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In Leon the Professional, Leon put a knife over a rich man's neck and the rich man said this to him.

Hey, relax, man. I got half of Bolivia sitting in them suitcases over here.

What's the meaning of "them" and can you give other examples using it?

user359347
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    it's a colloquialism for "in those suitcases". – Centaurus Nov 16 '19 at 01:35
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    please see https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/150674/using-them-instead-of-those The use of 'them' rather than 'those' is correct in some dialects of both American and British English. it is only incorrect according to the dialect called standard English. (also, as I recall, the movie in question is in French with English subtitles, so I can only guess that the ppl who wrote the subtitles wanted to convey a non-standard type of speaking in French by using a non standard way of speaking in English) – Arm the good guys in America Nov 16 '19 at 05:13
  • Does this answer your question? Using "them" instead of "those" – jsw29 Dec 16 '19 at 16:48

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This is just ungrammatical English. What he should have said is

Hey, relax, man. I got half of Bolivia sitting in those suitcases over here.

This misuse is frequently heard particularly in Cockney which is a dialect spoken in East London, traditionally by those born within earshot of Bow Bells (St Mary-le-Bow church). It is often associated with the working classes. The difference between them and those is answered over in ELL by this Q&A

Peter Jennings
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  • I wonder if it is also used that way in working class America... – Martin F Nov 16 '19 at 01:43
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    So, it’s not ungrammatical in the dialects where it is used. It’s just non-standard. – Jim Nov 16 '19 at 02:13
  • @MartinF it's certainly used in media depictions of working class American speech. – The Photon Nov 16 '19 at 03:18
  • why should someone speaking a dialect other than standard English speak according to that (latter) dialect – Arm the good guys in America Nov 16 '19 at 03:51
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    @green_ideas - That's a huge topic. Maybe you should ask it as a question, though i suspect it has already been asked and answered in many ways. I'll just say that standard English is constantly changing, and it's because so many people break the rules so often. – Martin F Nov 16 '19 at 05:04
  • Martin, perhaps you miss my point. the use of 'them' is not ungrammatical in some dialects of both American and British English, so this answer should be clarified to that effect. thus the speaker, speaking different dialect than the dialect called Standard English is speaking grammatically in his dialect and should not have said 'those' – Arm the good guys in America Nov 16 '19 at 05:22