One of the first words you will learn when starting Japanese areこれ kore – this and それ sore – that. a simple phrase to remember this by is これとそれ kore to sore, this and that. Recently I am getting exposed to other variations この kono – this and その sono – that which made me ask which one should I be using in what situation and why.
This confused me for a little while but I think I understand what the difference is now.
これ ko re - this
is used as a pronoun
so
これわわたしのかさです ko re wa wa ta shi no ka sa de su
that is my umbrella
vs
この ko no – this
which is used as a determinative, i.e. must be followed by a noun
so
このあかいかさ – ko no a a ka i ka sa
this red umbrella.
For better correspondence with English concepts, the words ending in れ can be treated like nouns (they can be used on their own as subjects, objects, etc.), while the words ending in の can be treated like adjectives (they must be followed by a noun or noun phrase, and cannot be used on their own).
