これ、それ、あれ、どれ

Kore, sore, are, dore

This – kore (これ). Refers to things that are close to the speaker.
That – sore (それ). Refers to things that are close to the person you are talking to.
That over there – are (あれ). Refers to things that are far away from both you and the
speaker.
--KORE--

"Kore" means "this" and is used when referring to things that are close to the speaker (and
often when they are holding the item or standing very close to it). The particle "wa" always
comes after it. (Least as far as I know. I have yet to encounter a case where this isn't so.)

これはなんですか？Kore wa nan desu ka? What is this?

これはいくらですか？Kore wa ikura desu ka? How much is this?
Ikura = how much (as in amount of money)
Kore wa hon des (これは ほん です) This is a book (when the book is close to you, the
speaker)
--SORE--

"Sore" means "that" and is used when referring to things that are further away from you but
still relatively close. (Often to something close to the person you are speaking to; "that thing
in front of you")

それはわたしのかさです。Sore wa watashi no kasa desu. That is my umbrella.

それはあなたのえんぴつですか？ Sore wa anata no enpitsu desu ka?
Is that your pencil?
Sore wa hon des (それは ほん です) That is a book (when the book is close to the person
you are talking to)
--ARE--

Don't get this confused with "sore"! They are two different things!
"Are" means "that" as in "that over there". It is something that is far away from both you and
the person you are talking to. There is no limit on the distance, it could range from a few
meters to a few miles to even farther.
あれはぎんこうですか？Are wa ginkou desu ka? Is that (over there) a/the bank?
あれはサムさんのじてんしゃです。Are wa samu-san no jitensha desu.
That (over there) is Sam's bicycle.
Are wa hon des (あれは ほん です) That over there is a book (when the book is far away
from you and the other person)

あれはわたしのペンです (That is my pen over there.) are wa watashi no pen desu.

これはいくらですか？(How much is this?) kore wa ikura desu ka.
それはさんぜんえんです。 (That is 3,000 yen.) sore wa sanzen en desu.

--DORE--

"Dore" means "which" as in "which one?" or "which do you like?".

どれですか？ Dore desu ka? Which is it?

Dore has some more complicated uses, but for now we'll keep things simple. Question words
like "dore" and "nani" cannot be followed by the particle "wa" but instead be followed with
"ga". (I'll go more into detail about why that is at a later time. But for now, you'll just have to
remember this.)

どれがあなたのペンですか？ Dore ga anata no pen desu ka? Which one is your pen?
'Dono' is another way of saying which (such as 'dore') and thus must also use the 'ga' subject
marker.
どのとけいが千円ですか? どのとけいがせんえんですか？
Dono tokei ga sen en desu ka? Which watch is 1000 yen?

kono sono ano

Kore, sore, are, and dare can be modified by replacing the final re with no to specify an
object. It is important to note that kono, sono, ano, and dono cannot stand alone: they must
be followed by a noun. For example, if you know that the item in your hand is a watch
(tokee) you can say:

Let’s say you want to be more specific. Imagine you are at a book store and there are many
books. How do you refer to a specific book? Perhaps you are pointing to a specific book or
holding a specific book. Then in this case you’d use:
kono hon (この ほん) This book (in particular)
sono hon (その ほん) That book (in particular)
ano hon (あの ほん) That book over there (in particular)
Sample Sentences:
kono hon wa takai des (この ほんは たかいです) This book is expensive (when the
book is close to you)
sono hon wa takai des (その ほんは たかいです) That book is expensive (when the
book is close to the other person)
ano hon wa takai des (あの ほんは たかいです) That book over there is expensive
(when the book is far away from the speaker and the other person)
このとけいはいくらですか。How much is this watch? kono tokee wa ikura desu ka.

Particle mo
も is not only used to refer to the second item which shares a common attribute with the first,
but it can also be used when two or more people perform the same activity. Or when someone
buys, sees, or eats two or more things or when you go to two places, do something on two
different occasions, and so forth. It is important to note that も replaces the particles は、が、or
を.

わたしはきのうきょうとにいきました。 I went to Kyoto yesterday.

やましたせんせいもきのうきょうとにいきました。 Prof. Yamashita went to Kyoto yesterday

too.

メアリーさんはくつをかいました。 Mary bought shoes.

メアリーさんはかばんもかいました。 Mary also bought a bag.

ロバートさんはどようびにパーティーにいきました。 Robert went to a party on Saturday.

にちようびにもパーティーにいきました。 He went to a party on Sunday too.