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this

 
(THĭs) pronunciation
pron., pl., these (THēz).
    1. Used to refer to the person or thing present, nearby, or just mentioned: This is my cat. These are my tools.
    2. Used to refer to what is about to be said: Now don't laugh when you hear this.
    3. Used to refer to the present event, action, or time: said he'd be back before this.
  1. Used to indicate the nearer or the more immediate one: This is mine and that is yours.
adj., pl., these.
  1. Being just mentioned or present in space, time, or thought: She left early this morning.
  2. Being nearer or more immediate: this side and that side.
  3. Being about to be stated or described: Just wait till you hear this story.
  4. Informal. Used as an emphatic substitute for the indefinite article: looking for this book of recipes.
adv.
To this extent; so: never stayed out this late.

[Middle English, from Old English.]

USAGE NOTE   This and that are both used as demonstrative pronouns to refer to a thought expressed earlier: The letter was unopened; that (or this) in itself casts doubt on the inspector's theory. That is sometimes viewed as the better choice in referring to what has gone before (as in the preceding example). When the referent is yet to be mentioned, only this is used: This (not that) is what bothers me: we have no time to consider late applications.This is often used in speech and informal writing as an emphatic substitute for the indefinite article to refer to a specific thing or person: You should talk to this friend of mine at the Department of Motor Vehicles. I have this terrible feeling that I forgot to turn off the gas. It is best to avoid this substitution in formal writing except when a conversational tone is desired. See Usage Notes at that.


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1. Though a less complex word than that (it is not a conjunction or a relative pronoun, to begin with), this has three distinct roles:demonstrative pronoun: This is what I meandemonstrative adjective: Would you like a glass of this wine?demonstrative adverb: The show is not usually this good

2. As a demonstrative pronoun and adjective, this normally refers to something or someone either present or being thought of at the time of speaking: What had I done to deserve this? / Did you leave this book behind? It can also refer back to an immediately preceding statement when no single word can be identified as the antecedent: Should governments do more, or ought this to be left to the private sector? When contrasted with that, this refers to the one immediately in mind, whereas that refers to the one mentioned before or known previously.

3. In conversation, this is used informally to identify a person or thing even though they have not been previously mentioned:
He was this friendly guy, sorta cute, affable as the day is long—weblog, British English 2003 [Old English (up to 1150)C].
Although frowned on by some language purists, this use is idiomatic in more casual discourse.

4. When used informally as a demonstrative adverb, this has a more specific reference to immediate experience than does the corresponding use of that:
Keep in mind, however, that no existing property is this typical—Real Estate Review, 1972.

Previous:thinness, thinkable, think
Next:tho', thrash, thresh, three-quarter, three-quarters
sign description: The index finger points down at something that is close.




  See crossword solutions for the clue This.
Misspellings:

this

Top

Common misspelling(s) of this

  • htis
  • tihs
  • thsi

Translations:

This

Top

Dansk (Danish)
pron. - denne, dette, det her
det. - denne, dette
adv. - så
adj. - denne, så

idioms:

  • this and that    dit og dat
  • this is it    det var det
  • this late    så sent
  • this much    så meget

Nederlands (Dutch)
deze, dit, zo

Français (French)
pron. - ce, cet, cette, ce ..-ci, cet ..-ci, cette ..-ci, ceci, celui-ci, ça, c'est, (gén) c'est, qui, voici, où, cela, (par) là, voilà
det. - ce, cette, ces, comme (ça), un/une
adv. - comme ça, tout ça, ainsi, à ce point là
adj. - ce-/cet-/cette-/celui-/celle-/ci, comme ceci/comme ça

idioms:

  • this and that    de choses et d'autres
  • this is it    c'est cela, c'est tout
  • this late    (à) cette heure tardive
  • this much    autant que cela, tout ça

Deutsch (German)
pron. - dieser, diese, dieses, dies
adj. - dieser, diese, dieses, dies
adv. - so
det. - so

idioms:

  • this and that    dies und das, alles mögliche
  • this is it    es ist soweit, das ist es (eben)
  • this late    so spät!
  • this much    so viel

Ελληνική (Greek)
pron., -
adj. - αυτό(ς, ε)τούτο(ς), τόσο(ς)
adv. - τόσο, σ' αυτόν το βαθμό

idioms:

  • this and that    τούτο και τ' άλλο, τούτο κι εκείνο
  • this is it    αυτό είναι! έτσι μπράβο!
  • this late    τόσο αργά
  • this much    (για ποσότητα) τόσο/-α

Italiano (Italian)
quest', questa, questo, ciù

idioms:

  • this and that    questo e quello
  • this is it    questo è quanto
  • this much    così tanto

Português (Portuguese)
pron., -
adj. - este (m), esta (f), isto
adv. - assim, esta (f)

idioms:

  • this and that    este e aquele
  • this is it    é isto!, momento da verdade
  • this late    tão tarde
  • this much    esta quantidade

Русский (Russian)
это, этот/эта/это ...

idioms:

  • this and that    то и другое, всякое
  • this is it    вот именно!
  • this late    так поздно!
  • this much    столько (и не больше), столечко

Español (Spanish)
pron. - esto, éste, ésta
det. - esta, este, esto
adv. - tan, así de
adj. - esta, este

idioms:

  • this and that    esto y lo otro
  • this is it    esta es la cuestión
  • this late    tan tarde
  • this much    así tanto, esta cantidad

Svenska (Swedish)
pron. - den här, det här
adj. - den här, så här
adv. - så (här)

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
这, 这人, 这个, 这时, 以下所述, 这里, 今, 本, 这么, 这样地

idioms:

  • this and that    各种事情, 各样东西, 各种活动
  • this is it    表同意的话, 是这样, 说得对
  • this late    这么晚
  • this much    这么多, 这一点, 到这样的程度

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
pron. - 這, 這人, 這個, 這時, 以下所述, 這裡
det. - 這, 今, 本, 這個
adv. - 這麼, 這樣地
adj. - 這, 今, 本, 這個

idioms:

  • this and that    各種事情, 各樣東西, 各種活動
  • this is it    表同意的話, 是這樣, 說得對
  • this late    這麼晚
  • this much    這麼多, 這一點, 到這樣的程度

한국어 (Korean)
pron. - 이것, 이, 이만큼
det. - 이, 이것의
adv. - 이만큼, 이정도로
adj. - 이, 이것의, 이러한, 이정도의

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - この, 今の, 今度の, ある一人の, ここの
adv. - こんなに, これだけ
pron. - これ, このこと, ここ, 今, きょう, 後者, 今述べたこと, 次に述べること

idioms:

  • this and that    あれこれ
  • this is it    いよいよ来るぞ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(ضمير) الى هذا الحد (صفه) اولا (ظرف) هكذا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
pron. - ‮זה, זו‬
det. - ‮זה, זו‬
adv. - ‮לדרגה כזו, כזה, כזו‬
adj. - ‮זה, זו‬


 
 
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American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
 Fowler's Modern English Usage. Oxford University Press. © 1999, 2004 All rights reserved.  Read more
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Sign Language Videos. Copyright © 2009 Signing Savvy, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary. Collins Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary © Anne Bradford, 1986, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008 HarperCollins Publishers All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Misspellings. © 1999-present by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
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