This article will first explain what demonstrative pronouns are and how they may be used, and will then provide 30+ demonstrative pronoun examples with detailed explanations.
Demonstrative pronouns refer to those pronouns which help a speaker indicate or point out which object, person, or animal they are referring to. There are four demonstrative pronouns you must know: this, that, these, and those.
Demonstrative Pronoun Sentences
- This is my wife, Shwetha.
- Aleena, this is Mr. Patel, my boss.
- These are my friends, Aisha and Aiman.
- Is this yours?
- Please put these away before we leave the house.
- This is so much fun!
- What am I going to do about this?
- This is a gift that I will always hold dear to me.
- His performance last week was incredible. I hope this one is just as good.
- That may take some time to complete.
- Akash selected that for us. Do you like it?
- That is Shaheen’s notebook, you must have left yours at home.
- This is my house, and that is Inara’s house.
- These are less expensive than I expected them to be.
- Aryaman, could you please send these along to Sharunya?
- These are my very best friends.
- Those don’t look like your books.
- What are those called in hindi?
- Those were unnecessarily harsh words.
- These books are more expensive than those ones.
- This looks like a delicious burger.
- That is a very good restaurant, although it looks dilapidated.
- These are wonderful earrings, where did you get them?
- Those are colourful ties.
- Children are so difficult to control. That is why I will never become a teacher.
- That’s the nature of the beast.
- Those who are kind always prosper.
- I can’t believe this.
- Were you able to find them in the cupboard?
- That cake tasted wonderful.
Now, let use look at detailed explanations of the 30+ demonstrative pronoun examples:
This is my wife, Shwetha.
Here, the demonstrative pronoun “this” used to introduce a person who is standing close to you.
Aleena, this is Mr. Patel, my boss.
Like in the first example, in this example the demonstrative pronoun “this” used to introduce a person who is standing close to you.
These are my friends, Aisha and Aiman.
Again, the demonstrative pronoun “these” is used to introduce people in proximity to the speaker.
Is this yours?
Here, the demonstrative pronoun “this” is used because the object in question can be demonstrated through action or due to proximity (hence the noun need not be mentioned).
Please put these away before we leave the house.
Here, “these” is used to refer to objects that are near the speaker and can be indicated through physical action.
This is so much fun!
In this example, the demonstrative “this” is used to refer to either a moment or an activity that is happening in the present (or immediately).
What am I going to do about this?
In this example, the demonstrative “this” could be referring to either a nearby object, an immediate problem, or something else that is in close proximity to the speaker.
This is a gift that I will always hold dear to me.
Here, the demonstrative pronoun “this” is used to refer to a gift that is in proximity to the speaker.
His performance last week was incredible. I hope this one is just as good.
In this example, the demonstrative pronoun “this” allows us to gauge that the speaker is talking about the noun phrase mentioned in the previous sentence (a “performance”) and that it is happening in the present.
That may take some time to complete.
The pronoun “that” suggests that the task in question is either at a physical or temporal distance from the speaker.
Akash selected that for us. Do you like it?
The use of the pronoun “that” suggests that the object is close enough to the speaker for it to be pointed at, but not close enough that the speaker can hold it.
That is Shaheen’s notebook, you must have left yours at home.
The use of the pronoun “that” suggests that the object in question (a notebook) is close enough to the speaker for it to be pointed at, but not close enough that the speaker can hold it.
This is my house, and that is Inara’s house.
The word “this” suggests that the speaker is in close proximity to her own house, while the word “that” suggests that Inara’s house is further away from where the speaker is standing.
These are less expensive than I expected them to be.
“These” suggest that the objects in question are in very close proximity to the speaker (and that there are more than one of them).
Aryaman, could you please send these along to Sharunya?
“These” suggest that the objects in question are in very close proximity to the speaker (and that there are more than one of them).
These are my very best friends.
“These” suggest that the objects (“best friends”) in question are in very close proximity to the speaker (and that there are more than one of them).
Those don’t look like your books.
“Those” suggest that the objects (“books”) in question are not close enough to the speaker to be touched, but are close in enough that the speaker can point them out.
What are those called in hindi?
“Those” suggest that the objects in question are not close enough to the speaker to be touched, but are close in enough that the speaker can point them out (and that there is more than one of them).
Those were unnecessarily harsh words.
“Those” suggest that the harsh words in question were spoken some time ago.
These books are more expensive than those ones.
The pronoun “these” refer to books that are in close proximity to the speaker, while “those” refer to books that are further away from the speaker.
This looks like a delicious burger.
The pronoun “this” suggests the burger is in close proximity to the speaker. Here, the pronoun “this” is used instead of the noun “burger.”
That is a very good restaurant, although it looks dilapidated.
Here, the pronoun “that” is used instead of the noun “restaurant.”
These are wonderful earrings, where did you get them?
Here, the pronoun “these” is used in the place of the noun “earrings.”
Those are colourful ties.
Here, the pronoun “those” refers to ties that are neither too close nor too far from the speaker.
Children are so difficult to control. That is why I will never become a teacher.
In this example, the antecedent of the demonstrative pronoun “that” is the entire thought presented in the sentence before it (the thought being that children are very difficult to control).
That’s the nature of the beast.
In this example, the antecedent of the demonstrative pronoun is not clearly expressed, since we aren’t really sure what nature “that” is referring to.
Those who are kind always prosper.
The pronoun “those” refers to all all people who are kind.
I can’t believe this.
The use of the pronoun “this” suggests the speaker is talking about something that has happened recently.
Were you able to find them in the cupboard?
The pronoun “them” suggests that there is more than one of the unknown objects in question.
That cake tasted wonderful.
The use of the pronoun “that” instead of “this” suggested that the cake was eaten recently, but not currently.
Demonstrative Pronoun Use:
It should be noted that demonstrative pronouns are often used when introducing a person who is standing close to you. They can also be either singular or plural.
| Singular demonstrative pronouns | Uses |
| This | Use ‘this’ when you are talking about an object or a person that is immediate to you in time, space, or distance. |
| That | Use ‘that’ when you are talking about an object or a person that isn’t near you in time, space, or distance. |
| Plural demonstrative pronouns | Uses |
| These | Use ‘these’ when you are talking about more than one object or person that is immediate to you in time, space, or distance. |
| Those | Use ‘those’ when you are talking about more than one object or person that isn’t near you in time, space, or distance. |
It can be difficult to differentiate between demonstrative pronouns and demonstrative adjectives, because both make use of the same four words. However, the function of the words is not the same for both cases. Demonstrative pronouns are always used in the place of an understood noun or noun phrase. Demonstrative adjectives, on the other hand, are always used before a noun or a noun phrase without replacing them.
Demonstrative pronouns and clear antecedents
An antecedent is the noun or noun phrase that helps us determine what a pronoun is referring to. The function of demonstrative pronouns is to replace a clearly identified antecedent.
For instance, in the sentence “that is his favourite book,” the antecedent for “that” is “book”(the noun that the pronoun refers to).
It is possible for the antecedent of a demonstrative pronoun to be a full sentence. It is also possible for the antecedent to not be clearly expressed. Instead, it can be something that we know by instinct or understand in principle.