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Which of the sentences below are correct?

This’s my best friend, William.
Those’re my classmates, James and Harry.
That’s my teacher, Mrs Wilson.

UPDATE: I just took an exam. The correct sentence is the last one, but I don't understand why.

Bradd Szonye
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Nguyen Minh Binh
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    All of those look fine (although you wouldn't normally write this's contracted, since it sounds the same as this is). Do you have reason to believe that some of them may be incorrect? – Bradd Szonye May 16 '13 at 10:21
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    Also, I don't think you would normally write Those're for Those are, for the same reason given by Bradd. – TrevorD May 16 '13 at 10:35
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    The reason the last sentence is correct on your exam is because "this's" and "those're" are not standard contractions in English. I use them to save characters here in comment boxes, but not when writing formal English. –  May 16 '13 at 10:42
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    This is a wonderful example of a very bad exam question. Your (entirely understandable) focus on choosing among this, those and that meant that you were not even considering the grammar convention that the person who set the exam thought he was testing. – Fortiter May 16 '13 at 10:47
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    "this's" isn't a good contraction in written or spoken English. I've never seen it before. – Mitch May 16 '13 at 12:59

2 Answers2

4

All three are grammatically correct and can be used to introduce persons, but only That’s my teacher, Mrs. Wilson. is normally written. The first two are uncommon contractions in those sentences.

Which demonstrative pronoun you use is a matter of context.

This implies that you're standing or sitting close to your best friend, or else pointing to a picture of him.
Those implies that your classmates are farther away from you than your best friend is, or in a different part of the picture. Some native speakers might use these and others might use they. That also suggests that your teacher is more distant from you than your best friend is.

You might also being using different pronouns because you like variety and don't want to say this every time.

3

I see nothing wrong with using this for a person. Basically, this can be used to point out anything nearby. If a person is near you, you can introduce him by pointing with this.

Bradd Szonye
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BaSha
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