Those: Meaning, Usage, and Examples

Meaning 1：those (those)

those 🔊

/ðoʊz/

det., pron.

used to point to or talk about more than one thing that is not near you, or that was mentioned before.

those 🔊

➕

/ðoʊz/

det., pron.

Points to more than one thing that is distant from the speaker or has been mentioned before.

📁 Category：Language Evolution 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English þās, plural of þes (this). Related to that and the.

💡 Mnemonic

Think of 'th-ose' as 'thumbs out' — point your thumbs toward faraway things.

📖 Example

I love those colorful balloons tied to the park bench over there. 🔊 I love those colorful balloons tied to the park bench over there.

🔗 Collocations

those who – people that (referring to a specific group)

in those days – during a past period of time

those of you – the members of the audience being addressed

🔄 Synonyms

the ones (pron.) – used to refer to specific items previously mentioned

the aforementioned (pron.) – formal term for previously mentioned things

them (pron.) – informal or dialectal use meaning those (e.g., 'them apples')

🚫 Antonyms

these (det./pron.) – plural demonstrative for things near the speaker

📖 Cultural Story

Those originates from Old English þās, the plural of þes (this). It has been a core demonstrative for over a thousand years, used to point to distant objects or previously mentioned items.