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I understand that a demonstrative pronoun is a word that replaces a noun as if pointing to it. For example, "I want to buy a car. This one is cheap. Those are expensive." This and those are demonstrative pronouns, they replace the noun car. But, if I say, "This car is expensive," what role does this play now? Is it still a demonstrative pronoun? Now the sentence has a noun and a pronoun? Or is 'this' now a different part of speech? Thanks for any clarification.

user3305765
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  • I want to buy a car. This one* is cheap. Those cars are expensive. [The same words (demonstrative pronouns) are used as demonstrative adjectives* when they modify nouns or pronouns.](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/demonstrative-pronouns#:~:text=Pronouns%20that%20point%20to%20specific,%2C%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%9Cthose%20boys.%E2%80%9D) – FumbleFingers Jan 11 '21 at 12:32
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    The demonstratives are not pronouns; they are determinatives. In their dependent use, as in "This one is cheap", they function as pre-head determiner. In their independent use, as in "those are expensive" they function as 'fused' determiner-head in NP structure. – BillJ Jan 11 '21 at 12:37
  • Think of demonstratives as special-purpose pronouns that can work like adjectives or nouns: this, this one, this car, this old red car with paint stains. Being a determiner, it has to go in the noun phrase before all the adjectives, like articles. In fact, this, that, these, those and the have a historic root in common. – John Lawler Jan 11 '21 at 14:35
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    Does this answer your question? parts of speech the word 'that' can belong to – Edwin Ashworth Jan 11 '21 at 15:06
  • The demonstratives can't be pronouns because they have plural forms, and unlike pronouns they can function as degree modifier, as in "Ed is not often this late". – BillJ Jan 11 '21 at 17:58
  • Thank you for the input everyone. This is all very helpful. I've got what I need now. – user3305765 Jan 12 '21 at 16:13

2 Answers2

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Well, I believe it's the same pronoun in both cases. Wether it's "this" or "this car".

They take the subject role in all your examples. In case of "this" we are just omitting the noun "car" to avoid duplicate words.

Ren
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  • That's incorrect. In their dependent use, as in "This one is cheap", they function as pre-head determiner. In their independent use, as in "those are expensive" they function as 'fused' determiner-head in NP structure. – BillJ Jan 11 '21 at 12:38
  • That's CGEL terminology, and correct as far as it goes. As long as you don't limit pronoun to independent NPs, though, there's no harm in calling demonstratives pronouns. It's easier to stretch one's concept of what a "pronoun" is than it is to memorize a dozen novel terms, however exact they may be, if they're not understood. That's what brought us to this pass in the first place. – John Lawler Jan 11 '21 at 14:38
  • Which is, of course, the grammar that many of us are using. The demonstratives can't be pronouns because they have plural forms, and unlike pronouns they can function as degree modifier, as in "Ed is not often this late". – BillJ Jan 11 '21 at 15:26
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In "This car is expensive," this is a determiner acting as demonstrative adjective.

Greybeard
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