Demonstrative Pronouns (This / That / These / Those) – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Choose the best option (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
You have invited a friend to your room to show off the new things you just bought. Pay close attention to where the items are (in your hands, right next to you, or far away in the corner of the room) to choose the correct word.
1 Holding up a single new mug in your hand, you say: “Look! ______ is my new coffee mug.”
(A) It
(B) This
(C) That
(D) These
2 Pointing to a large poster on the far wall across the room, you ask: “Do you like ______ poster?”
(A) these
(B) the
(C) this
(D) that
3 Holding three new comic books in your lap, you smile: “I can’t wait to read ______ books.”
(A) those
(B) they
(C) these
(D) this
4 Pointing to some dusty boxes on top of the wardrobe in the corner: “______ boxes are full of my old clothes.”
(A) These
(B) They
(C) That
(D) Those
5 Showing off a brand new watch currently on your wrist: “Look! I got ______ watch for my birthday.”
(A) that
(B) this
(C) these
(D) it
6 Pointing to a small, colorful rug near the bedroom door far away: “I bought ______ rug online yesterday.”
(A) this
(B) that
(C) it
(D) those
7 Holding up a new pair of blue jeans in your hands: “What do you think of ______ jeans?”
(A) these
(B) them
(C) those
(D) this
8 Pointing to a cool new lamp on the desk across the room: “Can you turn on ______ lamp for me?”
(A) this
(B) those
(C) that
(D) a
9 Holding a handful of fancy chocolates right in front of your friend: “Do you want one of ______ chocolates?”
(A) these
(B) they
(C) this
(D) those
10 Sitting on your bed, you point to a new armchair resting in the far corner: “Sit over there. ______ chair is very comfortable.”
(A) These
(B) That
(C) This
(D) It
11 Showing a pair of shiny earrings resting in the palm of your hand: “I just bought ______ earrings today.”
(A) this
(B) these
(C) they
(D) those
12 Pointing to your expensive new sneakers left by the door on the other side of the room: “Be careful! Please don’t step on ______ sneakers!”
(A) them
(B) that
(C) those
(D) these
13 Holding a new video game controller in your hand: “Let’s play with ______ controller right now.”
(A) these
(B) it
(C) that
(D) this
14 Pointing to a big, tall plant standing next to the window across the room: “My mom gave me ______ plant yesterday.”
(A) those
(B) this
(C) that
(D) she
15 You hold up a new pair of shoes, then point to an ugly jacket in the corner: “I love ______ shoes I am holding, but I really hate ______ jacket in the corner.”
(A) this / that
(B) these / that
(C) those / this
(D) they / it
16 Touching the new sunglasses currently resting on your face: “I really love how ______ sunglasses look on me.”
(A) this
(B) that
(C) these
(D) they
17 Holding your new phone, you point to a wireless speaker across the room: “I will connect ______ phone to ______ speaker over there.”
(A) this / that
(B) that / this
(C) these / those
(D) this / those
18 Sitting on your bed, comparing your new pillows with the ones on the sofa far away: “______ pillows on my bed here are soft, but ______ pillows on the sofa over there are hard.”
(A) These / those
(B) Those / these
(C) This / that
(D) They / them
19 Holding a single new sock in your hand, looking around the room for the other one: “I have ______ sock here, but where is the other one?”
(A) those
(B) that
(C) these
(D) this
20 Pointing to two new backpacks sitting on a chair across the room, you say to your friend: “Which one do you like more? ______ backpacks are both brand new.”
(A) Those
(B) They
(C) These
(D) That
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) This
- Why it’s correct (The Key): You are holding a single item (mug) in your hand, so it is physically close. “This” is the correct singular demonstrative.
- Error Analysis: (A) “It” is a Common Mistake; learners often start sentences with “It is…” instead of using a demonstrative to point. (C) “That” is a Meaning Trap (used for things far away). (D) “These” is a Structural Error (plural demonstrative for a singular noun).
2 (D) that
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The poster is singular and located “on the far wall across the room” (distant).
- Error Analysis: (C) “this” is a Meaning Trap (wrong distance). (A) “these” is a Structural Error (plural). (B) “the” is a Common Mistake (while grammatically okay, it fails the communicative goal of “pointing” out a specific new item to a friend).
3 (C) these
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The books are plural and resting in your lap (close).
- Error Analysis: (A) “those” is a Meaning Trap (implies the books are far away). (D) “this” is a Structural Error (singular). (B) “they” is a Common Mistake (personal pronoun cannot be used as an adjective before a noun: “they books” is wrong).
4 (D) Those
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The boxes are plural and located far away (on top of the wardrobe in the corner).
- Error Analysis: (A) “These” is a Meaning Trap (wrong distance). (C) “That” is a Structural Error (singular). (B) “They” is a Common Mistake (“They boxes” is grammatically incorrect).
5 (B) this
- Why it’s correct (The Key): A watch is singular and currently on your wrist (very close).
- Error Analysis: (A) “that” is a Meaning Trap (wrong distance). (C) “these” is a Structural Error (plural). (D) “it” is a Common Mistake (cannot be used before a noun like “it watch”).
6 (B) that
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The rug is singular and located “near the bedroom door far away”.
- Error Analysis: (A) “this” is a Meaning Trap (wrong distance). (D) “those” is a Structural Error (plural). (C) “it” is a Common Mistake (“it rug” is incorrect).
7 (A) these
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “Jeans” is a plural noun in English, and they are in your hands (close).
- Error Analysis: (C) “those” is a Meaning Trap (wrong distance). (D) “this” is a Structural Error (many learners forget “jeans” takes a plural demonstrative). (B) “them” is a Common Mistake (using an object pronoun instead of a demonstrative adjective: “them jeans” is incorrect slang).
8 (C) that
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The lamp is singular and “across the room” (distant).
- Error Analysis: (A) “this” is a Meaning Trap (wrong distance). (B) “those” is a Structural Error (plural). (D) “a” is a Common Mistake (fails to point out the specific lamp you want them to look at).
9 (A) these
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Chocolates are plural and right in front of the friend (close).
- Error Analysis: (D) “those” is a Meaning Trap (wrong distance). (C) “this” is a Structural Error (singular). (B) “they” is a Common Mistake (“they chocolates” is wrong).
10 (B) That
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The chair is singular and in the “far corner”.
- Error Analysis: (C) “This” is a Meaning Trap (wrong distance). (A) “These” is a Structural Error (plural). (D) “It” is a Common Mistake (cannot say “It chair”).
11 (B) these
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Earrings are plural and resting in the “palm of your hand” (close).
- Error Analysis: (D) “those” is a Meaning Trap. (A) “this” is a Structural Error. (C) “they” is a Common Mistake.
12 (C) those
- Why it’s correct (The Key): Sneakers are plural and located “on the other side of the room” (far).
- Error Analysis: (D) “these” is a Meaning Trap. (B) “that” is a Structural Error. (A) “them” is a Common Mistake (“them sneakers”).
13 (D) this
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The controller is singular and in your hand (close).
- Error Analysis: (C) “that” is a Meaning Trap. (A) “these” is a Structural Error. (B) “it” is a Common Mistake.
14 (C) that
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The plant is singular and “across the room” (far).
- Error Analysis: (B) “this” is a Meaning Trap. (A) “those” is a Structural Error. (D) “she” is a Common Mistake (using personal pronouns for objects).
15 (B) these / that
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “Shoes” are plural and in hand (these). “Jacket” is singular and in the corner (that).
- Error Analysis: (C) “those / this” is a Meaning Trap (reverses the near/far logic completely). (A) “this / that” is a Structural Error (“this shoes” is wrong). (D) “they / it” is a Common Mistake (pronouns instead of demonstratives).
16 (C) these
- Why it’s correct (The Key): “Sunglasses” is always a plural noun, and they are on your face (extremely close).
- Error Analysis: (B) “that” is a Meaning Trap. (A) “this” is a Structural Error (learners often think one pair = singular “this”, which is a huge trap). (D) “they” is a Common Mistake.
17 (A) this / that
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The phone is singular and in hand (this). The speaker is singular and across the room (that).
- Error Analysis: (B) “that / this” is a Meaning Trap (reverses distance). (D) “this / those” is a Structural Error (“those speaker” is wrong). (C) “these / those” is also a Structural Error.
18 (A) These / those
- Why it’s correct (The Key): First set of pillows is plural and on the bed here (These). Second set of pillows is plural and on the sofa over there (those).
- Error Analysis: (B) “Those / these” is a Meaning Trap (reverses the distance). (C) “This / that” is a Structural Error (singular for plural nouns). (D) “They / them” is a Common Mistake.
19 (D) this
- Why it’s correct (The Key): You are holding a single sock (singular, close).
- Error Analysis: (B) “that” is a Meaning Trap. (C) “these” is a Structural Error. (A) “those” is a Structural Error and Meaning Trap.
20 (A) Those
- Why it’s correct (The Key): The backpacks are plural and sitting “across the room” (far).
- Error Analysis: (C) “These” is a Meaning Trap. (D) “That” is a Structural Error. (B) “They” is a Common Mistake (“They backpacks” is invalid grammar).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Distance is Everything: * Use This / These for things you are touching, holding, or wearing right now (Near).
- Use That / Those for things you have to point at across the room or in the corner (Far).
- Quantity Matters:
- Singular (1 item): This / That (e.g., This mug, That lamp).
- Plural (2+ items): These / Those (e.g., These books, Those boxes).
- Tricky Nouns: In English, items with two parts like jeans, pants, shoes, sneakers, glasses, sunglasses, earrings are always plural. Even if you are holding just one pair, you MUST use These (if close) or Those (if far). You cannot say “This jeans”.
- Grammar Rule: Do not use personal pronouns like it, they, them directly before a noun to point something out. Say “These shoes” NOT “They shoes”.