Demonstrative Pronouns
Essential Question
How can we refer to something close to us or far away from us in our sentences?
Grammar in the World
If I asked you to look around your room and show me your favorite pair of shoes, you might open your closet, point to your favorite part of Nikes, and say, “These are my favorite shoes.”
If I asked you why you liked going to the park after school, you might say, “That is where I go to play basketball with my friends.”
There are special words that help us point to something specific in a sentence that indicates time or space, and that is what we will be learning about in this section.
What Do I Know?
What do you already know about demonstrative pronouns? Take this quiz to find out.
Building Blocks
Grammar is a complex system and structure of language. Mizzou Academy Grammar Lab spotlights one skill (or block) at a time. It is also helpful to see how each skill works together with other, related blocks to build the language structure as a whole. You may find the following resource topics helpful as context for this lesson:
Learn About Demonstrative Pronouns
There is a good chance you may not know how to define what a Demonstrative Pronoun is. However, there is a really great clue within the word: demonstrate. It would be a very good guess if you thought that, perhaps, demonstrative pronouns demonstrated something. In fact, demonstrative pronouns demonstrate that something exists and point to objects or people.
The singular demonstrative pronouns are this and that.
| This | That |
|
You use the demonstrative pronoun “this” when you are referring to objects that are close by: This is my favorite sweater. |
You use the demonstrative pronoun “that” when you are referring to objects that are far away. That is my favorite museum. |
The plural demonstrative pronouns are these and those.
| These | Those |
|
You use the demonstrative pronoun “these” when you are referring to objects that are close by: These are delicious cookies. |
You use the demonstrative pronoun “those” when you are referring to objects that are far away: Those look like prettier flowers than mine. |
Do I Get It?
Look at the following chart. Then, choose the best demonstrative pronouns to complete each sentence in the quiz.
|
Demonstrative Pronouns |
||
|
Close to Speaker |
Far Away from Speaker |
|
|
Singular |
This This is a beautiful day. |
That That was such a fun vacation. |
|
Plural |
These These cats keep hopping onto my lap. |
Those Those dogs keep jumping the fence. |