Physical closeness and distanceWe use this and these most commonly to point to things and people that are close to the speaker or writer, or things that are happening now:
Shall I use this knife here?
[pointing to something]
Is this what you mean?
I’ll post these letters on my way home.
[pointing to a pile of books]
Do these belong to the Bradshaws?
We use that and those most commonly to point to things and people which are not easy to identify in a situation. They are often more distant from the speaker, and sometimes closer to the listener:
What’s in that bottle over there?
Could you blow out those candles near you?
Sometimes they are not visible to either the speaker or listener:
Budapest! That’s my favourite place!