Part 3: これ/それ/あれ/どれ, この/その/あの/どの and ここ/そこ/あそこ/どこ

In Japanese, it is rather easy to make sentences about things that you would call either "this" or "that." While making these sentences it is important to know the location of the object (this could even be a person) that is being discussed relative to the speaker and the listener. All 3 of the following groups of words have a certain pattern that might help make it easier to remember which is for what. The pattern is as follows:
こ～ -- object is closer to the speaker
そ～ -- object is closer to the listener
あ～ -- object is away from both the speaker and the listener
ど～ -- question about the object


I will start off going over これ/それ/あれ/どれ. All of these are about an unspecified object, much like saying "this one" where what you are talking about is not specified. To say "this one" in Japanese, you would use これ. Following the pattern that I previously mentions, you can probably figure out that それ means "that one" (close to the listener), あれ means "that one" (away from both), and どれ would be "which one." Below I have included these in a more organized manner:
これ == This one
それ == that one
あれ == that one (over there)
どれ == which one

if you are to say "これはいくらですか。" you would be asking "How much is this one?" In this sentence, since これ is the subject of the sentence it is followed by the particle "は." This particle is used after これ, それ,  and あれ.
いくら -- how much (for prices)

When using と゜れ in a sentence you actually use a different particle, "が." が is often times called an "object particle" and is used instead of "は" in some cases. This is used since "which" isn't really a subject, it is to general. Here is an example sentence: "どれがあなたのペンですか。" meaning "which one is your pen?"
あなた  -- you
ペン -- pen


Much like with the previous group of word, この/その/あの/どの are used to refer to an object. unlike the previous, この/その/あの/どの are more specific and are followed by some object. The general structure of these would be "この + noun" and so one. If you are talking about a cat (ねこ) you would make it "このねこ" meaning "this cat." It works this way with all 4 of these words. Here is a list of these words:
この + noun == this "noun"
その + noun == that "noun"
あの + noun == that "noun" (over there)
どの + noun == which "noun"

When making sentences with these the particles work the same as with the previous group. Here are some examples:
このねこはおもしろいです。meaning "This cat is amusing."
ねこ -- cat
おもしろい -- "amusing" or "interesting"

どのひとがすきですか。 meaning "Which person do you like?"
ひと -- person
すき -- like

Lastly there are ここ/そこ/あそこ/どこ, which are used to talk about places. They follow the same form as the previous groups of words, even あそこ which is written a little differently. Here is a list of them:
ここ == here
そこ == there
あそこ == over there
どこ == where

When making a sentence with any of these, you don't have to remember to use the particle "が" since they all use "は." This is because of how a sentence that used どこ is structured. Here is an an example: "きっさてんはどこですか。" which means "Where is the coffee shop?" In sentences that use どこ, there is a place that works as the subject. In some cases this place could be left out because it is implied to already be know.
きっさてん -- coffee shop

Other than with どこ, all the others follow the same structure as the 2 previous groups. Here is an example: "(ゆうびんきょくは)あそこです。" meaning "The post office is over there." or just "Over there." The part of this sentence that is in parenthesis is implied to be know from something that was previously said, so it would normally be left our. I left it in this sentence to make the sentence easier to follow.
ゆうびんきょく -- post office


When using all of these words, if the subject is implied, you can leave it out and make it so that its just the word + です.