1. Demonstrative determiners
Demonstrative determiners are mostly used to specify or point to people, animals or things according to their proximity or distance, taking into account the position of the speaker:
Demonstrative determiners in English do not distinguish by gender (male/female) but they do by number (singular/plural).
2. How are demonstrative determiners used?
Demonstrative determiners are used according to location and number, taking into account the position of the speaker:
Se utiliza cuando hablamos de un solo elemento que se encuentra a poca distancia del hablante.
It is used when we talk about more than one item located at a short distance from the speaker.
It is used when we talk about a single element that is at a certain distance from the speaker.
It is used when we talk about more than one element located at a certain distance from the speaker.
We also use the demonstrative determiners when we introduce someone or ask for someone over the phone, using the constructions This is.../These are... and Is that...?, respectively:
3. What is the function of the demonstrative determiners?
In order to know if the demonstrative acts as an adjective or a pronoun, it is important to consider the following aspects:
- When the demonstrative is accompanied by a noun, it is categorized as an adjective because it determines the element we are talking about.
This apple is mine.I like that hat.
- If they don't accompany a noun it means that they are replacing a noun mentioned before or that can be deduced from the context, so in these cases we are dealing with a pronoun.
These are original.That is not mine.