What Do These Do? | Clear Uses In Sentences

If you’ve ever paused mid-sentence and asked, what do these do?, you’re not alone. “These” looks small, but it does a lot of heavy lifting in everyday English.

Most of the time, it often helps your reader or listener know which things you mean. It can point to objects you can touch, ideas you just mentioned, or a set of items you’re about to list.

What Do These Do? In Grammar And Writing

“These” belongs to a set of words called demonstratives: this, that, these, those. They “demonstrate” by pointing, like a finger in word form.

“These” is the plural partner of “this.” It usually signals two ideas at once: plural number and closeness. Closeness can be physical distance, time, or what’s top-of-mind in the conversation.

Two Jobs: Determiner And Pronoun

“These” can sit in front of a noun. That’s its determiner job: “these shoes,” “these notes,” “these three reasons.”

It can also stand alone. That’s its pronoun job: “These are mine,” “I’ll take these,” “These look better.”

Distance Is Not Only About Space

Closeness can mean “right here,” like items on the table. It can also mean “right now,” like events in the current week.

It can even mean “right here in the text,” like points you just introduced in a paragraph. Writers use “these” to tie sentences together without repeating long noun phrases.

Fast Map Of This, That, These, Those

When you’re stuck, a simple map helps. Start with two questions: Is it one thing or more than one? Is it near or farther away?

Form	What It Points To	Typical Use
this	one, near	“this idea,” “this book”
these	many, near	“these books,” “these options”
that	one, farther	“that house,” “that plan”
those	many, farther	“those houses,” “those plans”
this + noun	one named thing	“this question,” “this email”
these + noun	named group	“these steps,” “these results”
these	a group already known	“These are the rules.”
these ones	a specific subset	“I meant these ones.”

Using These Before A Noun

Use “these” before a noun when you want to label the group. This is the clearest pattern for readers, since the noun does the naming.

It works with a plain noun (“these cookies”) and with a noun phrase (“these two cookies,” “these old receipts,” “these last few pages”).

Use These With Numbers And Lists

“These” pairs well with a number when you’re pointing to a set: “these three points,” “these five steps,” “these two problems.”

In writing, this is handy when you’re about to list items. It cues the reader to expect a group, not a single detail.

Use These With Plural Count Nouns

“These” matches plural count nouns: “these chairs,” “these emails,” “these mistakes.” If the noun is singular, “these” won’t match.

If you catch yourself writing “these book,” swap to “this book” or “these books,” depending on what you mean.

Use These With Time Words

English also uses “these” with time expressions: “these days,” “these weeks,” “these past few months.” It points to a time period close to now.

This use is common in speech and writing. It can sound natural in essays too, as long as the time frame is clear.

In some dialects, you’ll hear “these here” to add extra pointing: “these here boxes.” It’s casual and can sound off in formal writing. In essays, drop “here” and keep the noun: “these boxes.”

Watch “these kind of” and “these type of” often. Use “this kind of” or “these kinds of,” depending on the noun.

Using These By Itself

When the noun is obvious, “these” can stand alone: “These are better,” “These don’t fit,” “These are yours.”

In speech, the noun can be obvious because you’re pointing or holding something. In writing, you need clear context so the reader knows what “these” refers to.

Pointing In Real Life

At a store, you might say, “These are on sale,” while tapping the price tag. Your gesture does part of the job.

On a page, you don’t get a gesture. So you have to build the context with a noun earlier: “I tried two pens. These write smoother.”

Referring Back To A Whole Set

“These” can point back to items you already named, even if they were listed across a sentence or two.

Try this pattern: name the set, then use “these” to comment on it. “I bought apples, pears, and plums. These will last longer in the fridge.”

These In Academic And Professional Writing

Writers use “these” to link a claim to evidence, a rule to an exception, or a problem to a solution. It keeps sentences from repeating the same noun phrase again and again.

Still, “these” can turn vague if the reader can’t find the noun it points to. That’s when your sentences start to feel slippery.

Make The Noun Close By

Place the noun right before “these” when you can. This keeps the link tight: “These results” is clearer than “These show…” after a long stretch of text.

If you need to point back across multiple sentences, try repeating a short noun: “these findings,” “these rules,” “these terms.”

Avoid The Floating These

A “floating these” is “these” with no clear anchor. You’ll see it in drafts like: “These prove the point.” The reader may ask, “These what?”

Fix it by naming the thing: “These survey results prove the point,” or “These quotes prove the point.”

If you want a clean definition straight from a dictionary, the Cambridge Dictionary entry for “these” is a solid check. For a longer grammar explanation of demonstratives, the British Council demonstratives page lays out the core patterns.

What These Do When You Point To Ideas

“These” doesn’t only point to physical objects. It can point to ideas, reasons, and parts of an argument that sit close by in the text.

This is common in essays and reports: “These factors,” “these trends,” “these steps.” It lets you refer to a group without restating the whole list.

Use These With Summary Nouns

When you’ve listed several items, you can bundle them with a summary noun: “These reasons,” “these examples,” “these steps,” “these limits.”

The summary noun does the clarity work. Without it, “these” can feel like a loose thread.

Use These To Set Up A Next Move

“These” can point to a group and then lead into an action: “These are the parts we’ll replace,” “These are the points we’ll test,” “These are the files to attach.”

In instructions, “these” can keep the tone friendly while staying direct.

Common Mix-Ups With These

Most mistakes come from mismatch or unclear reference. Fixing them is usually quick once you know what to check.

Start with number: “these” must match a plural noun or a plural idea. Then check clarity: can the reader find the thing you’re pointing to?

These Vs Those

“These” feels near. “Those” feels farther. In speech, distance can be literal: items across the room are “those.” Items in your hands are “these.”

In writing, distance can be time or attention. “These days” points to now. “Those days” points to a past period you’re looking back on.

These Vs This

“This” is singular. “These” is plural. If you’re talking about one item, use “this.” If you’re talking about more than one, use “these.”

A quick check: can you replace the noun with “one” or “ones”? “This one” fits singular. “These ones” fits plural.

These With Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns like “information,” “advice,” and “equipment” don’t take a plural “s” in standard English. So “these information” won’t work.

Fix it by adding a countable unit: “these pieces of information,” “these tips,” “these items of equipment.”

Common Issue	Clean Fix	Mini Example
Number mismatch	Make the noun plural	“these books,” not “these book”
Unclear reference	Add a naming noun	“these results show…”
Uncountable noun	Add a countable unit	“these pieces of advice”
Too much distance	Repeat the noun once	“these rules,” not “these”
Wrong distance word	Swap these/those	“those days,” for past time
Overusing “these”	Mix in the noun	“these steps,” “the steps”
Pointing to a clause	Use “this” for one idea	“This shows…”
Too many items	Use a summary noun	“these factors,” “these parts”

Editing Checklist For These

When you’re polishing a paragraph, run a quick scan for “these.” Each one should pass two checks: a clear noun, and the right number.

If a sentence feels foggy, it’s often because “these” points to something the reader can’t see without rereading.

Check The Anchor

Ask, “What exactly are ‘these’?” Then look one sentence back. If you can’t answer in one breath, add a noun and tighten the link.

Small edits do the trick: “these ideas,” “these steps,” “these notes,” “these claims.”

Check The Count

“These” should match more than one thing. If the noun is singular, fix the noun or swap to “this.”

This check catches common typos, especially when the noun is far from “these.”

Check The Reader’s View

In speech, you can point. On a screen, the reader can’t see your hand. So give the reader a breadcrumb: name the thing once, then use “these.”

That keeps your writing smooth without leaving anyone guessing.

Short Practice Drills

Practice doesn’t need to be long. A few targeted drills can train your ear for when “these” sounds right.

Try them out in a notebook or inside a draft you’re already writing.

Drill One: Swap Test

Pick a sentence with “these.” Swap it with “those.” Does the meaning change? If yes, you’ve found a distance cue you can use on purpose.

Then swap “these” with “this.” If the sentence breaks, you know the plural idea is doing real work.

Drill Two: Name It

Write two lines. First, list three items. Second, start with “These…” and add a comment. If the second line feels unclear, add a summary noun.

Example: “Pens, pencils, and markers. These supplies run out fast.”

Drill Three: Cut The Vague One

Find one “these” in your draft that points back across a long paragraph. Replace it with a short noun phrase once. Then read the paragraph aloud.

If the flow improves, keep the noun. If it feels heavy, move the noun closer to the “these” sentence.

When These Sounds Odd

Sometimes “these” isn’t wrong, but it sounds off because the context is missing. This happens a lot in captions, headings, and one-line notes.

Add one or two words and it usually clicks: “these photos,” “these links,” “these rules,” “these steps.”

One last note: people often type what do these do? when they’re staring at a sentence and can’t tell what “these” points to. If you name the noun and keep it close, the sentence snaps into place.