Translated examples
この本を読みます。
I will read this book.
そのかばんは重いですか。
Is that bag near you heavy?
あの人は先生です。
That person over there is a teacher.
どの本が好きですか。
Which book do you like?
この店で買いました。
I bought it at this shop.
その写真を見せてください。
Please show me that photo.
この, その, and あの must accompany a noun: この本, その店, あの人. They help specify which book, shop, or person you mean. Unlike これ and それ, they cannot normally stand alone as the object of a request.
Formation and use
For physical pointing, この is near the speaker, その near the listener, and あの away from both. These words can modify nouns for people as well as objects: あの人.
Attach directly to the noun: この本. Do not insert another の to make このの本. If you need a possessive phrase, use a separate owner expression, as in 私の本.
Comparisons and common errors
どの＋noun selects within a relevant set: どの本が好きですか. If the noun is omitted, choose どれ instead. The particle follows the whole noun phrase.
Pointing to a person with あの人 may be grammatical but is not always the most courteous way to address them. Use a known name or an appropriate title when the situation calls for it.
Practise with explanations
Try the 10 questions below, or open the practice set. Check each answer or the whole set, read the explanation, and retry mistakes. First-attempt results are kept separately on this device.
Connected lessons
Sources
Try what you have just read
Recognise the pattern, write an answer from memory, then use it in a short reading. Your existing progress carries over.
Open the three-step lessonRelated Grammar
Kore, Sore, Are, and Dore: Point to Things
これ, それ, and あれ stand in for a thing. They do not need a following noun. Practise with 10 explained questions.
Dare, Donata, and Dare No: Ask Who and Whose
だれ asks who a person is; だれの asks who owns or is associated with something. どなた is a more polite alternative to だれ in many identity questions. Practise with 10 explained questions.
Put Japanese Adjectives Before Nouns
A Japanese adjective comes before the noun it describes. The connector depends on the adjective class: 新しい本 but 静かな部屋. Practise with 10 explained questions.