Demonstrative Pronouns in Russian

In Brief

Russian этот / эта / это / эти mean “this/these,” while тот / та / то / те mean “that/those.” Before a noun, the demonstrative agrees with that noun in gender, number, and case: эта книга (“this book”), эти книги (“these books”), в этой книге (“in this book”). However, the identifying word это stays unchanged in sentences such as Это книга (“This is a book”).

Overview

A demonstrative is a pointing word: it tells your listener which person or thing you mean. English uses this, that, these, and those. Russian makes the same basic near–far distinction, but it also changes the demonstrative to match the noun. A noun is a word for a person, thing, place, or idea, such as студент, книга, or место.

This is an A1 topic because these forms immediately let you identify and distinguish everyday things: этот билет (“this ticket”), та остановка (“that stop”), and эти ключи (“these keys”). The first step is to choose a form by gender and number. Gender is the grammatical class of a singular noun—masculine, feminine, or neuter—and number tells you whether the noun is singular or plural.

Russian later adds another layer: case. A case is a change in a word’s form that shows its job in a sentence—for example, whether it is the subject, direct object, destination, or location. Demonstratives decline much like adjectives, so learning their forms also prepares you for adjective agreement.

How It Works

The beginner rule: match the noun

In the nominative case—the dictionary form, commonly used for the subject—use the following forms:

Distance or contrast	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Plural
this / these	этот	эта	это	эти
that / those	тот	та	то	те

Match the demonstrative to the noun, not to the speaker or owner:

• этот дом — this house; дом is masculine
• эта машина — this car; машина is feminine
• это место — this place; место is neuter
• эти дома — these houses; the noun is plural
• тот музей, та улица, то здание, те люди — that museum, that street, that building, those people

Unlike English, Russian does not use one singular form for every noun. English “this” can therefore become этот, эта, or это.

Position in the noun phrase

A noun phrase is a noun together with words that describe or identify it. The demonstrative normally comes before any adjective and the noun:

Pattern	Russian	Meaning
demonstrative + noun	эта книга	this book
demonstrative + adjective + noun	эта новая книга	this new book
demonstrative + adjective + adjective + noun	тот большой старый дом	that large old house

All agreeing words match the noun. In эта новая книга, both эта and новая are feminine singular. Russian word order can move these words for emphasis or style, but the order above is the safe, neutral pattern.

Choosing between этот and тот

The physical-distance rule is useful:

• этот points to something relatively near: “this one here”
• тот points to something relatively distant: “that one there”

But actual distance is not always involved. Этот can mark the person, object, time, or idea currently in focus, while тот can refer back to something more remote in the conversation or contrast it with another choice:

• Мне нравится эта куртка, а не та. — I like this jacket, not that one.
• В этом году — this year
• В тот день — on that day

Russian does not require a measurable distance. Speakers choose the form according to viewpoint and contrast, much as English speakers choose between this and that.

The crucial contrast: это окно and Это окно

The same spelling это has two different jobs.

1. In это окно (“this window”), это is the neuter singular form agreeing with окно.
2. In Это окно (“This is a window”), это identifies or presents something and stays unchanged.

Compare the patterns:

Pattern	Example	What happens
demonstrative + noun	эта книга — this book	The demonstrative agrees with the noun.
это + identification	Это книга. — This is a book.	Это is invariable.
это + identification	Это мой брат. — This is my brother.	It remains это, despite masculine брат.
это + identification	Это мои друзья. — These are my friends.	It remains это, despite the plural noun.

The difference is usually clear from meaning and sentence structure. Это новое кафе can mean “This is a new café” or, in the right context, “this new café.” In speech, intonation and context resolve the reading.

The question Что это? means “What is this/that?” and Кто это? means “Who is this/that?” Russian often uses invariable это where English switches among this, that, these, and those in an identifying sentence.

Standing without a noun

A demonstrative may stand alone when the missing noun is obvious. It still uses the form that the understood noun would require:

• Какую книгу ты хочешь? — Эту. — Which book do you want? — This one.
• Какой стол свободен? — Тот. — Which table is free? — That one.
• Какие яблоки свежие? — Эти. — Which apples are fresh? — These ones.

This is a true pronoun-like use: the word replaces the noun instead of modifying it.

Case forms

At A1, concentrate first on этот, эта, это, эти and тот, та, то, те. As you learn the six Russian cases, the demonstrative changes together with its noun. The full singular patterns are:

Case	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Typical meaning or use
Nominative	этот / тот	эта / та	это / то	this/that as subject
Genitive	этого / того	этой / той	этого / того	of/from this/that
Dative	этому / тому	этой / той	этому / тому	to this/that
Accusative, inanimate	этот / тот	эту / ту	это / то	this/that as direct object
Accusative, animate	этого / того	эту / ту	—	this/that person or animal as direct object
Instrumental	этим / тем	этой (этою) / той (тою)	этим / тем	with/by this/that
Prepositional	этом / том	этой / той	этом / том	in/on/about this/that

A direct object is the person or thing directly affected by an action: the book in “I read the book.” Russian masculine accusative forms distinguish animate nouns (people and animals) from inanimate nouns (things): вижу этого студента (“I see this student”) but вижу этот дом (“I see this house”).

Plural forms do not distinguish gender:

Case	this / these	that / those
Nominative	эти	те
Genitive	этих	тех
Dative	этим	тем
Accusative, inanimate	эти	те
Accusative, animate	этих	тех
Instrumental	этими	теми
Prepositional	этих	тех

Do not try to memorize these as isolated words. Learn whole phrases such as в этом городе (“in this city”), с этой женщиной (“with this woman”), and для тех студентов (“for those students”). The demonstrative, any adjective, and the noun all carry matching case information.

Examples in Context

Russian	English	Note
Этот дом большой.	This house is big.	Masculine singular
Эта книга интересная.	This book is interesting.	Feminine singular
Это место свободно?	Is this seat/place free?	Neuter agreeing form
Эти дети живут рядом.	These children live nearby.	Plural
Тот человек — мой друг.	That person is my friend.	Distant or contrasted person
Та дверь закрыта.	That door is closed.	Feminine singular
Те студенты хорошо учатся.	Those students study well.	Plural
Это моя сестра.	This is my sister.	Invariable identifying это
Это наши билеты.	These are our tickets.	Это remains unchanged before a plural identification
Я покупаю эту рубашку.	I’m buying this shirt.	Feminine accusative эту
Я знаю этого врача.	I know this doctor.	Animate masculine accusative этого
Мы живём в этом районе.	We live in this neighborhood.	Prepositional case after в
Она говорит о той встрече.	She is talking about that meeting.	Feminine prepositional той
Мне нравится эта сумка, а не та.	I like this bag, not that one.	та stands without the repeated noun
В тот день шёл снег.	It snowed that day.	A time remembered as separate or past

Common Mistakes

Using это before every noun

• Wrong: это книга for “this book” inside a larger phrase
• Right: эта книга
• Why: Before a feminine noun, the agreeing demonstrative is эта. Use invariable это in an identification such as Это книга (“This is a book”). Capitalization alone does not create the difference; the word’s job does.

Matching the demonstrative to English instead of Russian gender

• Wrong: эта музей
• Right: этот музей
• Why: Музей is grammatically masculine, so it requires masculine этот. Choose by the Russian noun’s gender, not by the object’s natural qualities or the English word.

Keeping the nominative form in another case

• Wrong: Я живу в этот городе.
• Right: Я живу в этом городе.
• Why: Location with в takes the prepositional case here. Both words change: этот город → в этом городе.

Forgetting animacy in the masculine accusative

• Wrong: Я вижу этот студент.
• Right: Я вижу этого студента.
• Why: A male student is animate, so masculine accusative takes the genitive-shaped forms этого студента. An inanimate noun stays nominative-shaped: Я вижу этот стол.

Translating English “that” mechanically

• Awkward: Я думаю тот он дома.
• Right: Я думаю, что он дома. — I think that he is at home.
• Why: Demonstrative тот points out a noun or replaces one. The English clause-linking word that is normally Russian что, not тот.

Changing identifying это to match the following noun

• Wrong: Эти мои друзья when you mean “These are my friends.”
• Right: Это мои друзья.
• Why: In an identifying sentence, это stays fixed. Эти мои друзья is a noun phrase meaning “these friends of mine,” not a complete neutral identification by itself.

Usage Notes

Russian uses этот for more than physical closeness. It can mean “the current one” in на этой неделе (“this week”), introduce a person or topic already under discussion, or express a speaker’s attitude. Depending on tone, этот человек can sound neutral (“this person”) or slightly distancing (“this person here”). Context and intonation matter.

Тот often creates an explicit contrast, even when both objects are visible and equally near: Возьми эту чашку, не ту (“Take this cup, not that one”). It is also common with remembered times and situations: в то время (“at that time”), после той встречи (“after that meeting”).

Russian has no articles equivalent to English a/an and the. Demonstratives are not routine substitutes for the. Use этот or тот only when you genuinely point out, contrast, identify, or refer back to a particular item. English “I read the book” may simply be Я прочитал книгу, not automatically Я прочитал эту книгу.

In everyday speech, вот often accompanies pointing: Вот эта книга means “this book right here” or “this particular book.” Вон тот дом means “that house over there.” These particles make the physical or contrastive gesture stronger, but the demonstrative still agrees normally.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the patterns in this section at A1, but you will meet them often in reading and conversation.

тот, кто and то, что

Тот, кто ... means “the one who ...,” and то, что ... often means “what/that which ...”:

• Тот, кто знает ответ, может войти. — The person who knows the answer may come in.
• Я понял то, что ты сказал. — I understood what you said.

The form of тот is determined by its role in the main clause, while кто has its own role in the following clause: Я помог тому, кто спросил (“I helped the person who asked”). Here тому is dative because it follows помог.

тот же and этот же

The particle же creates the meaning “the same” or adds emphasis:

• тот же вопрос — the same question
• в той же комнате — in the same room
• этот же автор — this very author / the same author

The demonstrative still declines: тот же человек, того же человека, с тем же человеком. Же itself never changes.

Repeated and emphatic forms

Colloquial Russian may use expressions such as этот самый (“this very one,” “the one in question”) or repeat a pointing structure to clarify a choice. The expression тот самый commonly means “that very one” or “the exact one”: Это тот самый ресторан (“That is the very restaurant / That’s the restaurant we meant”). These forms add emphasis rather than establishing a new distance rule.

Stylistic distance

Writers and speakers can use этот and тот to organize a story, contrast periods, or signal emotional closeness and distance. Этот мир may feel immediate and present; тот мир can mean another world, the world of the past, or—in some contexts—the afterlife. Such interpretations come from context, not from a separate declension pattern.

Practice Tips

1. Sort nouns into four slots. Choose five familiar nouns for each pattern: masculine этот, feminine эта, neuter это, and plural эти. Then repeat the exercise with тот / та / то / те.
2. Practice the two uses of это in pairs. Say Это окно (“This is a window”), then Это окно открыто (“This window is open”). Continue with Это книга / Эта книга новая and Это друзья / Эти друзья здесь.
3. Learn case forms as phrases. Put labels on imagined locations or people: в этом доме, на этой улице, с тем другом, о тех книгах. Whole phrases are easier to retrieve than a bare declension chart.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Noun Gender — explains why Russian nouns require masculine, feminine, or neuter forms.
• Next step: Nominative Case — develops the basic subject and identification patterns used here.
• Next step: Adjective Case Endings — extends the same gender, number, and case agreement across full noun phrases.