This, That, These, Those: Reference and Agreement

Quick Answer

Use this or that with a singular count noun or an uncountable noun. Use these or those with a plural noun. Then choose the reference frame: this/these most commonly present something as close, current, or in focus; that/those most commonly present it as farther away, less immediate, shared, or already mentioned.

Run two different tests

Number test: one or uncountable versus plural. Reference test: how is the speaker positioning the thing, time, or idea? The first test can make a form ungrammatical. The second often selects among grammatical alternatives.

The Number Rule and the Reference Choice

Form	Number	Common reference	Controlled example
this	Singular or uncountable	Close, current, introduced, or foregrounded	This report is open; this information is current.
that	Singular or uncountable	Farther, shared, previously mentioned, or distanced	That report on your screen is final.
these	Plural	Close, current, or foregrounded	These rows are selected.
those	Plural	Farther, shared, previously mentioned, or distanced	Those rows in the archive are locked.

Cambridge Grammar directly states the singular/plural pattern and describes closeness and distance as the most common uses. It also documents less literal uses involving time, emotional distance, shared knowledge, new information, and previous ideas. That evidence does not support a universal rule that the physically nearest object must take this.

Determiner Before a Noun, Pronoun on Its Own

Demonstrative determiner

Before a noun:

Please approve this request and archive those attachments.

The demonstrative specifies which request or attachments the noun phrase refers to. The noun controls the number choice.

Demonstrative pronoun

Standing alone:

This is approved, but those are still pending.

No noun follows the demonstrative. The reader must recover the referent from the situation or surrounding text, and the verb still agrees with singular this/that or plural these/those.

Cambridge classifies all four forms as both determiners and pronouns. This role distinction is separate from relative that in the report that changed and conjunction that in we know that it changed.

Five Reference Frames Beyond a Near-or-Far Diagram

1. Physical arrangement

Speaker-oriented:

Compare this sample beside me with that sample beside you.

This commonly points near the speaker; that can point farther from the speaker and even closer to the listener.

2. Time

Current period:

We are revising the policy this week.

Recalled period:

That summer, the office moved twice.

Cambridge records this with a current or coming time period. A remembered period can be framed with that, but tense alone does not mechanically choose the form: this morning can describe an earlier part of today.

3. Previous text and next focus

Foregrounding:

The audit found three missing signatures. This requires a new approval round.

Back-reference:

The vendor promised a same-day repair. That did not happen.

Both pronouns refer to earlier material. Cambridge notes that this can highlight a point that will drive the following discussion, while that can create more distance or refer to another person's idea.

4. Shared knowledge and story introduction

Shared:

Do you remember that café near the station?

New story item:

Then this courier arrived with an unsigned parcel.

The forms can manage what the speaker treats as shared, important, or newly introduced, even when no visible object is being pointed at.

5. Stance and emotional distance

Framing:

I value these careful revisions; I am not defending those unsupported claims.

Cambridge documents positive association with this/these and distancing with that/those as possible uses. This is a discourse option, not a claim that every occurrence reveals emotion.

Five Repairs: Fix Agreement Without Inventing Distance

Mismatch:

I really like this red shoes in the window.

Near/current reading:

I really like these red shoes in the window.

Farther/contrasting reading:

I really like those red shoes in the window.

Shoes requires a plural demonstrative. The scene, gesture, or contrast decides between the two grammatical revisions.

Mismatch:

These report is ready.

Singular:

This report is ready.

Plural:

These reports are ready.

Repair the noun phrase and the verb together; do not change only one word.

Mismatch:

Those information is outdated.

Uncountable noun:

That information is outdated.

Information is uncountable in this use, so it takes singular this or that, not plural these or those.

Mismatch:

We reject these kind of shortcuts.

One kind:

We reject this kind of shortcut.

Several kinds:

We reject these kinds of shortcuts.

Cambridge specifically recommends plural kinds after these. Match the demonstrative to kind/kinds, not only to the noun after of.

Mismatch:

Those is the final figures.

Plural pronoun:

Those are the final figures.

When the demonstrative itself is the subject, plural these/those takes a plural verb.

Boundary Cases That a Two-Question Trick Misses

Sentence	Decision	Boundary
Could you close that window beside you?	Valid	The window may be physically near the listener but farther from the speaker.
I sent the form this morning.	Valid	A current-day phrase can refer to completed past time.
The error rate fell. This changed our forecast.	Valid	This foregrounds a whole preceding statement.
The supplier denied the defect. That was its position.	Valid	That refers back to another party's idea.
The output of version 2 exceeds that of version 1.	Valid formal substitution	That substitutes for the singular noun output; it is not spatial.

Test Number and Reference Separately

1. The speaker is pointing to several selected rows: “Review ___ rows first.”

2. Complete the uncountable noun phrase: “___ evidence is incomplete.”

3. Red shoes are plural. Without a scene, which repair may be grammatical: these shoes or those shoes?

4. Choose the plural phrase.

5. Complete both clauses: “___ is final; those ___ drafts.”

Live Check: A Demonstrative Mismatch the Engine Missed

On July 16, 2026, Grammarlyzer returned no issues for the exact number mismatch below. The old page incorrectly claimed that the engine caught it.

Exact tested seed:

Manual revisions: these red shoes or those red shoes, depending on context.

In the same Chromium session, both grammatical revisions returned no issues. Six further probes also returned no issues: This books are expensive, These book is expensive, That reports is incomplete, Those report is incomplete, Those reports is incomplete, and the valid This information is current. These scoped tests show that this page cannot rely on the checker to enforce demonstrative number or contextual reference.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the basic difference among this, that, these, and those?

This and that are singular; these and those are plural. This and these most commonly present a referent as close or current, while that and those most commonly present it as farther away, less immediate, shared, or already mentioned. The second contrast depends on context, not physical distance alone.

Are this, that, these, and those determiners or pronouns?

They can serve both roles. They are determiners before nouns, as in this report and those figures. They are pronouns when they stand without a following noun, as in This is final and Those are outdated.

Can this and that refer to ideas rather than visible objects?

Yes. This can highlight a previous statement as the next focus, while that can refer back to an idea or another person's position. Demonstrative reference also works across time, shared knowledge, stories, and emotional stance.

Should I write this kind or these kinds?

Use this kind for one kind and these kinds for more than one kind. Cambridge's countability guidance specifically recommends the plural kinds after these, all, and many.

Did Grammarlyzer catch the demonstrative mismatches tested on this page?

No. On July 16, 2026, the exact seed I really like this red shoes in the window returned no issues. The grammatical revisions with these and those also returned no issues, as did six additional number and agreement probes. Use the checker as a second view, not as proof that a demonstrative matches its noun or context.

What the Direct Sources Support

Cambridge Grammar: this, that, these, those — number, determiner and pronoun roles, physical and emotional distance, time, shared knowledge, story introduction, and formal substitution.
Cambridge Grammar: determiner number choice — this/that before a singular noun and these/those before a plural noun.
Cambridge Grammar: it, this, and that in paragraphs — continuing a topic, foregrounding a previous statement, and distancing from another position.
Cambridge Grammar: kind or kinds — plural kinds after these, all, and many.

The sources support common reference tendencies, not a claim that physical distance mechanically decides every choice. The page therefore removes the old unsupported memory trick, etymology, universal near/far instructions, error-frequency claim, and product-success promise.

A Five-Step Demonstrative Audit

Find the head noun. Identify the noun controlled by the demonstrative, not a later noun after of.
Match number. Use this/that for singular or uncountable reference and these/those for plural reference.
Match the verb. If the demonstrative is the subject, keep singular is or plural are consistent.
Name the reference frame. Is the contrast physical, temporal, textual, shared, newly introduced, or attitudinal?
Restore missing context. Add a noun, location phrase, time phrase, pointing cue, or previous sentence when a reader cannot identify the referent.

What This Page Adds to the Noun-and-Agreement Cluster

What is a noun? identifies noun roles and proper/common distinctions; countable vs uncountable nouns decides whether a noun can be counted; and subject-verb agreement handles broader subject patterns. This page performs the narrower demonstrative decision after those properties are known.

Its independent value is the second layer: selecting a speaker-relative reference frame across space, time, paragraphs, shared knowledge, stories, formal substitution, and stance. The neighboring guides do not decide between two number-compatible forms such as these reports and those reports.

Make the Reference Visible

Use the checker for a second view, then apply the five-step audit yourself. If both these and those are grammatically possible, add enough context for the reader to see the intended frame.

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