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这 refers to someone or something relatively closer to the speaker, which means “this”;
那 refers to someone or something relatively distant from the speaker, which means “that.”
Both 这 and 那 can be used as a subject or an attribute of a sentence. When functioning as an attribute, it can be used before “number + measure word”.
这/那 + number + measure word + noun
As the subject
e.g.
这是我的书，那是你的书。(Zhè shì wǒ de shū, nà shì nǐ de shū.) This is my book, that is your book.
A：这是谁？(Zhè shì shéi?) Who is this?
B：这是我妹妹。(Zhè shì wǒ mèimei.) This is my sister.
A：那是什么？(Nà shì shénme?) What is that?
B：那是我朋友的车。(Nà shì wǒ péngyǒu de chē.) That’s my friend’s car.
Note that when functioning as the subject, 这 or 那 is often used in the sentence “是”.
As an attribute
谁喝了这杯水？(Shéi hēle zhè bēi shuǐ?) Who drank this glass of water?
那两个书包很漂亮。(Nà liǎng gè shūbāo hěn piàoliang.) Those two bags are beautiful.
我喜欢这三件红衣服。(Wǒ xǐhuān zhè sān jiàn hóng yīfu.) I love these three red dresses.
Note that if the number of the classifier pattern is “一”, “一” could be omitted.
Both 这儿 and 这里 refer to a nearby location;
Both 那儿 and 那里 refer to a relatively distant location.
But 这儿 and 那儿 are more used in oral Chinese; 这里 and 那里 can be used in oral and written.
These demonstrative pronouns can be used as a subject, object, or attribute in a sentence.
e.g.
这里是我家，那里是我弟弟家。(Zhèlǐ shì wǒjiā, nàlǐ shì wǒ dìdi jiā.) This is my house, there is my brother’s house.
A：我的茶呢？(Wǒ de chá ne?) Where’s my tea?
B：你的茶在这儿。(Nǐ de chá zài zhèr.) Here is your tea.
北京的冬天很美，那儿的东西也很好吃。(Běijīng de dōngtiān hěn měi, nàr de dōngxi yě hěn hǎo chī.) Beijing’s winter is beautiful, and the food there is delicious.
Note that the personal pronoun can’t be the location by itself when indicating location. The demonstrative pronouns such as 这儿、这里、那儿、那里 need to be used.
e.g.
✘ 下班以后，你来我。(Xiàbān yǐhòu, nǐ lái wǒ.)
✔ 下班以后，你来我这里。(Xiàbān yǐhòu, nǐ lái wǒ zhèlǐ.) After get off work, you come to me.
A：你去哪儿？(Nǐ qù nǎr?) Where are you going?
✔B：我去老师那儿。(Wǒ qù lǎoshī nàr.) I go to the teacher.
✘ B：我去老师。 (Wǒ qù lǎoshī)
Different from “这” and “那”, “这些” and “那些” refers to a group of things or people.
“这些” refers to a group of things or people that are closer to the speaker;
“那些” refers to a group of things or people that are relatively more distant from the speaker.
“这些” and “那些” are often used as an attribute followed by nouns. In certain contexts, it can be a subject by itself.
e.g.
我不喜欢这些人。(Wǒ bù xǐhuān zhèxiē rén.) I don’t like these people.
我想吃那些水果。(Wǒ xiǎng chī nàxiē shuǐguǒ.) I want to eat those fruits.
A：书是谁的？(Shū shì shéi de?) Whose book does it belong to?
B：这些是我的，那些是我同学的。(Zhèxiē shì wǒ de, nàxiē shì wǒ tóngxué de.) These are mine, those are my classmates.
“别的” refers to other things or other people which distinguish them from the existing known ones.
This word can be used as an attribute followed by a noun. It can be used as a subject or object in certain contexts.
e.g.
你来学校了，别的同学呢？(Nǐ lái xuéxiàole, bié de tóngxué ne?) You have come to school, what about other students?
你买了衣服，还想买别的东西吗？(Nǐ mǎile yīfu, hái xiǎng mǎi bié de dōngxi ma?) You bought clothes, do you want to buy anything else?
早上我只喝了咖啡，没吃别的。(Zǎoshang wǒ zhǐ hēle kāfēi, méi chī bié de.) In the morning I only had coffee and nothing else.
“有的” refers to some of the things or people.
It can be used as an attribute followed by a noun.
e.g.
今年有的公司一周只工作四天。(Jīnnián yǒu de gōngsī yīzhōu zhǐ gōngzuò sì tiān.) Some companies this year only work four days a week.
昨天有的同学迟到了。(Zuótiān yǒu de tóngxué chídàole.) Some students were late yesterday.
这个超市有的东西非常贵。(Zhège chāoshì yǒu de dōngxi fēicháng guì.) The items in this supermarket are very expensive.
When functioning as a subject, there are often comparative meanings and expressions.
e.g.
这些画，有的是我的，有的是他的。(Zhèxiē huà, yǒude shì wǒ de, yǒude shì tā de.) Some of these paintings are mine and some are his.
每个人不一样，有的喜欢喝茶，有的喜欢喝咖啡，有的喜欢喝水。(Měi gèrén bù yīyàng, yǒu de xǐhuān hē chá, yǒu de xǐhuān hē kāfēi, yǒu de xǐhuān hē shuǐ.) Everyone is different, some like to drink tea, some like to drink coffee, some like to drink water.
孩子们跑步，有的快，有的慢。(Háizimen pǎobù, yǒu de kuài, yǒu de màn.) The children run, some fast, some slowly.
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One Response
Question:
In Exercises 2, question 3, why don’t we use the location pronoun 那儿 or 那里? What’s the difference with question 8 then?
Note:
In Exercices 2, question 9, the translation should be: I only like puppy dogs, I don’t like any other animals.