Demonstrative Determiners

You're firing off a quick Slack message to a colleague: "Can you check this documents before I send them over?" Hit send. A minute later, a polite green tick and a reply: "Sure — small thing, these documents." Mild internal wince.

Or you're proofreading your own CV [US: resume] and spot, tucked under Portfolio, "this scripts are available on request." You wince again, slightly harder.

Let's be honest — this, that, these, and those trip up sharp, capable adults all the time, not because the grammar is genuinely difficult, but because the pointing system is small enough to steamroller past when you're busy, tired, or typing at speed. Nobody's born knowing this stuff. And the good news is that the whole system rests on one simple grid, which — once it clicks — you'll never have to think about again.

Before you read on, here's where we're heading. By the end of this article, you'll be able to: - Tell demonstrative determiners (this report) apart from demonstrative pronouns (this is urgent). - Choose correctly between this, that, these, those for near/far and singular/plural. - Spot and fix common errors — this issues, those information — before they land in an email. - Use demonstratives deliberately to sound sharper and more controlled in reports, emails, and applications.

Beginner (Foundation)

We'll start with the plain mechanics, no jargon needed beyond two words.

A determiner is a word that sits before a noun to specify which one, or how many — words like the, my, some, and these all belong to this family. Demonstrative simply means "pointing out." Put them together and a demonstrative determiner is a little pointing finger attached to a noun: this report, those emails.

There are exactly four:

• this
• that
• these
• those

Two questions decide which one you need:

1. Is it near you or far from you?
2. Is there one thing or more than one?

That gives you a simple grid:

• Near + one = this → "This invoice is overdue." (in my hand, right now)
• Far + one = that → "That invoice from April is still unpaid." (thinking back)
• Near + more than one = these → "These invoices are urgent." (on my desk now)
• Far + more than one = those → "We can't afford those invoices again." (previous ones)

Notice that in every case, the demonstrative sits directly in front of the noun it's pointing at.

Determiner vs pronoun

The same four words also work as demonstrative pronouns, standing completely alone with no noun following:

• Determiner: "Can you file those documents?"
• Pronoun: "Can you file those?"

Determiner = attached to a noun. Pronoun = standing on its own. This article deals with the determiner side of things; the pronoun side gets its full, proper treatment in H2.1 — Demonstrative Pronouns, well worth reading if vague "this" and "that" are a habit you want to break in your own writing.

Common Mistake: Thinking of this/that/these/those as plain adjectives. In modern grammar they're determiners — their job is to mark which noun you mean, not to describe it.

Quick recap: - Demonstrative determiners are this, that, these, those, used directly before a noun. - This/these = near (in space, time, or focus); that/those = far. - This/that = singular; these/those = plural. - Without a following noun, the same words act as demonstrative pronouns (see H2.1).

Intermediate (Development)

Now for the part that actually matters in day-to-day writing: agreement, and where "near/far" stretches beyond the literal.

The rule that catches even careful writers

The demonstrative must agree in number with the noun that follows it. Obvious once you say it aloud — and yet astonishingly easy to miss when you're rushing an email before a meeting.

• ✅ this report / ❌ this reports
• ✅ these reports / ❌ these report
• ✅ that concern / ❌ that concerns
• ✅ those concerns / ❌ those concern

So the Slack message at the start of this article needed "these documents" — documents is plural, so the determiner has to be too.

There's one genuine trap here worth knowing about: uncountable nouns. Words like news, information, advice, feedback, and equipment feel plural — there's usually more than one bit of it — but grammatically they're singular:

• ✅ "This feedback is really useful." (not these feedback)
• ✅ "That information was outdated." (not those information)

So "This scripts are available on request" on that CV needed "These scripts" — scripts is countable and plural. But if the line had read "This information is available on request," it would have been correct as it stood, because information stays singular no matter how much of it there is. For the fuller picture of countable vs uncountable nouns and plural forms generally, H1.3 (plural agreement) covers it properly; this article just flags the trap because demonstratives are exactly where it tends to surface first.

Near and far beyond the literal

"Near" and "far" aren't only about physical distance across a room. They organise:

Time: - "This quarter has been rough." (the one we're in) - "That quarter was rough, if you remember." (a past one)

A document or screen: - "In this section, we outline the main risks." (the section you're in) - "In that chapter, the author explains the method." (a different part)

Conversation: - "So, about that job offer…" (something mentioned earlier) - "Listen to this idea." (something about to be explained)

Think of this/these as bringing something close to the current focus, and that/those as pushing it slightly away.

Making emails and reports clearer

Demonstratives are excellent for keeping professional writing tight, because they let you refer back without repeating yourself.

Compare:

• "I've attached the document. The document explains our plan." (clunky)
• "I've attached the document. That document explains our plan." (clean, clear link)

Or: "I have several concerns. These concerns relate to the schedule and the budget." — tells the reader exactly which concerns you mean, without restating them.

Pro-Tip: In reports and proposals, phrases like "these results suggest…", "this evidence supports…", and "those figures indicate…" signpost your thinking and read as noticeably more professional than a vague, floating claim.

Demonstratives with adjectives and numbers

You can stack quantity and description between the demonstrative and the noun:

• "Those three late payments caused a problem."
• "This long, complicated form needs redrafting."

The pattern holds: demonstrative → number/quantity → adjectives → noun. Strip the extras away and check the actual noun — that's what decides your determiner.

Common Mistake: "These recommendations from the committee was very detailed." Recommendations is plural, so the verb has to agree too: "These recommendations ... were very detailed." The demonstrative, the noun, and the verb travel together.

Quick recap: - Match singular nouns with this/that, plurals with these/those — check H1.3 for the fuller rules on plurals. - Uncountable nouns (information, advice, feedback, news) always stay singular: this information, never these information. - "Near" and "far" can mean time, section of a document, or conversation, not just physical distance. - Demonstratives sharpen emails and reports by pointing back to something specific rather than repeating it.

Advanced (Mastery)

Once the basic choices are automatic, demonstratives become a genuinely useful tool for tone, argument, and register — the kind of thing that separates competent writing from writing that actually persuades.

Emotional distance and stance

We don't only use this/that to mark distance in space or time; they signal how close we feel to something, and whether we're aligning with it or pushing it away.

• "I'm tired of this situation." — immediate, pressing, personal.
• "I'm tired of that situation." — a little detached; can sound more dismissive.
• "We can't have this kind of behaviour in the office." — happening now, we're in the middle of it.
• "We can't have that kind of behaviour in the office." — more general, perhaps referring to something reported rather than witnessed.

Writers use this on purpose in persuasive prose:

• "This policy fails to protect tenants." (the one I clearly oppose, kept close and specific)
• "Those comments are not acceptable." (distanced, disapproved of)

This/these vs that/those in analysis

In analytical writing, this/these typically point to your own developing argument:

• "This argument assumes that all users have internet access."
• "These findings support the initial hypothesis."

That/those often point to positions you're distancing yourself from, or challenging:

• "However, that argument ignores recent data."
• "Unlike those studies, the present research includes younger participants."

The words are tiny, but they quietly tell your reader what you're aligning with and what you're pushing against.

The trap of vague "this"

The single most common demonstrative weakness in professional writing is the vague "this" — a standalone this or that with no clear noun and no obvious antecedent:

• "Sales dropped eleven percent, three regional managers left within a month, and our biggest client delayed their renewal. This is what the board needs to see first."

What exactly is "this" — the drop, the departures, the delay, all three together? Name it:

• "This combination of setbacks is what the board needs to see first."
• "These trends are what the board needs to see first."

Strictly, a floating "this" with nothing after it is acting as a pronoun rather than a determiner — which is why the fuller toolkit for fixing vague reference lives in H2.1. But the fix, in practice, is often to turn a bare pronoun back into a determiner by giving it a noun. It's one of the highest-value edits you can make to your own writing.

A note on register

In speech, "this one," "that one," "these ones," "those ones" are entirely natural — "I like this one, not those ones" raises no eyebrows in a meeting. In formal written English — a report, a cover letter, a policy document — "these ones" and "those ones" read as slightly loose, because the plural is already built into these and those; "ones" adds nothing. Cleaner: "I'll take these," not "I'll take these ones." Nobody will fail you for it, but it's the kind of small polish that makes formal writing feel tighter.

As determiners proper — this result, those studies, these figures — the words are perfectly at home in the most formal writing you'll ever produce.

Pro-Tip: On a final pass of any important email or report, search for every this/that/these/those. For each one, ask: does it agree in number with its noun? And if there's no noun at all, can you answer "this what?" in three words? If not, add one. Fifteen seconds of this sweep catches most of the roughness in a first draft.

Common Mistake: Opening sentence after sentence with a bare "This shows…" or "This means…" with nothing to anchor it. Stronger: "This evidence shows…", "This pattern means…", "This result proves…"

Quick recap: - Demonstratives signal emotional distance and stance, not just physical distance — this reads closer and warmer, that cooler and more detached. - In analytical writing, this/these often mark your own argument; that/those can mark positions you're challenging. - Vague, unanchored "this" is the most common demonstrative weakness in professional writing — name the noun to fix it. - "These ones"/"those ones" are fine in speech but read as loose in formal writing; drop "ones."

UK vs US Note

The system itself — this, that, these, those, and the near/far × singular/plural grid — is identical in UK and US English. The words never change spelling or usage on either side of the Atlantic.

The only differences you'll meet in this library sit in the surrounding vocabulary of the examples, not in the grammar itself: full stop [US: period], colour [US: color], organisation [US: organization], CV [US: resume]. Use the grid with equal confidence whichever variety you're writing in.

Key Takeaways

• This, that, these, those are demonstrative determiners when they sit in front of a noun.
• Match number carefully: singular nouns take this/that, plural nouns take these/those — and uncountable nouns (information, advice, feedback) always stay singular.
• Use this/these for things that feel near (in space, time, or focus); that/those for things that feel further away.
• A standalone "this" with no clear noun is the biggest demonstrative weakness in professional writing — name what "this" refers to.
• The same words act as demonstrative pronouns when standing alone (see H2.1), and plural agreement more generally is covered in H1.3.

Check Your Understanding

1. Choose the correct demonstrative determiner. a) "Could you file ___ invoices by Friday?" (a stack right on your desk) b) "I still remember ___ interview I had in 2015." (thinking back, one) c) "___ points you've raised are very helpful." (several points a colleague just made) d) "He keeps making ___ same mistake in every report."

2. Correct the sentences. a) This problems keep happening every month. b) Those feedback was very encouraging. c) I'll deal with these email later.

3. Make the reference clearer by adding a specific noun. a) "Customers are cancelling more often. This is worrying." b) "The figures don't match the earlier version. That is confusing."

4. Which option sounds more emotionally distant, and why? a1) "I'm really frustrated with this situation." a2) "I'm really frustrated with that situation." b1) "We can't keep this behaviour going." b2) "We can't keep that behaviour going."

5. Determiner or pronoun? a) "These reports need checking." b) "That was not what we agreed." c) "I don't understand those figures." d) "This is why we need a new system."

Internal Links

• H5.1 — Determiners: The Basics (the wider category demonstratives belong to)
• H2.1 — Demonstrative Pronouns: This, That, These, Those (when these words stand alone)
• H1.3 — Plural Agreement (matching singular/plural nouns and verbs correctly)