Dan is shopping for clothes in Mongkok. He likes to dress differently from his friends and it always takes him a long time to choose a new item of clothing.
He is in a small shop near Langham Place with his friend, Cindy, trying to decide which shirt to buy. After thinking for ages, he says: 'I'm going to buy this shirt today and come back next week to buy that shirt.'
What is the difference between the two shirts? Why has Dan said 'this' for one of the shirts and 'that' for the other?
Here are two small words that can cause confusion if you don't really understand how to use them. Both words are used to point out an object. They refer to a particular object, not a general one.
'This' is used for something near you and 'that' is used for something further away. Both are adjectives (demonstrative adjectives) and come in front of the noun. Dan has 'this' shirt in his hand and 'that' shirt is on the rack further away.
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