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I was wondering if all of the below are correct:

  1. That is the hat of that man.
  2. That is that man's hat.
  3. That hat is that of that man.
  4. That hat is the hat of that man.

And same with the word "those":

  1. Those are the books of those girls.
  2. Those are those girls' books.
  3. Those books are those of those girls.
  4. Those books are the books of those girls.

Can we say: That car is that that hit me yesterday?

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  • While not wrong grammatically, an English speaker would be very unlikely to use 1,3, or 4 of either groups of sentences. More likely "That hat belongs to him" and "Those books belong to those girls."
    – MaxW
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 16:00
  • We normally use that which when defining something in very general, encompassing terms: Food is that which is eaten for nourishment. And when specifying a particular object as predicate complement to that, we use the one. That's the one (I'm talking about). That one is that man's hat.
    – TimR
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 16:10
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    Standard usage is: That's that man's hat. [long form: That is the hat of that man/somewhat awkward, not usual in speech]//Those are the girls' books [long form: those are the books of the girls]. Everybody in English uses the genitive form. You have to practice it.
    – Lambie
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 16:24
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    By the way, in your explanation, you say: And same with those. You mean: [And I was wondering if it is] the same with these. This and that refer to real things, but they also refer to speech: That's interesting. [What you are saying is interesting].
    – Lambie
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 16:27

2 Answers 2

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Those are all correct statements, though most would not be used normally.

Can we say: That car is that that hit me yesterday?

You could say that but it's a bit awkward. You'd most likely see that sort of phrasing in a tongue-twister or poem. In normal speech or writing, you'd more likely say

That's the car that hit me yesterday.

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  • 3
    You'd say ' That car is the one that hit me yesterday'
    – Chris M
    Commented Mar 6, 2017 at 16:04
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#1 and #2 are good. #3 is not good, it could be rephrased "That hat is that man's". #4 is possible but a little awkward, it can be rephrased "That hat belongs to that man"

Similar for the sentences with "those"

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