How to Use THIS, THAT, and IT Correctly in English

Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with  

Jennifer. Iay eachtay Englishay.  Do you know what I just said?

That was pig Latin. I said, "I teach  English." Ancay ouyay understanday?

If you want, I can teach it to you at some  point. That would be fun, but right now,  

it's time to talk about grammar. The differences  between this, that, and it will be our focus.  

This is an advanced explanation  about pronouns. Ready?

Take a pre-lesson quiz. Let's  see. Does your grammar sound  

natural? There's more than one  variation of pig Latin, right?

The most natural sounding response is:  That's right. I know of at least one other.  

By the end of this lesson, you should  understand why "that" is the best choice.

"It" is a personal pronoun. We can  use the pronoun "it" to refer back  

to something just mentioned. I gave  you a sample of pig Latin and said I  

can teach it to you at some point. What  is "it"? Pig Latin. I just mentioned it.

"This" and "that" are demonstrative pronouns. They  can refer to singular things, uncountable things,  

or even a mass of things like, "This is a lot  to cover. You'll need time to digest all this."

All three pronouns (it, this, and  that) can be subjects or objects.

Note that we don't reduce the vowel sounds in  the demonstrative pronouns "this" and "that." In  

contrast, the personal pronoun  "it" is a function word and is  

almost never stressed. Repeat after me.  Pay attention to the words I stress.

That's right.

I know that.

This is helpful.

Can you help me with this?

It's good>

I'd like like to see it.

"This" refers to things close to us in some way.  It could be close physically. This is my phone. It  

could be familiar, like a present situation. This  is nice, isn't it? You, me, studying grammar...

It could be close in time. This is  just the beginning. Wait. There's more.

Think about how we introduce people. I'd like you  

to meet a friend of mine. This is  Sonya. We went to school together.

"That" refers to things we consider more  distant in some way. What language did I  

speak earlier? That was pig Latin. Pig Latin  is fun, but that's a topic for another day  

or another time. So, it could be distance in  terms of attitude as well. I don't like that.

"That" is common in conversation. We use the  pronoun to refer to something said or an idea  

mentioned. We say things like, "That's  not what I meant" or "That's right."

"This" is likely more common in academic English,  more formal English. Someone might look at  

some of my interests and draw a conclusion:  Jennifer speaks pig Latin and gibberish. This  

reflects a general interest in languages and  hints at a playful side to her personality.

Let's go back to the pronoun "it" and look at  another use. It's important to understand all  

the uses. What's the subject of the sentence?  Well, technically, "it" - it is, right? But  

what I'm really saying is, "To understand all the  uses is important." When I start my sentence with  

"it," the focus comes later in the sentence. It's  important to understand all the uses. "It" can be  

a placeholder for the real subject. It can be what  some call a dummy subject. Look at these patterns.

It's important to study grammar.

It's wonderful that you found my video.

It's common for students to  have doubts about grammar.

It's a good idea to learn  some basic grammar terms.

We use "it" all the time in daily conversation  to make an observation or state a condition.

It's 10:00.

It's hot outside.

It's getting late.

It's time to go.

In these kinds of sentences, "it" doesn't really  refer to anything, but we need the pronoun "it"  

to make the sentence. We also use "it" in cleft  sentences. Those are sentences that shift the  

focus to a person or thing by following  it with an adjective clause. Take a look.

It's people like you who will gain accuracy  because you take the time to study grammar.

I could say more simply, "People like you  

will gain accuracy because you  take the time to study grammar."

But an IT cleft allows me to highlight  "people like you." We use "it is" then  

the highlighted person or thing and an  adjective clause, a relative clause.

I have another advanced grammar  lesson on how to create emphasis,  

and I go over different kinds of cleft sentences.  I'll put the link in the video description.

All three pronouns IT, THIS, and THAT can refer  to an idea or a situation. Time spent in nature  

is healing. It's wonderful. To my ears, this  is a fairly neutral statement. I'm saying it's  

wonderful in general. Compare: Time spent  in nature is healing, and that's what more  

people need today. Not only am I referring back to  something I just said, but I'm emphasizing it too.

Quick quiz. I'll show you three statements.  Which pronoun sounds the most natural?

Sometimes people pay for  their groceries with cash,  

but it's not really common anymore. Here I'd  prefer to make a general observation. It's not  

really common anymore. I'm not saying the other  two pronouns are incorrect, but I prefer "it."

Independent practice is necessary.  Students should review their notes,  

and they can benefit from writing  original texts. Personally,  

this is what I do after attending my Spanish  classes. These sentences sound somewhat formal,  

don't they? Whether I'm speaking or writing,  I would give preference to "this" instead of  

"that." I'm referring to something just  mentioned. Because I follow the practice  

myself, there's an additional reason to use  "this." It marks a closeness, a familiarity.

Hey! You took two cards. That's against the  rules. You're only supposed to take one. I'm  

referring to something just done, and the  other person did it, not me. Furthermore,  

I don't approve of the action, so I say,  "That's a against the rules." There are  

conversational uses of THIS, THAT, and  IT. You should learn some. Here are a few.

For common requests to stop an annoying activity.  

Stop it. Don't do that. Cut  it out. I don't like that.

To continue a list of similar  things. I really don't enjoy  

moving to a new house. I don't like  packing, labeling, and all that.

To say that an activity is over or nothing else  is needed. Can I get you anything else? No,  

that's all. Thank you. Okay we did everything  on the list, so that's it for today.

To highlight a special moment, especially  the final event or point. This is it -- the  

moment you've been waiting for. I'm going to  teach you pig Latin. Not really. Just kidding.

How about a final quiz to review?

One. Someone's knocking on the door.

Who is it? I don't know. A neighbor?

Two. He said he made you an  offer, but you turned him down.

That's not what happened! I  said I wanted to think about it.

Three. Hey there!

How's it going?

Four. I'm having the best time ever. I  don't want to go home What a great party!

This is so much fun.

Five. Do you see the guy over  there next to the water fountain?

Yeah. I know him. That's Paul. He  joined the team about a week ago.

Okay. That's all for now. Please remember  to like and share the video if you found the  

lesson useful. As always, thanks  for watching and happy studies!

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