these

You can use this or these to refer to people, things, or events that have just been mentioned.

Don't use 'this' as a pronoun to refer to a person who has just been mentioned. Instead you use he or she.

In conversation, many people use this and these as determiners even when they are mentioning people or things for the first time.

You can use this or these to refer to people or things that are very near to you. For example, if you are holding a book, you refer to it as 'this book'.

'This' is not usually used as a pronoun to refer to a person. You only use it when you are identifying someone or asking them about their identity. For example, you use this when you are introducing someone. Note that when you are introducing more than one person, you use this, not 'these'.

You also use this to say who you are when you phone someone.

You can use this to refer to a situation that exists now or to an event that is happening now.

This is used in the following ways in time expressions:

You use it with morning, afternoon, or evening to refer to the morning, afternoon, or evening of the present day.

However, don't say 'this day'. You say today.

Also, don't say 'this night'. You refer to the previous night as last night. You refer to the night of the present day as tonight.

This week, month, or year means the present week, month, or year.

You usually use this with weekend or with the name of a day, month, or season to refer to the next weekend or to the next day, month, or season with that name.

However, you can also use this with one of these words to refer to the previous weekend, or the previous day, month, or season with that name.

These days means 'at the present time'.

That and those are used in some similar ways to this and these.