指示代詞this與that的前指與后指

關于指示代詞this與that的前指與后指，請注意以下兩點：

1. 如果是前指（即回指前文提到的事情），可用that或this。如：

She married Jim, and this [that] surprised me. 她嫁給了吉姆，這使我感到很吃驚。

John had a bad cold. That [This] was why he didn’t turn up. 約翰患了重感冒，這(那)就是他沒有來的原因。

The kids would answer back and that [this] drove her crazy. 孩子們會頂嘴，把她逼瘋。

We laughed and that [this] helped ease the tension. 我們笑了，因而使緊張的情緒緩和下來。

They offered me free accommodation for a year, and that [this] decided me. 他們愿意免費為我提供一年的住宿，這就使我下定了決心。

It was always said of the Princess that she had the common touch and that [this] was why she was so well loved by the people. 人人都說王妃平易近人，也正是因為這一點她才會如此深受民眾的愛戴。

注：回指上文的 that 在譯成漢語時，通常也譯為“這”。如：

That’s where you are wrong. 這就是你不對的地方。

2. 如果是后指（即指后文敘述的事情），則通常只用 this。如：

I want to know this: is he healthy? 我想知道這一點：他是否很健康。

Answer me this: how did they know we were here? 回答我這個問題：他們怎么知道我們在這兒？

The challenge for American leadership is this: Can we put our economic house in order? 美國領導層面臨的挑戰是：我們能否處理好自己的經濟問題？