It's / These are / They are

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Alex+

#465021 Wed, 16 Jan 08 04:11 PM

I can't see the difference between:

It's my photos.
These are my photos.
They are my photos.

Could you explain the difference between these sentences and give some examples of situations when each of them can be used?

Alex+

Joined on Wed, Apr 11 2007

Full Member (222)

Difference between

Doll

#465063 Wed, 16 Jan 08 05:45 PM

My try:

I have never saw the first and third sentence used like this. My vote is only for 2. Smile [:)]

Doll

Joined on Sat, Mar 10 2007

Turkey

Senior Member (2,575)

I am a netizen!

Vorpar

#465306 Thu, 17 Jan 08 06:13 AM

It's is a contraction of "it is".

The first sentence should read "It's my photo." (singular)

These are... I would use if the photos are right in front of me, or if I'm holding them.

They are... They is a pronoun. You can only use a pronoun after the noun is named.

You could use "Those are my photos." if the photos aren't near you.

Vorpar

Joined on Tue, Sep 20 2005

Santa Barbara, CA

Regular Member (830)

Nouns, Pronouns, Contractions

Anonymous

#465427 Thu, 17 Jan 08 01:11 PM

1. I've come across a lot of times with "It's + plural", like: "It's your problems." or "It's my friends." Are they not correct?

2. Which answers are correct?

What are these? – It's my clothes. / These are my clothes. / They are my clothes.

Who were those people? – It was my friends. / Those were my friends. / They were my friends.

Anonymous

Plurals

Alex+

#465430 Thu, 17 Jan 08 01:13 PM

Alex+

Plurals

Mister Micawber

#465433 Thu, 17 Jan 08 01:21 PM

1. I've come across a lot of times with "It's + plural", like: "It's your problems." or "It's my friends." Are they not correct? -- These sound odd, but can be correct in certain circumstances, e.g. 'What irritates you most about me? -- It's all your problems!'

2. Which answers are correct?

What are these? –These are my clothes. / They are my clothes.

Who were those people? – Those were my friends. / They were my friends.

Mister Micawber

Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004

Yokohama

Veteran Member (22,310)

'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'

Plurals

Alex+

#465444 Thu, 17 Jan 08 01:45 PM

Thank you for your reply.

1. Is there any difference between using "these" and "they"? And which do you use more often? Which is better for these examples?

ex: What are these? –These are my clothes. / They are my clothes.

ex: I've bought some gegs. – What are
these? / What are they?

ex: Are these apples or pears? - These are pears. / They are pears?

2. "Who are these? – These are our relatives."

This is a part of a dialog from my book. The author is not English. Is "Who are these?" not correct?

Alex+

Difference between

Mister Micawber

#465655 Fri, 18 Jan 08 03:31 AM

1. Is there any difference between using "these" and "they"? And which do you use more often? Which is better for these examples?
ex: What are these? –These are my clothes. / They are my clothes.
ex: I've bought some gegs. – What are these? / What are they?
ex: Are these apples or pears? - These/Those are pears. / They are pears?

-- I don't see much difference in many of the uses, Alex-- I suspect that in a conversation, if deictic (demonstrative) reference is considered necessary, these will be used, while if the indicated location is self-evident, they will be chosen-- chosen unconsciously, of course.

2. "Who are these? – These are our relatives." This is a part of a dialog from my book. The author is not English. Is "Who are these?" not correct? -- The sentence is correct if the context has the speaker e.g. pointing to the photograph.

Mister Micawber

Difference between, Conversations

Alex+

#466560 Sun, 20 Jan 08 10:40 AM

Dear, Mister Micawber, I hope my questions don't seem to you very stupid. J The point is that in my language we don't say "What are they?". We use "What are these?" in all cases, whether we point to the objects or identify them. That's why I can't "feel" the difference between these questions.

Could you answer some more my questions?

1. Can I use "What is this?" or "What are these?" to identify objects (when the indicated location is self-evident) ?

ex: "Look, what I bought. – What is this? / What are these?"

2. Can I use "these" or "those" without a noun if I point to the people standing close or at some distance?
ex: The speaker is pointing to the group of people: "Who are those? Do you know them?"

3. I this example correct?
ex: "The Browns sent you their regards. – Who are these? I don't know any Browns."

Alex+

Regards, Difference between, Nouns

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