this / that …
this …
that …
these / those …
these …
those …
I can sing …
I could speak French …
They could not read Thai …
Could you run 10km last year? …
Could you use a computer in 2000? …
Could Jane and Paul speak French? …
A dinner party
Steve is organising the guests and food
“Hello John, I kept these seats for you and Mary. This is Mark next to you, with his wife Anne. David, that empty seat over there is for you. And Karen, those four chairs at the end are for your family.”
“Excuse me, let me put these plates out please. This one is chicken and these two are both pork. That‘s the fish over there. Those in the middle are rice and vegetables. Everybody get stuck in!”
“Well, that was hard work. I could do it easily when I was younger.”
We use this, that, these and those to indicate people and things.
this and that
We use this and that with singular nouns and uncountable nouns.
this
Used for a thing near us.
Do this exercise every morning.
What’s in this box?
This is your new home.
This isn’t my book.
that
Used for a thing farther away.
That man is unhappy.
That is where we’re going.
Is that your husband?
That‘s not for you.
these and those
We use these and those with plural nouns.
these
Used for things near us.
How many of these are there?
These trousers are too tight.
These steaks are great!
These are our children, Tim and Jennifer.
those
Used for things farther away.
Those shoes are very smart.
Are those your books on the floor?
Use one of those computers over there.
I must paint those windows.
could
We use can in the present tense to talk about possibility or ability.
We use could in the past tense to talk about possibility or ability.
I can speak English now. I couldn’t speak English when I was a child.
I can’t run 5km now. I could run 5km when I was younger.
‘Could you swim when you were a teenager?’ ‘Yes, I could.’
I can’t hear you. I could hear you before.
I can hear you now. I couldn’t hear you before.