1. Show exactly which thing you mean
This and that help the listener identify a particular thing. In an ordinary pointing situation, this indicates something near the speaker, while that indicates something farther away. In this lesson, we name the thing itself: this bag, that chair.
This is not a rule about an exact number of metres. What matters is what the speaker presents as here and what they present as over there. We will work with simple spatial situations; other uses of these words are not limited to physical distance.
this + one thing here; that + one thing there
This bag is heavy.
This bag is heavy.
The speaker is holding the bag and presenting it as nearby.
That chair over there is free.
That chair over there is free.
The speaker points to a chair in another part of the room.
2. This / that + noun: order and number
Before a single countable item, use this or that and keep the noun singular: this cup, that ticket. This has the same form regardless of the noun's grammatical gender in another language.
An added description goes between the demonstrative and the noun: this small cup. Several items require these / those and a plural noun. That is a neighbouring topic; here it helps mark the boundary of the singular pattern.
this / that + (adjective) + singular noun
- noun —
- A word naming a person, thing or idea: student, book, happiness.
- adjective —
- A word describing what someone or something is like: happy, tired, interesting.
I like this small cup.
I like this small cup.
Small describes cup and follows this.
That ticket is mine.
That ticket is mine.
One ticket: that ticket, without plural -s.
3. Do not add an article to this book
This and that already specify which item is meant. In an ordinary phrase with one noun, do not add a, an or the alongside them: this book, not this a book; that old bag, not that the old bag.
Compare two different structures: This book is new. and This is a new book. In the first, this precedes book; in the second, this stands alone and a belongs to another part of the sentence, a new book. The second structure is correct, but this is being used as a pronoun.
Please take this key.
Please take this key.
This directly determines key; no extra a is needed.
That is an old clock.
That is an old clock.
That replaces the object's name here. An is not placed after a determiner before the same noun; it follows is in a new phrase.
4. The verb depends on the sentence, not on this
If this book or that door is the subject and we describe it with present be, use is: This book is new. For a question, put is before the whole subject; for a negative, add not.
This / that do not require is in every sentence. You can say I need this pen or Please open that door. In the first sentence, I is the subject and this pen is the thing needed; the second is a request. Do not insert is between this and the noun.
This bag is … / This bag is not … / Is this bag …?
Is this seat free?
Is this seat free?
We ask about a seat near the speaker: is comes before this seat.
That door is not open.
That door is not open.
Door is singular in English, so use is not. Agreement follows the English noun, even if its equivalent in another language has a different number.
We need this table.
We need this table.
This table is not the subject; the sentence already has the verb need.
5. Who is speaking, and where are they?
Distance is judged from the speaker, not automatically from the reader or listener. If two people are at opposite ends of a room, the same object can be here for one and there for the other.
Replacing this with that can change what we point to, but it does not by itself make a sentence ungrammatical. If location or intention is unspecified, both may sometimes be possible. Exercises requiring one correct choice will identify the reference point.
This phone is yours.
This phone is yours.
Olia is holding the phone and talking about it as something here.
That phone is mine.
That phone is mine.
Andrii is at the other end of the room and points to the phone in Olia's hand as something there.
6. Scope and using the rule in conversation
This and that can also precede uncountable nouns: this water, that bread. Before a singular noun is the lesson's main topic, not a ban on uncountables. Do not turn water into waters when it has its ordinary substance meaning.
In This is nice, this appears without a noun; this is a correct pronoun use. We only distinguish it from this cup here rather than practising it separately. Similarly, this morning and the response That's great relate to the situation in other ways.
For your own response, first identify the item and your position, then choose this / that and name the item. Next say what you need to report or ask about it. You may use invented objects and situations; no personal details are required.
This water is cold.
This water is cold.
The speaker tastes water from a glass in their hand; water is uncountable here.
Please close that window.
Please close that window.
The speaker points to a window farther away; this / that works beyond descriptions with is.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:This bags is heavy.
Correct:This bag is heavy.
This refers to one item. Keep the noun singular: bag.
Incorrect:These book is new.
Correct:This book is new.
Book names one book; it requires singular this, not these.
Incorrect:That door are open.
Correct:That door is open.
The subject that door is singular. The present form of be in this description is is.
Incorrect:I need this a pen.
Correct:I need this pen.
This already determines pen. An additional a before the same noun is unnecessary.