This refers to something near you or happening now; that refers to something further away from you or already in the past. Before a plural noun, this changes to these and that changes to those. So every time you point to something, English makes you choose: near or far, now or then.
this or that — can you pick the right one?
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this/that + singular noun; these/those + plural noun; this week, these days (now); that day, in those days (past); That's great! (reply)
- This coffee is much better than the one we had at that café yesterday.
- Could you pass me those folders on the top shelf? I need to file these reports.
- — I've finished the presentation. — That's great, thanks for staying late.
What changed
First versionWho are this people in the photo on your desk?
RevisionWho are these people in the photo on your desk?
People is plural, so you need these: this person, but these people. The two words differ only in the vowel and the final sound, and in fast speech the difference is easy to miss. That's why this often stays where these is needed.
To react to something the other person has just said, English speakers usually use that: — I've got the job! — That's fantastic! This is used when you introduce someone or say who you are on the phone: This is my colleague Anna; Hi, this is Mark from the bank.
Your turn
When I was a student, I shared a flat with four friends. In ___ days we cooked dinner together every evening.
Show the answer
those — The sentence is about student years, a past that is now far away, so the answer is in those days, meaning “at that time”. These days means “nowadays” and doesn't go with the past forms shared and cooked.
Imagine you are showing a friend a photo from a trip. Say who or what is in the foreground, using this or these, and what can be seen in the distance, using that or those.
This is me outside our hotel, and those mountains in the distance are the Alps.
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