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What is the difference?

Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 8:51 am
by ckny
Hi, hello all,

what is the difference between
THAT IS ....
THIS IS ....

or can I use it equally ?

Kind regards,
Chris

Re: What is the difference?

Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 9:58 am
by DaveAgain
ckny wrote:Hi, hello all,

what is the difference between
THAT IS ....
THIS IS ....

or can I use it equally ?

Kind regards,
Chris
For physical objects it would be a distance thing: this one here, that one there. When discussing concepts/opinions/events, your choice might just be phrasing.

Re: What is the difference?

Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 4:31 pm
by Lianne
DaveAgain wrote:For physical objects it would be a distance thing: this one here, that one there. When discussing concepts/opinions/events, your choice might just be phrasing.

I think the same principle generally applies with less concrete examples.

Example 1:
This is ridiculous. -- This situation/conversation that I am in right now is ridiculous.
That is ridiculous. -- Something I just heard about/a situation happening elsewhere is ridiculous.

Example 2:
This is a good song. -- The song that's playing right now is a good song.
That is a good song. -- A song we're talking about is a good song.

Edit: improved one of my examples.

Re: What is the difference?

Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 6:15 pm
by Speakeasy
I agree with the explanations provided by DaveAgain and Lianne.
Which Apple.png

Going beyond the referential uses, “that is” is often used as a shortened form of the expression “that is to say”, which is used an introductory remark to an expanded explanation, often in greater detail, of something that has just been expressed.

English: That is (to say) ...
French: C’est-à-dire ...
German: Das heisst ...


EDITED:
Presentation of "that is (to say)" in English, French, and German.