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Why is "these" preferred in academic writing to "those?"

English Language & Usage Asked by Connie Rylance on June 12, 2021

for academic writing

The drugs have other inactive ingredients such as galactose, rhodamine,
and hexylene glycol. Exactly why these ingredients remain inactive has
yet to be determined.

Question: Why do we use "these" ingredients rather than "those"?

One Answer

You use "these" for things that are closer or "at hand", like "these ingredients..." you just named.

Whereas "those" refers to something that is abstract, not close, general.

Correct me if I’m wrong. I’m not a native speaker but an English teacher here in Germany.

To my students I explain it with the situation in a shoe shop. You go in and take the first shoes you like, hold the pair in your hands and say "I like these shoes." But then you see another pair in a shelf which is at the other end of the Shop and you point to them and say "But I also like those shoes over there."

It's the same with "this" and "that" in singular.

Answered by Diana on June 12, 2021

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