In English, "this" and "these" are two common pronouns that are used to refer to the previously mentioned nouns or things. Although they are both used to refer to, there are some subtle differences in their use. This article will analyze the differences and usage of "this" and "these" in detail from multiple aspects.
1. The number of objects to be referred
"this" is often used to refer to a singular or uncountable noun that means "this" or "this thing". For example, when you want to say, "This book is very interesting."”
Whereas, "these" is used to refer to the plural noun and means "these" or "these things". For example, when you want to express "These apples look fresh," you can say "these apples look fresh."”
2. Refers to the distance between the two and the other
In addition to the number of referents, "this" and "these" also reflect to some extent the distance between the referent and the speaker.
"this" is often used to refer to a person or thing that is closer to the speaker, giving a sense of proximity. For example, in a conversation, "this" is likely to be used when the speaker points to an item in their hand.
these" is more often used to refer to people or things that are farther away from the speaker, giving people a sense of relative distance. For example, "these" is more likely to be used when the speaker is pointing to a distant building or a group of people.
3. Grammatical collocation and context
There are also some differences between "this" and "these" in terms of grammatical collocations and contextual use.
'this' is often used in conjunction with the singular verb form to denote the singular concept. For example, "This is my pen."(This is my pen.) ）
these" is used in conjunction with the plural verb form to denote the plural concept. For example, "these are my books."(These are my books.) ）
In addition, in a sentence, "this" and "these" can also serve as a subject, object, definite, etc., and play a role in connecting the components of the sentence.
Fourth, the practical application of the precautions
In practice, we need to be careful not to use "these" when "this" should be used, or "this" when "these" should be used, otherwise it will cause unclear referencing or grammatical errors.
For example, in the sentence "i like book."If the word "this" is filled, it means that the speaker likes the book that is closer to him; If the word is "these", it means that the speaker likes one or more of the books. Therefore, when choosing pronouns, judgments need to be made based on context and context.
5. Summary
In summary, there are certain differences between "this" and "these" in terms of the number of referential objects, the distance of referents, and the grammatical collocation and contextual use. Grasping these differences helps us use these two pronouns more accurately and avoid misunderstandings in communication.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the pronoun system in English is very rich and diverse, and different pronouns may have different meanings and usages in different contexts. Therefore, when we learn English pronouns, we should not only master the basic usage and differences of each pronoun, but also learn to use these pronouns flexibly according to the context and context to improve our English expression skills.