Most of the times we get confused on whether to use this or these?. Therefore we have got this article to clear our concepts.
This ultimate guide gives you a detailed look at differences and examples of ‘This’ vs ‘These’ and how they are used to avoid confusion.
Let us start our discussion of two commonly confused English usages This and These. And see their correct usages along with example sentences.
Let’s see one example before starting to see why do we get confused.
Correct : This is my shoe.
Correct: These are my shoes.
This is used to refer to one thing while these is used to refer to several objects.
Both the words ‘This’ and ‘These’ are used to refer to an idea, place, thing etc. which is also know as a noun and which the listener has the information about. Though they are used differently which is what we have to see. So, without wasting anymore time let’s get started on how to use these two words correctly.
Examples of ‘This’ in a Sentence
The English word ‘This’ is used to refer to singular countable noun such as car, boy, building, bike, girl etc. and Non-countable nouns such as idea, love, and is qualified with word ‘This’.
10 examples of sentences using This:
- This is my place.
- This is a nice idea.
- I have to do this.
- I would like to have this drink.
- This bed is really bad.
- I find this book really interesting.
- I love this person.
- This is a good example.
- I have to find this place.
- I want to buy this car.
The word ‘This’ can be used to ask questions, for example :
- Is this your pen ?
- Do you want this milk ?
- Is this yours ?
- Will this be good ?
- Is this a good idea to go there ?
Examples of ‘These’ in a Sentence
The English word ‘These’ is used to refer to plural countable nouns such as books, bricks, bikes etc.
10 examples of sentences using have been:
- These buildings are really very tall.
- I have to get these books.
- These bikes are fast.
- I can’t ignore these mistakes.
- Saving trees is getting difficult these days.
- I want these trees to be planet by today.
- I want these fruits.
- These girls are really arrogant.
- I need the detail about these movies.
- I should get these clothes.
Word These used in asking questions, for example :
1. Are these yours ?
2. Have you checked these figures ?
3. Do you want these cookies ?
4. What are you going to do these days ?
5. Which of these pairs is yours ?
Try replacing words with one another and you’ll see that context changes and meaning will not be clear. For example :
Correct : I want these diamond rings.
Wrong : I want this diamond rings.
If we still want to use ‘this’ in place of ‘these’ we would have to change the form of noun used from plural (i.e diamond rings ) to singular (i.e diamond ring).
Correct : I want this diamond ring.
Let us see a sentence using ‘This’ and ‘These’ together.
Example : This is the only reason I want to buy these clothes.
After understanding the concept of singular and plural nouns we can easily understand the difference between ‘This’ and ‘These’.