They are tricky. I haven't met anyone actually can use them correctly when they aren't Japanese native. They're something to do with what you mentioned or something you thought about, but not always something only they are close to you or far from you. You'll need constant practice after you got basic patterns =)

These sites are pretty helpful.... as is "Japanese for Dummies" (I still use it sometimes.) http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Japanesenouns.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_grammar#Demonstratives Please feel free to send me a message if you need more help. ^-^

I hope that this is helpful for you. http://www.jpf.go.jp/j/urawa/j_rsorcs/textbook/setsumei_pdf/setsumei02_8.pdf#search='この その あの'