The Emphatic 'This'

Recently, one of our listeners wrote in with a question about the word “this”:

“I have a question regarding the use of the word ‘this’ in regard to something that is not present. My husband gets irritated every time I say something like, ‘So I was listening to this podcast...’ He tells me that there is no podcast in the room, so I can't use that word. I explain to him that I can use it because I am referring to a specific podcast. Could you please clarify (hopefully in my favor!) the use of ‘this’?

Although we hesitate to jump into the middle of a spousal disagreement, we’ll diplomatically try to answer the question.

The Emphatic 'This' Means Replacing 'A' with 'This' to Add Emphasis

First of all, the usage our listener is talking about is known as the “emphatic this.” It happens when you replace the indefinite article “a” with “this” to add emphasis. 

For example, instead of saying “Let me tell you about a book I’m reading,” you might say, “Let me tell you about this book I’m reading.” Instead of “A coworker is making me so mad,” you’d say, “This coworker is making me so mad.”

Replacing the word “a” with “this” creates a subtle but noticeable difference in the sentence. Is the usage somewhat colloquial? Yes. Is it appropriate in formal writing? Probably not. Is it acceptable just about anytime else? I’m going to go with yes.

Is the Emphatic 'This' Correct?

Here’s what “Merriam-Webster’s Concise Dictionary of English Usage” says about this topic: 

“It is not rare in speech for ‘this’ to be used for emphasis in place of the indefinite article, as in ‘This guy said to me....’ Use of the emphatic ‘this’ in writing has sometimes been discouraged, but our evidence shows that it is neither rare nor inappropriate in writing of a conversational tone.” 

“Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage” concurs. It notes that “this” is used in narrative writing or speech “to refer in a familiar manner to a person, place, [or] object not previously mentioned.” Fowler’s notes that this usage seems to have emerged in American English in the 1920s. 

The editor of “Fowler’s” can be quite firm when he thinks a certain usage is incorrect. He says that...

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