Demonstrative Pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are words which indicate specific items. We have already seen demonstratives used to mean ‘the’ with our strong nouns, but ‘se’, ‘þæt’ and ‘seo’ can also mean ‘that’. In fact, it should be obvious that the modern word ‘that’ comes from the neuter demonstrative ‘þæt’.

Examine the sentences below. The translation ‘that sheep is bigger and that sheep is smaller’ makes a lot more sense than ‘the sheep is bigger and the sheep is smaller’, so it is important to realise that a demonstrative such as 'þæt' might either mean 'the' or 'that' depending on context, even though we have been using them for ‘the’ up until now.

It should be noted that while in modern English ‘the’ is considered an article, in Old English ‘the’ is considered to be a demonstrative pronoun because it can be used on its own. For example, examine the sentence below and you will see that the same demonstrative pronouns we have been using for 'the' can be used in much the same was as that, he, she, it. For example, the first sentence could be translated as 'That one was a mournful woman' and the second sentence could be translated as 'She is my daughter' or 'That is my daughter'.

Demonstratives can also be used to add more specificity to nouns. In modern English, the demonstrative pronouns would be this, that, these, those. They are sometimes known as ‘pointing pronouns’ as they are often used when referencing specific objects or providing location. For example, examine the sentence: The King gave this ring to his wife and that ring to his daughter.

Pronouns decline for gender in the singular, so in the nominative we have 'þes ræd - this counsel', 'þis templ - this temple', 'þeos woruld - this world'. However, you will notice in the table below that the plural is the same for all genders, and where the pronouns have the same form in the 'þes' declensions, such as 'þis' being used for both neuter nominative and accusative singular, they also share the same form for the 'se' declensions.

You can practice using both types of demonstrative pronouns below. When you're ready, you can continue on to the next topic using the right link below.