المحادثة: هَذَا وَذَلِكَ — مَا هَذَا؟ مَا ذَلِكَ؟
Dialogue: Using “this” and “that” in conversation
أَحْمَد
يَا عَلِيُّ، هَذَا كِتَابٌ جَدِيدٌ. أَتَرَاهُ؟
O Ali, this is a new book. Do you see it?
عَلِي
نَعَمْ، هَذَا كِتَابٌ حَسَنٌ. وَهَذَا قَلَمٌ أَيْضًا.
Yes, this is a good book. And this is a pen too.
أَحْمَد
وَذَلِكَ مَسْجِدٌ كَبِيرٌ. وَتِلْكَ مَدْرَسَةٌ قَرِيبَةٌ.
And that (m.) is a big mosque. And that (f.) is a school nearby.
عَلِي
مَا هَذَا عَلَى الْمَكْتَبِ؟ هَذَا مِفْتَاحٌ أَمْ قَلَمٌ؟
What is this on the desk? Is this a key or a pen?
أَحْمَد
هَذَا مِفْتَاحٌ. وَذَلِكَ بَابُ الْفَصْلِ.
This is a key. And that is the door of the classroom.
عَلِي
هَذِهِ سَيَّارَةٌ بَيْضَاءُ. وَتِلْكَ سَيَّارَةٌ سَوْدَاءُ.
This (f.) is a white car. And that (f.) is a black car.
أَحْمَد
مَنْ هَؤُلَاءِ؟ هَؤُلَاءِ طُلَّابُ الْمَدْرَسَةِ.
Who are these (people)? These are the students of the school.
عَلِي
وَأُولَئِكَ أَصْدِقَائِي. أُولَئِكَ فِي الْبَيْتِ.
And those (far) are my friends. Those are in the house.
أَحْمَد
هَذَا بَيْتٌ وَذَلِكَ مَسْجِدٌ. الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ.
This is a house and that is a mosque. Praise be to Allah.
عَلِي
نَعَمْ، هَذَا وَذَلِكَ وَهَؤُلَاءِ وَأُولَئِكَ — كُلُّهَا أَسْمَاءُ إِشَارَةٍ.
Yes, this and that and these and those — they are all demonstratives.
Grammar Note
In this dialogue you see هَذَا (this, masc.), هَذِهِ (this, fem.), ذَلِكَ (that, masc.), تِلْكَ (that, fem.), هَؤُلَاءِ (these, people), and أُولَئِكَ (those, far). The noun after the demonstrative stays indefinite (with tanween) and agrees in gender.