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Demonstrative pronouns replace common nouns and indicate a known object’s proximity or existence. “This” refers to a nearby object, while “that” refers to a distant or past object. “These” and “those” are their plural forms. Demonstrative adjectives modify nouns, and “that” can also function as a relative pronoun.
A demonstrative pronoun is one of four words used in place of common nouns in a sentence. The singular words “this” and “that” and their plurals “these” and “these” are the demonstrative pronouns in English. These words are used to indicate a known object that is near or far from the speaker or that exists in the present or in the past.
Pronouns are general words that replace certain nouns in a sentence. They are often used to refer to people, such as “she” and “who”, or a thing, “it”. Demonstrative pronouns are a small set of pronouns that also refer to things, but do so more specifically than the “it” pronoun. Where “it” simply indicates a sexless object or animal, the demonstrative pronouns will indicate whether that object is near or further away.
The words “this” and “that” are the singular demonstrative pronouns. Using “this” indicates that the object is in the general area of the speaker. The word “that” indicates a specific object that is further away, out of arm’s reach, or even out of sight. It can also indicate something that existed in the past. The word “these” is plural for “this” and “those” is plural for “that”.
Just like nouns and other pronouns, a demonstrative pronoun can act as a subject or object in a sentence. Unlike personal pronouns, which change their spelling depending on their function in a sentence, whether a demonstrative pronoun is a subject or an object is determined only by its place in the sentence. For example, in the sentence “This is my favorite song,” the word “that” functions as the subject, but in “I’ve never liked it,” the word “that” is the object of the sentence.
A demonstrative adjective is not to be confused with a demonstrative pronoun. Like most adjectives, demonstrative adjectives modify nouns but do not replace them. For example, in the sentence “this tastes spicy,” the word “this” serves as a demonstrative pronoun because the speaker is referring to an unstated food item that he or she is currently eating. In the sentence “this soup tastes spicy”, on the other hand, “this” acts as a demonstrative adjective because it modifies the noun declared “soup”.
Furthermore, the word “that” can also function as a relative pronoun. Relative pronouns are used to connect sentences together. For example, in the sentence “She wanted to learn every recipe that was in her cookbook,” the word “that” functions as a relative pronoun, not a demonstrative pronoun.
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