UnderstandingtheDifferencebetween\"This\"and\"That\"
Asanon-nativeEnglishspeaker,itcansometimesbeconfusingtodifferentiatebetweensimilarwords.Onecommonpairofsuchwordsis\"this\"and\"that.\"Thoughthesetwowordsmayseeminterchangeable,theyhavedistinctmeanings.Inthisarticle,wewillexplorethedifferencebetween\"this\"and\"that\"andhowtousethemappropriatelyinEnglishwriting.
Defining\"This\"and\"That\"
Firstly,let'sdefine\"this.\"\"This\"isasinglingoutwordthatreferstosomethingclosetothespeakerorwriter.Itcanbeusedwithbothsingularandpluralnounsandisoftenusedtointroduceanewtopic.Forexample,\"Thisbookisexcellent\"meansthebookiscurrentlyinfrontofthespeakerorwriter,andtheyconsideritsuperb.
Ontheotherhand,\"that\"isasinglingoutwordthatreferstosomethingfarfromthespeakerorwriter.Itcanbeusedwithbothsingularandpluralnounsandoftenusedtocontinueatopicpreviouslymentioned.Forexample,\"Thatbookwasexcellent\"meansthebookisnotcurrentlyinfrontofthespeakerorwriter,buttheystillconsideritsuperb.
Using\"This\"and\"That\"Appropriately
It'sessentialtouse\"this\"and\"that\"appropriatelybecauseitcanaffecttheclarityandmeaningofasentence.Belowaresomeusageexamples.
Using\"This\"
1.IntroducingaNewSubject–Ifyou'restartinganewconversationorintroducinganewsubject,use\"this.\"Forexample,\"Thisweatherislovely\"maybeusedwhenstartingaconversationaboutthebeautifuldayoutside.
2.WhenSomethingisClose–Ifyou'rereferringtoanobjectclosetoyou,use\"this.\"Forexample,\"Ilovethisrestaurant\"meansthespeakeriscurrentlyintherestaurant.
3.IndicatingTime–Ifyou'rereferringtothecurrenttimeoratimeintheimmediatefuture,use\"this.\"Forexample,\"Thisevening,I'mgoingtothemovies\"meansthespeakerisplanningtogotothecinemalaterthatsameevening.
Using\"That\"
1.ReferringtoaPreviouslyMentionedThing–Ifyou'retalkingaboutatopicthatyouintroducedearlier,use\"that.\"Forexample,\"Isawagreatmovielastnight.ThatwasthebestmovieI'veseeninmonths\"meansthespeakeristalkingaboutthefantasticmovietheywatchedlastnight.
2.WhenSomethingisDistant–Ifyou'rereferringtoanobjectawayfromyou,use\"that.\"Forexample,\"Ilovethatrestaurant\"meansthespeakerisnotcurrentlyintherestaurant.
3.ReferringtoTime–Ifyou'rereferringtoatimeinthepastoramoredistantfuture,use\"that.\"Forexample,\"ThatwasagreatmovieIwatchedlastnight\"meansthespeakerwatchedthemovielastnight,andit'snolongerthepresentmoment.
Conclusion
\"This\"and\"that\"mayappearsimilar,buttheyhavedistinctmeaningsandusage.Beforeusingthem,checkifthethingyou'rereferringtoiscloseordistantandifyou'reintroducinganewtopicorcontinuinganolderone.Knowingthedifferencebetween\"this\"and\"that\"andusingthemappropriatelycanimproveyourwriting'sclarityandcoherence.
