ENGLISH
REFERENCE

those

pron.
A1 Beginner US //ˈðoʊz// UK //ðˈəʊz// those

pron. the plural form of 'that'. You use it to point to people or things that are not close to you, or to talk about things you mentioned before.

pron. the plural distal demonstrative pronoun, used to identify or refer to specific people or things that are physically distant from the speaker or previously mentioned in discourse.


SIMPLE

Those shoes over there look very comfortable.

CONTEXTUAL

I enjoyed the stories you told last night, especially those about your travels in South America.

COMPLEX

While these initial results are promising, those obtained during the second phase of the trial suggest that further adjustments to the methodology may be necessary.

Origin

From Middle English thos (“those”), alteration of tho pl (“the; those”), equivalent to tho (“the; those”) + -s (plural ending), partly by analogy with thes (“these”), whose final -s is original and not a plural ending. More at tho.

Usage

Functions as the plural counterpart to 'that'; can act as a pronoun or a determiner before a plural noun.

Pitfall

those bookthose books'Those' must always be followed by a plural noun.

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