Is that an adjective or a pronoun?

Answer 1

The word that may be either, a pronoun or an adjective:

• The pronoun 'that' is a demonstrative pronoun; a word that takes the place of a noun indicating relative nearness or distance in time or place. The demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these, and those.

Example sentence: That is my favorite movie.

• The pronoun 'that' is a relative pronoun, a word that introduces a relative clause; a relative pronoun "relates" to the word that it modifies, providing additional information about the antecedent without starting another sentence.

Example: The movie that I like is on tonight.

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• The adjective 'that' is a word that is placed before a noun to describe the noun. The use as an adjective can be identified when the adjective is placed in front of the noun it describes.

Example sentence: That movie is my favorite.

Answer 2

The word 'that' is a pronoun and an adjective.

The pronoun 'that' is a demonstrative pronoun and a relative pronoun.

A demonstrative pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun indicating near or far in place or time.

The demonstrative pronouns are: this, that, these, those.

A relative pronoun introduces a relative clause, a group of words that includes a verb but is not a complete sentence. A relative clause gives information about its antecedent.

The relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, which, that.

When the word 'that' is placed in front of a noun to describe that noun, it is an adjective.

Examples:

That is a book on my reading list. (demonstrative pronoun)

Any book that is on my reading list will do. (relative pronoun)

I will take that book. (adjective)