Question

Fill in the blank with the correct option:
_______________ shirts are mine.
a) These
b) This
c) It
d) That

Answer 1

Hint: In the given sentence the shirts are being pointed out. In such cases, the thing that is pointed out is the demonstrative pronoun. And they are in plural form.

Complete answer:
A demonstrative pronoun is a pronoun that is used to point to something specific within a sentence. Now, in the given sentence the shirts are being pointed out. In such cases, the thing that is pointed out is the demonstrative pronoun. And they are in plural form.
So, let us look at the options and see which one would be a perfect fit to complete the given sentence. So –
Option (a) – ‘these’ are used to point to people or things especially when they are in plural form or the nouns are plural.
Option (b) – ‘this’ is used to refer to singular and uncountable nouns or in other words, refer to nouns that are singular in nature.
Option (c) – ‘it’ is used for the things that are previously mentioned or are easily identifiable. It is used as both a subject and an object.
Option (d) – ‘that’ is used to give further information about something; it is used with the singular form of a noun.
So, as per explanation, we need a word that supports or demonstrates the plural noun (shirt). So as per this requirement, only one option is correct and that is option (a) which is ‘these’.
Therefore, the correct solution and sentence is – ‘these’; ‘these shirts are mine’ respectively.

Note:
‘These’ is the only demonstrative pronoun used with plural forms and others are used with singular forms of nouns.