us (time-wise/distance-wise) | that | those |
This chair is empty. You can sit here.
That man over there is my teacher.
These days I'm trying to exercise more.
How much are those apples at the back?
Demonstrative Determiners vs. Demonstrative Pronouns
'This,' 'that,' 'these' and 'those' can act as both demonstrative determiners and demonstrative pronouns. The difference between them is:
A demonstrative determiner always comes with a noun.
A demonstrative pronoun always comes alone and is not accompanied by a noun.
Compare the following examples:
That is my son over there, Sam.
'That' as a demonstrative pronoun
That boy over there is my son Sam.
'That' as a demonstrative determiner
Someone left their shoes. Whose are these?
'These' as a demonstrative pronoun
Whose are these shoes?
'These' as a demonstrative determiner
This is a very interesting idea.
'This' as a demonstrative pronoun
This idea is very interesting.
'This' as a demonstrative determiner
I want those glasses. Those are gorgeous.
Here, the first 'those' is a determiner because it is followed by a noun. However, the second 'those' is a pronoun because it stands alone.
Review
Demonstrative determiners are such as demonstrative pronouns, the only difference between these two is that 'determiners' must be followed by nouns. Demonstrative determiners are picked based on their number and distance.
Number | Distance | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
This | singular | close | This book shares different feelings of mothers. |
That | singular | far | That man standing over there is the manager of the school. |
These | plural | close | These paper clips help you divide the book's chapters. |
Those | plural | far | I don't know those people, but they seem friendly. |
Quiz:
Which of the following sentences correctly uses a demonstrative determiner?
That is a brilliant idea.
He said that he would be on time.
I've never been in a house this big.
This cake is incredibly moist.
Which sentence correctly uses a demonstrative determiner to refer to a time period near the present?
That year was very challenging for me.
Those months were full of exciting events.
This week I have a lot of meetings scheduled.
These days were long ago and hard to remember.
Fill the table by specifying the number and distance indicated by the demonstrative determiner.
| Sentence | Distance | Number |
|---|---|---|
That | ||
These | ||
This | ||
Those |
Complete each sentence using the appropriate demonstrative determiner.
apples over there are fresh and juicy.
I don't like
shoes you're wearing today.
Can you hand me
pen next to the notebook?
idea you just shared sounds really interesting.
Fill in the table by choosing whether the demonstrative word used as a determiner or a pronoun based on the sentence.
This is a great phone. | |
That girl over there is my cousin. | |
I love those shoes you're wearing. | |
These are my favorite books. |
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