Grammar in focus
The four words
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| Near (here) | this book | these books |
| Far (there) | that book | those books |
Use
- Point to things or people: This is my pen. Those are my friends over there.
- With a noun: these flowers, that house.
- Alone (pronoun): What's that? Are these yours?
Other uses
- Introductions and phone: This is Anna. (Hello, this is Pedro.) · Who is that?
- Time: this evening (today) · these days (nowadays) · those days (in the past).
Watch out
- The word must agree with the noun:
this books→ these books;those boy→ that boy. - that is → that's; this is is not contracted.
En español
This / these = este, esta, estos, estas (cerca). That / those = ese, aquel… (lejos). This / that con singular, these / those con plural.
US vs UK
This book teaches American English. These are the differences you will notice with British English on this topic.
🇺🇸 USThis is Mike. / Is this Ana? (phone)
🇬🇧 UKIs that Ana? (phone)
On the phone Americans ask Is this...?; British speakers often say Is that...?
Al teléfono en EE. UU. se dice Is this...?; en Reino Unido Is that...?
🇺🇸 USThese pants are new.
🇬🇧 UKThese trousers are new.
Pants (US) = trousers (UK), always plural with these/those.
Pants (EE. UU.) = trousers (Reino Unido), siempre plural con these/those.
🇺🇸 USThat's awesome!
🇬🇧 UKThat's brilliant!
Same demonstrative; different everyday adjectives.
Mismo demostrativo; distintos adjetivos coloquiales.
Exam practice
- Five parts, like a certification exam: multiple choice, open cloze, error identification, sentence transformation and US vs UK.
- Typed answers accept American spelling and contractions (don't = do not).
- Every item has feedback in English and Spanish. Items and options change order on every attempt.
- Only Exam mode saves your score to your progress. You pass with 70%.
Practice mode
No timer. Check each part as you go and read the feedback.
Exam mode
25 minutes. Feedback at the end. Your best score is saved.