Grammar: This and that, these and those

A2, B1 (B2)

Do you know the difference between this and that?  Or between these and those? It's a simple grammatical point, but it's not always easy to choose the right word in conversation. In this activity from the My English Pages site you will read a summary of the main differences and then do two exercises. You will then complete an example dialogue to check your understanding. Activity time: 10 to 30 minutes.

Task:
1 Read the grammar explanation here.

2 Do the two exercises here and here. Click on "Check answers" at the end of each exercise to know your score.

3 Now complete this phone conversation, with this, that, these or those. The answers are below. 

A: Hi. _____ is Anna. Is _____ Brian?
B: Yes, it is. Hi Anna. Sorry, hold on a second. I'm in the kitchen. Ouch! _____ coffee cups are really hot!
A: Is _____ a good moment to call?
B: Yes, no problem. Sorry about that. I'm ready. Did you get _____ brochures I sent you?
A: Yes, I have them here on my desk.  _____ look very interesting. That's why I'm calling, in fact. When can we meet up to plan the trip?
B:  Are you free _____ week at all?
A: Well, I'm a little busy for _____ next few days. But how about next week? Are you there next Monday?
B: No, I'm away _____ day. But we can meet up for lunch on Tuesday, if you're free.
A: Yes, _____'s fine for me. I'll come to your office at about 12.30.
B:  Great. When you come, can you bring _____ progress reports I left in your office last week?
A:  _____ ones here in the yellow folder?
B: Yes, _____ are the ones.
A: And the HDMI cable in the meeting room - is _____ yours too?
B: Let me check. Er, no. _____ is mine here in my briefcase. _____ one must be somebody else's.
 





















Answers
Exercise 3:  This/that/These/this/those/These/this/these/that/that/those/These/those/that/this/That