1

Opinions sought. I vaguely remember that the expression "This is right" (meaning "I agree with what you just said") appeared in the 1970s. And I remember it because, if I remember correctly, it replaced in no time the till-then familiar phrase "That's right". Forty years later, it's normal to see sentences like... this:

"...inflation reached 200 percent. This led to a major upheaval..."

...whereas, it seems better/more logical to use "...200 percent. That led to..." - because "this" suggests something that's coming (e.g. that example above), while "that" has more a sense of what just passed ("I'll catch this bus, I missed that bus").

But then, dictionary.com says "this" means "used to indicate a * just mentioned", while "that" is "used to indicate a * mentioned before". So "this" should be the first choice. But it sounds wrong to my ear.

herisson
  • 81,803
plugincontainer
  • 153
  • I believe this question would be better suited for EnglishSE. – Thomas Reinstate Monica Myron Jul 21 '15 at 18:53
  • 1
    @Tommy opinion questions are off-topic everywhere, I believe. That said, I believe also there is a canonical question on English.SE that addresses the "this/that" distinction. – Kit Z. Fox Jul 21 '15 at 19:03
  • There's more than one way to say it. They're both acceptable. – Mr. Shiny and New 安宇 Jul 21 '15 at 19:07
  • The Writer tags I chose seemed to fit the question: style, editing, word-choice, grammar. This issue comes up all the time in texts I'm writing/editing –  Jul 21 '15 at 20:12
  • I'd say to pick one and stick with it. These little nuances are what makes each writer "personable" to the reader. –  Jul 21 '15 at 22:21
  • I kind of agree with you: "this" has an immediacy (this thing right here in front of us) while "that" has some remove (that thing over there). I don't know if there's a single right answer. –  Jul 22 '15 at 00:13
  • ...which is space, and that becomes time in a sentence - "this" for what's coming, and "that" for what's just been said. –  Jul 22 '15 at 05:13
  • I have small rule for myself: When I pick the conversation from someone else, I say for continuation: That's right. On the other hand when I continue my own idea whether in speaking or in writing, I use this is right. – Thinkeye Jul 28 '15 at 10:13
  • I don't know where you got it that "this is right" appeared suddenly in the 70s. https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=this+is+right%2Cthat+is+right%2Cthis+is+correct%2C+that+is+correct&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cthis%20is%20right%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cthat%20is%20right%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cthis%20is%20correct%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cthat%20is%20correct%3B%2Cc0 – Hot Licks Aug 28 '15 at 03:09

1 Answers1

1

I agree with what your dictionary tells you. As demonstrative pronouns, this and that allude to objects according to proximity: this thing close to me, that thing over by you. So think of this and that when they refer to ideas as metaphors for physical things: the closer idea gets a this and the farther idea gets a that.

Sam: This is what they tell me: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Dave: Whoever said that, didn't have many enemies.

Sam: That's probably true. What if I said this then: God bless and keep my enemies ... far away from me!

Dave: That sounds safer, and it sounds familiar.

Sam: I stole this from Fiddler on the Roof.

Feralthinker
  • 749
  • Applies to proximity in time too. In all the Sam&Dave lines above, "that" is what's past, and "this" is what's coming (like the buses). – plugincontainer Aug 28 '15 at 01:34