When To Use Those Vs These | Clear Rules In Real Sentences

You already know the words. What trips people up is the moment you have to pick one while you’re speaking or writing. The choice can feel tiny, yet it changes how a sentence points, how it sounds, and what the reader pictures.

This article gives you a simple way to choose fast, then backs it up with patterns you can reuse. You’ll get distance rules, time rules, tone cues, and a few “gotcha” spots that pop up in emails, essays, and day-to-day chat.

What “These” And “Those” Point To

“These” and “those” are demonstratives. They point to specific people or things, not just any people or things. Both are plural. They can work in two roles:

• Determiners: they sit before a noun. “These notes,” “those shoes.”
• Pronouns: they stand alone. “These are mine,” “Those were expensive.”

Most slips happen when writers mix the pointing idea with the number idea. A quick anchor helps: “these/those” always mean more than one. If the noun is singular, you’re in “this/that” territory instead.

Fast Rule You Can Use In One Second

Ask yourself one question: Am I treating the thing as near to me right now?

• If yes, pick these.
• If no, pick those.

Near can mean physical distance, time, or “mental distance” inside the conversation. That’s why the rule keeps working even when there’s no pointing finger and no room you can measure.

Distance Rules That Stay Steady

Physical distance is the cleanest case. If the items are close to the speaker, “these” fits. If they’re farther from the speaker, “those” fits. In face-to-face talk, a gesture often matches the word.

When The Items Are In Your Hands Or Space

Use “these” when the items are in your hand, on your desk, on your screen, or otherwise right in your space.

• “Are these the final copies?”
• “These batteries are dead.”
• “I can’t open these files.”

When The Items Are Across The Room Or Away From You

Use “those” when the items are farther away or clearly not in your space.

• “Can you pass those plates?”
• “Those clouds look heavy.”
• “Those buildings are new.”

When The Speaker Changes, The Word Can Flip

Distance is tied to the speaker, not the listener. If you hand something to a friend, you may switch words mid-chat without changing the object.

• You (holding papers): “These are the forms.”
• Your friend (now holding them): “Those are the forms you meant.”

That flip is normal. It’s a signal that the “near” point moved from one person to the other.

Time Rules For Speech, Writing, And Storytelling

Distance also works on a time line. “These” often points to the current moment, the current period, or the next set of minutes, days, or weeks. “Those” often points to an earlier time or a time already finished.

Use “These” For The Current Period

• “These days, my classes start early.”
• “These past few weeks have been busy.”
• “These are the goals for this month.”

Use “Those” For A Past Period You’re Treating As Separate

• “Those were the best seats we could get.”
• “Those years taught me patience.”
• “Those nights went on forever.”

Notice what “those” does in past tense sentences: it can put a little space between you and the memory. That space can sound neutral, nostalgic, or a bit distant, based on the rest of the sentence.

When To Use Those Vs These In Writing With A Modifier

In essays and reports, “these” and “those” often point to ideas, not objects. The trick is to add a noun right after the word so the reader knows what you mean. This is one of the simplest ways to make writing clearer.

Instead of “These are common,” write “These errors are common.” Instead of “Those can help,” write “Those steps can help.”

This habit stops a reader from asking, “These what?” or “Those what?” It also keeps your paragraph tight and easy to scan.

Good Nouns To Pair With “These” And “Those”

• these notes, these results, these choices, these lines, these reasons
• those points, those cases, those claims, those outcomes, those sections

If you want a standard reference for the core demonstrative rules, Cambridge’s grammar note on this/that/these/those lays out the distance and role patterns in plain terms.

Context Rules: Near And Far Inside A Conversation

Many times, there’s no visible object. You still use “these” and “those” to point inside shared talk. The same question works: are you treating the target as part of the current focus, or as something set apart?

Use “These” For Items In The Current Focus

“These” works well when you’ve just listed items and you’re still working with them.

• “I wrote three headings. These need shorter verbs.”
• “We have two options. These both cost less.”

Use “Those” For Items You’ve Put Behind You

“Those” fits when the items are already handled, rejected, or treated as separate from what you’re doing now.

• “I tried three passwords. Those didn’t work.”
• “We reviewed the old drafts. Those belong in the archive.”

Use “Those” To Point To A Known Set

“Those” can also act like “the ones we both know.” It’s common when you assume the listener can identify the set without more detail.

• “Did you see those messages from the registrar?”
• “Those students in Section B finished early.”

Table: Common Situations And The Better Choice

The table below gives quick picks you can copy into your own sentences. Use it as a decision map when you’re stuck.

Situation	Pick	Why It Fits
Items on your desk or in your hand	These	Treated as near to the speaker
Items across the room	Those	Treated as farther from the speaker
List you just wrote and still refer to	These	Still in the current focus
Old attempts that failed	Those	Placed behind the current step
Current week, current unit, current task set	These	Linked to the current time window
Past period you’re separating from now	Those	Creates time distance in tone
Shared set the listener can identify	Those	Signals “the ones we both mean”
Things you’re about to show on your screen	These	Signals a near, present handoff
Things you point to in a photo from last year	Those	Distance comes from time and separation

Tone And Attitude: The Hidden Layer

Beyond distance, these words can carry attitude. Writers use them to sound friendly, firm, or a little detached. This matters in feedback, complaints, and formal writing.

“These” Can Feel Close And Hands-On

“These” often feels direct and present. It can sound like you’re actively dealing with the items.

• “These issues need a fix.”
• “These questions are on the exam.”

“Those” Can Create Space

“Those” can signal distance or separation. Used carefully, it can keep a sentence calm when you’re pointing to problems.

• “Those comments crossed a line.”
• “Those delays caused confusion.”

That spacing can also sound warm in a reflective line: “Those moments stayed with me.” The word itself doesn’t lock the emotion; your verbs and nouns set the mood.

Academic Writing Moves That Keep Readers Oriented

In formal paragraphs, “these” and “those” can get vague. You can prevent that with three habits that work in any subject area.

Attach A Clear Noun

Put a noun right after the demonstrative: “these findings,” “those assumptions.” It keeps reference tight, even in long sentences.

Keep The Reference Close

If the noun you’re pointing to is more than a sentence or two away, repeat a short label instead of trusting “these” or “those” to reach back across a long gap.

Match The Number

Use “these/those” only with plural nouns: “these data,” “those results.” If your noun is singular, switch to “this/that,” or rewrite the noun phrase to plural if that matches your meaning.

Quick Fixes For Common Mistakes

Most slips fall into a small set. Once you spot the pattern, you can fix it in seconds.

Mistake: Using “These” With A Singular Noun

Wrong: “These book is mine.” Right: “This book is mine.” If you mean more than one, change the noun: “These books are mine.”

Mistake: Using “Those” When You Mean “The Current Set”

Writers sometimes reach for “those” when they mean “the items in front of us right now.” If the sentence points to the active set, “these” is the smoother pick.

Mistake: Writing “These” Or “Those” With No Clear Target

Vague: “These show growth.” Clear: “These scores show growth.” Vague: “Those matter.” Clear: “Those rules matter.”

Table: Sentence Repairs You Can Copy

Use the swaps below when a sentence feels fuzzy. They keep the meaning and sharpen the pointing.

Draft Sentence	Sharper Version	What Changed
These are hard to follow.	These instructions are hard to follow.	Added a noun label
Those were wrong.	Those calculations were wrong.	Named the item set
I fixed those, and these still fail.	I fixed those errors, and these tests still fail.	Split two targets clearly
These results show it.	These survey results show the change.	Removed a vague pronoun
Those are better.	Those sources are better for this claim.	Named the comparison target
These led to that.	These delays led to missed deadlines.	Replaced a vague “that”
Those are on page two.	Those references are on page two.	Added a noun for clarity

Practice Drills That Build The Habit

Rules stick when your brain gets fast at the choice. Try these drills for five minutes. You can do them with any text: a class reading, an email thread, or your own notes.

Drill 1: Pointing Pass

1. Pick five objects near you and label them with a sentence using “these.”
2. Pick five objects farther away and label them with a sentence using “those.”
3. Say each sentence out loud once. If it feels odd, move the object closer or farther and watch which word starts to feel right.

Drill 2: Paragraph Repair Pass

1. Find three sentences that use “these” or “those” alone.
2. Add a noun after each word: “these steps,” “those claims.”
3. Read the paragraph again and check if the reference is clearer on the first read.

Drill 3: Time Line Pass

1. Write one sentence about your current week using “these.”
2. Write one sentence about a past period using “those.”
3. Swap the words and read both versions. You’ll hear how the time distance changes the feel.

Mini Checklist For Editing

• Plural check: is the noun more than one?
• Distance check: near to the speaker, or set apart?
• Clarity check: did you attach a noun when pointing to an idea?
• Reader check: can a reader identify the target on the first read?

If you want another concise definition of demonstratives as pronouns, Encyclopaedia Britannica sums up how they point to a noun and mark near vs far distance in its entry on demonstrative pronouns.

Wrap-Up: A Clean Choice Every Time

Pick “these” when you’re treating the set as near, current, or actively in your hands. Pick “those” when you’re treating the set as farther away, earlier, or already separated from the current focus. Add a noun when you point to ideas, and your sentences will read cleaner with no guesswork from the reader.