Plural Demonstrative Pronoun(7 Important Facts)

Here in this article we will be discussing in detail about the plural demonstrative pronouns with the aid of plural demonstrative pronoun examples.

Plural demonstrative pronouns are nothing but pronouns that are utilized to refer to the plural nouns or noun phrases that they are pointing out to and replacing. Plural demonstrative pronouns can point out to plural nouns that are both close by to us and far away from us in distance and time.

The following are a few example sentences with plural demonstrative pronouns.

• 1. I love apple and mango. These are my favorite fruits.
• 2. My mother made the sweets. These taste very delicious.
• 3. Those are the boys who teased me yesterday.
• 4. Those were amazing childhood days.
• 5. These are the students who came late to school.
• 6. Are you sure that these are your toys that you lost last Sunday.

The words which are italicized in the above example sentences are the plural demonstrative pronouns that are pointing out to the nouns or the noun phrases that they have substituted.

Can demonstrative pronouns be plural?

Well, the answer to this question is a yes. Demonstrative nouns definitely can be plural.

Example: These are the women who have started their own start up firm.

‘These’ is the demonstrative pronoun utilized in this sentence to point out to a nearby plural noun ‘women’. Since the word ‘these’ refers to plural number (more than one), it is plural.

Hence, we got to know that demonstrative pronouns can be plural.

When demonstrative pronouns are plural?

Demonstrative pronouns are plural when they point out to, refer to and take the place of a noun or a noun phrase which is plural in number.

Example: Those are the new paintings that I painted recently.

‘Those’ is the demonstrative pronoun utilized in the sentence and it is plural, because it indicates and takes the place of a far away plural noun ‘new paintings’.

Which demonstrative pronouns are plural?

‘These’ and ‘those’ are the demonstrative pronouns that are plural. The plural demonstrative pronoun ‘these’ is used to point out to and replace the plural nouns which are closer to us in distance or time. ‘Those’ is the plural demonstrative pronoun which is used to refer to and substitute the plural nouns that are far away from us in time or distance.

Example: These are the special dishes of my mother.

The demonstrative pronoun in this sentence is ‘these’ and it is plural as it refers to and replaces a noun which is plural ‘dishes’. The plural demonstrative pronoun ‘these’ indicates that the ‘dishes’ are close us to in distance.

Example: Those are most memorable and best days of all of our lives.

The demonstrative pronoun in this sentence is ‘those’ and it is plural as it point out to and replaces a noun which is plural ‘days’. The plural demonstrative pronoun ‘those’ here indicates that the ‘days’ are far away in time or the bygone days.

Why are demonstrative pronouns plural?

Demonstrative pronouns are plural so that we can demonstrate or point out to and replace a noun that is plural in number. Without plural demonstrative pronouns we cannot refer to a person, place, thing or an animal (noun) that are more than one in number (plural).

Example 1: The boys there are the ones who did not complete their projects.

Example 2: Those are the boys who did not complete their projects.

In example 1, ‘boys’ is a noun. If we want to indicate or refer to them we will need a demonstrative pronoun that is plural, because the noun ‘boys’ is plural. We cannot refer to the plural noun ‘boys’ with a singular demonstrative pronoun ‘this’ or ‘that’. Thus, the plural demonstrative pronoun ‘those’ is used to point out to and substitute the noun ‘boys’. Since the boys are there, which means they are far away, the demonstrative pronoun ‘those’ is used.

Which demonstrative pronouns are always plural?

‘These’ and ‘those’ are the demonstrative pronouns that will always be plural as they can only be used to refer to and replace plural nouns or plural noun phrases. They can never take the place of a singular noun or a singular noun phrase.

Example: These are the books that I have borrowed from the library for my research.

‘These’ is the demonstrative pronoun used here. ‘These’ is a plural demonstrative pronoun always as it is used to indicate and substitute only plural nouns. Here ‘these’ is utilized to demonstrate and replace the plural noun ‘books’ which are nearby in distance.

Plural demonstrative pronoun examples

Do go through the following plural demonstrative pronoun examples for a better understanding.

• 1. These are the children from my neighborhood who come to me for tuitions.
• 2. Those are the paint colors that we have chosen for our new home.
• 3. The shops in this city are way more expensive than those in our city.
• 4. These are my siblings who are pursuing engineering in America.
• 5. I love chocolate brownie and chocolate mousse. These are my all time favorite desserts.
• 6. Those are the old books of my grandfather that we found while cleaning the attic today.
• 7. These are the places we visited when we went on a tour to Mysore and Coorg last summer vacation.
• 8. These are the regular wears that are suitable for daily wear, while those are the party wears which are suitable for functions and parties.

Plural demonstrative pronoun examples with detailed explanations

We shall now identify the demonstrative pronoun used in each and every sentence and study each of them in detail.

1. These are the children from my neighborhood who come to me for tuitions.

The plural demonstrative pronoun in this sentence is ‘these’. ‘These’ is plural as it is referring to and replacing a plural noun ‘children’. The plural demonstrative pronoun ‘these’ here indicates to us that the children (noun it is referring to) are close to us in distance.

2. Those are the paint colors that we have chosen for our new home.

The demonstrative pronoun utilized in this sentence is ‘those’. ‘Those’ is a plural demonstrative pronoun as it is referring to and replacing a plural noun ‘paint colors’. The plural demonstrative pronoun ‘those’ here indicates to us that the paint colors are far away from us in distance.

3. The shops in this city are way more expensive than those in our city.

‘Those’ is the plural demonstrative pronoun utilized in the sentence above. ‘Those’ is plural because it is pointing out to and substituting the plural noun ‘shops’. The plural demonstrative pronoun ‘those’ here conveys to us that the shops are far away in distance.

4. These are my siblings who are pursuing engineering in America.

‘These’ is the plural demonstrative pronoun utilized in the above sentence. ‘These’ is plural because it is pointing out to and substituting the plural noun ‘siblings’. The plural demonstrative pronoun ‘these’ is used here as the siblings (noun it is replacing) are near and close in distance.

5. I love chocolate brownie and chocolate mousse. These are my all time favorite desserts.

The demonstrative pronoun utilized in this sentence is ‘these’. ‘These’ is a plural demonstrative pronoun because it is pointing out to and substituting two nouns (plural noun) ‘chocolate brownie’ and ‘chocolate mousse’. The plural demonstrative pronoun ‘these’ is utilized here as the chocolate brownie and chocolate mousse (nouns it is substituting) are near and close in distance.

6. Those are the old books of my grandfather that we found while cleaning the attic today.

The demonstrative pronoun utilized in the above sentence is ‘those’. ‘Those’ is a plural demonstrative pronoun because it is pointing out to and substituting the plural noun ‘books’ The plural demonstrative pronoun ‘those’ is utilized here to indicate that the books (the noun it is replacing and referring to) are far away from us.

7. These are the places we visited when we went on a tour to Mysore and Coorg last summer vacation.

‘These’ is the demonstrative pronoun used in this sentence. ‘These’ is a plural demonstrative pronoun because it is pointing out to and used in the place of a plural noun ‘places’. The plural demonstrative pronoun ‘these’ utilized here indicates to us that the places (noun it is replacing and pointing out) are nearby and close in distance.

8. These are the regular wears that are suitable for daily wear, while those are the party wears which are suitable for functions and parties.

‘These’ and ‘those’ are the demonstrative pronouns used in the above sentence. ‘These’ and ‘those’ are plural demonstrative pronouns because they are indicating and used in the place of plural nouns ‘regular wears’ and ‘party wears’ respectively. The plural demonstrative pronoun ‘these’ is used with the noun ‘regular wears’ as they are near in distance while the plural demonstrative pronoun ‘those’  is utilized with the noun ‘party wears’ as they are far away from us.

Conclusion

Thus from this article we came to know how, when and why demonstrative pronouns are used in a sentence. We understood why demonstrative pronouns are not to be confused with demonstrative adjectives. Though both may seem similar, demonstrative pronouns replace and refer to the nouns or noun phrases while demonstrative adjectives modify and describe nouns.