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This and That

This and that, used as pronouns to refer to a previous idea, fact, qoutation, etc., are virtually interchangeable. Any difference in meaning is so subtle that it is hardly worth worrying about. Such is the case here.

In general, something that is referred to as this is closer in place ("this thing here") than is something referred to as that ("that thing there"). Also – an even more subtle distinction – this tends to refer to something closer to us in time (the present), whereas that tends to refer to something occurring at a more distant time (the past or the future): "I am doing this now" "I did that yesterday," or "I will do that tomorrow." These are not distinctions that native speakers make consciously, and they may often not make them at all, but we do tend to make them from a sort of idiomatic habit.

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