Questions tagged [demonstrative]
Words that indicate which entities the speaker refers to and distinguish those entities from others.
32
questions
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this one of her uncles
I and a friend of mine are looking at a photo of a group of people, three of whom are our friend Janet's uncles.
I say: Janet's uncle looks unwell.
My friend says: No, he doesn't.
I realize that my ...
2
votes
5
answers
840
views
this batch of honey
Let's say we have a number of batches of honey, each batch consisting of a number of containers). Two of the batches belong to John. One of those two batches is expensive and the other one isn't.
...
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noun + that + prepositional phrase
The rap song "Shook Ones, Part II" by the group "Mobb Deep":
Living the life that of diamonds and guns
There's numerous ways you can choose to earn funds
Am I right that "that&...
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vote
2
answers
78
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"I will try to survive till that"
I will try to survive till that.
My teacher (native) told me the THAT is not OK - and I have to find the good solution - this site is allowed.
Possibly I would formulate on the following way, but I'm ...
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2
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567
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What's the difference between using 'the' or 'these' in the following sentence?
These apples are red.
The apples are red.
I think in the second sentence the meaning is that all apples are red, am I right?
Also, using 'the' in this example is grammatically correct?
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1
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66
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"Don't do it!" or "Don't do that!" [duplicate]
Assuming you're parents that see your young son doing something you don't like, and you want to avoid him to do it. What's of these following ways more natural?
Don't do it!
or
Don't do that!
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0
answers
65
views
Why "either' is not a Demonstrative pronoun while "neither" can be one?
Why "either' is not a Demonstrative pronoun while "neither" can be one?
I found it from this source that "neither" can be a demonstrative pronoun.
So I am curious why "either" can't be?
https://www....
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2
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58
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"this unusual instrument" with plural antecedents
The singular noun phrase "this unusual instrument" in the following refers to plural antecedents "them" and "glass harps." Is this practice acceptable in a school essay?
Glass harps haven’t ...
1
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1
answer
287
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in which (year) and in which (city)
Are "year" and "city" optional in the following?
John returned to London in 2010, in which (year) he married Joanne.
John returned to London, in which (city) he married Joanne.
I'd ...
2
votes
1
answer
603
views
Why "have this habit of" instead of "have a habit of"?
If someone's rambling on, I have this habit of saying 'And your point is?'.
I have this habit of talking to myself.
I have this habit of not being able to control my facial expressions when ...
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answer
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Which one would you choose? "This book" VS "That book" / "These topics" VS "Those topics"
I am aware of the difference between
This and that
These and those
It's easy for me to distinguish which one to use when I talk to someone but I am having a trouble with choosing the right one in ...
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1
answer
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"These" or "Those" in an essay?
I'm confused with whether I should use "these" or "those" in the context of writing a paper or report in the specific example below. I don't know how I can do it differently:
1) To detect abnormal ...
0
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2
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107
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What's the function of "that" in the following sentence?
Notice, that with this meaning, the word is an uncountable noun, so you can only say youth, not youths. (BBC)
Does "that" indicate that the whole part afterwards is the objective clause of the verb "...
26
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2
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it VS. this Vs. that
Iv'e never understood what is the difference between the subject pronoun "it" and the demonstratives "this" and "that".
To be precise, I understand well the difference between those two ...
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1
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149
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What is the structural (positive or negative) answer for "Is this a courgette"?
I know that when answering on an question with a structure of interrogative structure, then there is a short structural answer which based on the tense or the lexical verb that the questioner asked. ...
1
vote
1
answer
508
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Demonstrative vs Personal Pronoun, "This is John" vs "I am John"
Why people introduce themselves on phone by saying "This is John" instead of "I am John"? Which one of "this" and "I" or "he/she" is preferable in different circumstances?
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2
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This or That person
Today I heard a speaker use the phrase "this person", referring to the subject-person of the story they were telling, and I heard it as (that person). Between the words “this” or “that” in context ...
12
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5
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"The" vs "that"
I understand that "the" and "that" are both used to refer to a specific subject or object. But are there general rules of thumb to explain when we should use "the" and when we should use "that"?
...
2
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1
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66
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Can we use "that", "those", in a derogative way
Do you have examples of uses of "that" "those", etc... in a derogative way.
6
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1
answer
150
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But not everyone realizes that fact. Vs But not everyone realizes this fact
Small churches aren’t just smaller versions of big churches. They have
unique gifts, challenges and methods of operation.
But not everyone realizes that fact. Including some small church
...
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9
answers
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Is "this is questions" ever grammatical?
I know for a fact that you can use plural nouns after "there's", which is an existential construction. I encountered a post on Stack Overflow today which went like this:
. . . this is questions.
...
33
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6
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"One of THOSE days" vs "one of THESE days"
I don't know exactly when we'll go but we really must visit them one
of these / one of those days.
When should we use "one of these days" and "one of those days"?
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2
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8k
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What differences are between "What's that?" and "What is it?"
What do you imagine when you hear
"What's that?"
vs.
"What is it?"
6
votes
2
answers
562
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Is 'we saw that when S+V, at the same time that S+V' grammatically correct?
We saw that when Chinese warships turned up off the coast of Alaska,
within U.S. territorial waters, at the same time that President Obama
was on the ground here.
quoted from CNN student news ...
2
votes
1
answer
116
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Meaning of "I was mad that one year" in a birthday message by Will Smith
I have just read a great post by Will Smith containing that sentence (I was mad that one year) but I do not understand its meaning. Is "That One" similar to "that first"?
This was ...
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2
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"Benzodiazepines can impair that experience by.." - could we say "this experience"?
From a news report on Science Daily:
"Evidence-based trauma-focused psychotherapies require that patients experience and then master anxiety," Dr. Guina and colleagues write. "Benzodiazepines can ...
1
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1
answer
439
views
In this sentence, "for one night" vs "for that night"?
Here's a sentence written in my textbook.
The food was delicious and the service was briliant, but making my wife the center of attention for one night was the most important 'thing' of all.
It ...
2
votes
1
answer
410
views
There's "this" boy/girl/guy
Is the phrase "there's this + noun" as in "There's this girl I met yesterday ..." a discourse marker?
If not, what is it considered to be in grammar terminology?
3
votes
1
answer
519
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The most exciting project this/that year was
Suppose we have a list of paragraphs, each describing a company's achievements in a particular year, and in one of these we find:
2009: The most exciting project this year was the construction of a ...
1
vote
2
answers
930
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Demonstratives and abstract nouns
When referring to abstract noun how should I use demonstratives? Abstract nouns do not have a distance from the speaker. For example when should I say "this story/concept/word/name" and when I should ...
2
votes
1
answer
279
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Confused about When to Use “these” and “those” [duplicate]
Example #1
This site contains links to books that I read. I recommend
these/those books.
NOTE: The links are on this site, but not on this page. The links are external links.
Should I use these ...
3
votes
1
answer
1k
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these organizations or those organizations?
Consider a hypothetical quote:
Each day we gather information from manufacturers, distributors,
Russian and foreign vendors, research centers. The reliability of the
sources is ensured by our ...