Pronomes Demonstrativos Ingles Exercicios

Um guia prático de pronomes demonstrativos em inglês

A maioria dos livros didáticos ensina this e that como "próximo" e "longe". Isso funciona na teoria, mas na prática as pessoas travam quando precisam decidir entre "this" e "that" numa conversa real. Vou explicar como isso funciona de verdade, porque eu já perdi horas corrigindo isso em alunos que sabiam a regra de cor mas não conseguiam usar no dia a dia. O conceito básico é simples, mas com nuances que todo material genérico ignora. There are four demonstrative pronouns in English: this, that, these e those. The difference between them has two axes — distance (near vs far) and number (singular vs plural). This e these são para coisas próximas; that e those para coisas distantes. Perto no espaço, perto no tempo. Longe no espaço, longe no tempo.

Mas aqui vai o problema que ninguém conta: em inglês falado, "near" e "far" muitas vezes não têm nada a ver com distância física. They have to do with psychological distance, topic management, and how native speakers actually structure their sentences. Eu já vi pessoas usarem "that" para algo literalmente na mão delas, porque estavam se referindo a algo mencionado anteriormente na conversa, não algo fisicamente distante.

Como usar na prática: o que realmente importa

Vamos direto ao ponto. When you point at something right in front of you, you say "this." When you point at something across the room, you say "that." Straightforward, right? Except it isn't always. Here's where it gets interesting. This is used for singular things that are close in space or time. That is used for singular things that are far in space or time. These and those are the plural versions of the same thing. But here's the nuance most courses skip: "that" is also the default pronoun when you're referring back to something already established in the conversation, regardless of physical distance. This is called "cataphora" and "anaphora" in linguistics, but you don't need the fancy names — you just need to know that after you've introduced something, you switch from "this" to "that."

For example, you might say "I bought this book yesterday" (you're holding it), but then later in the same conversation you'd say "That book was really interesting" even if the book is still right there on the table. Why? Because now you're referring back to an idea already in the shared context, not pointing at an object in your immediate space.

Exercícios com pronomes demonstrativos ingles exercicios

Agora vamos à parte que todo mundo pede — pronomes demonstrativos ingles exercicios. Here are some practical exercises. I wrote these based on the mistakes I see most often in real classroom settings, not just random textbook questions. Exercise 1: Choose the correct pronoun.

1. ___ keys are on the table. (Aqui estão as chaves — você está apontando para elas agora) 2. I remember ___ day we spent at the beach. (Está falando de um dia específico no passado)

3. ___ is my favorite song. (Apontando para a tela do celular, bem pertinho) 4. Have you heard about ___ news from yesterday? (Notícia já conhecida, mencionada antes)

5. ___ are the students I was telling you about. (Mostrando um grupo de pessoas a uma certa distância) Exercise 2: Rewrite the sentences replacing the underlined part with the correct demonstrative pronoun.

6. I don't like these shoes. They're too small. 7. This idea is brilliant, actually.

8. Can you pass me that paper over there? 9. Those mountains in the distance look amazing.

10. I've never seen that movie before. Is it good? Exercise 3: Fix the mistakes.

11. Look at this! (apontando para um avião longe no céu) 12. These were the best days of my life. (falando de tempos atrás, sem apontar para nada)

13. I prefer that color. (estando em uma loja, indicando uma tela de computador na sua frente) 14. Who are those people? (sinalizando pessoas bem pertinho de você)

15. This kind of problem happens all the time. (descrevendo algo generalizado, sem objeto físico)

A resposta dos exercícios

Here are the answers, but more importantly, here's why each one works the way it does: 1. These — plural e próximo. 2. That — evento passado, distância temporal. 3. This — objeto muito próximo (tela do celular). 4. That — algo já introduzido na conversa, não é nova informação. 5. Those — plural e distante no espaço.

6. I don't like these. 7. This idea is brilliant. 8. Can you pass me that over there? 9. Those look amazing. 10. I've never seen that before. 11. The mistake is using "this" for something far away. Should be "Look at that!" 12. This one is actually correct — "these" works for distant time when you're emotionally connected to the memory. If you were writing objectively about history, "those" might feel more natural, but both can work. 13. The mistake is using "that" when pointing at something right in front of you on the screen. Should be "I prefer this color." 14. Should be "Who are these people?" if they're very close. 15. This is actually correct as is — "this kind of problem" is the standard collocation for general statements.

Um erro específico que eu encontrei e como contornei

I once had a student who consistently used "this" for everything, even when referring to things mentioned minutes earlier in the conversation. Her Portuguese influence was strong — in Portuguese, "este" and "esse" have similar/longe distinctions, but the rules are different and more flexible. The workaround I used was simple: I asked her to physically move objects around the room during practice. When she said "this," the object had to be within arm's reach. When she said "that," she had to place it on the other side of the room. It felt silly, but within two sessions her accuracy went from about 40% to around 85% on spontaneous speech. The physical association anchored the rule in muscle memory rather than abstract logic.

O que os livros não ensinam (e por que isso importa)

Here's something most resources won't tell you: in American English, "these" and "those" are used significantly more often than British English speakers would expect, especially in informal speech. Native speakers tend to overuse demonstratives as discourse markers — "I was thinking about this thing, and then that happened" — which sounds natural to them but looks wrong to anyone who learned from a grammar book. Another counter-intuitive point: "that" can replace an entire clause, not just a noun. For example: "She said she was tired, and that is understandable." Here "that" doesn't refer to a physical object at all — it refers to the entire previous idea. This usage is extremely common and almost never explained properly in beginner materials.

Also worth noting: demonstrative pronouns can function as determiners (before a noun: "this book") or as standalone pronouns (replacing the noun: "this is my book"). Beginners often confuse the two structures. The rule is simple — if a noun follows immediately, it's a determiner. If the pronoun stands alone, it's a pronoun. But in practice, learners mix them up because Portuguese doesn't make this distinction as cleanly.

Limitações deste método

I should be honest about what doesn't work. Memorizing the near/far rule won't help you in advanced conversations where demonstratives are used for rhetorical purposes — like "I'm not saying this is easy, but..." where "this" isn't about proximity at all, it's about framing. Also, some ESL programs rely exclusively on written exercises, which naturally favor correct usage but don't build the speed needed for real-time conversation. If your goal is fluency rather than test-taking, you'll need to practice with native speakers or listen to real dialogues, not just complete worksheets. Another limitation: there's no definitive rule for when to choose "this" versus "that" when both seem equally close or far. In those cases, native speakers just pick one based on habit and rhythm. No amount of grammar study will fully resolve this ambiguity, and that's okay. Even advanced learners and native speakers occasionally pause mid-sentence to decide.

For formal writing, stick to the standard rules. For casual speech, accept that variation exists and focus on being understood rather than being perfectly correct. That's the reality of living with these pronouns — they're simple until they're not, and they stay that way no matter how much you practice.