The phrases "What is this?" and "What are these?" are used to ask about the identity of objects, with "What is this?" referring to a singular object and "What are these?" referring to multiple objects. The typical answers follow the pattern:

• For singular: "It is (a) [name of object]."
• For plural: "They are [names of objects]."

For example:

• "What is this?" - "It is a book."
• "What are these?" - "They are pencils."

These questions and answers are commonly used in English language learning to practice classroom vocabulary and object identification

. Additionally, "this" and "these" are used to point to objects that are close to the speaker, with "this" for singular and "these" for plural, while "that" and "those" refer to objects farther away

. The responses to "What are these?" can be "These are pens," "Those are pens," or simply "They are pens," depending on the context and proximity

. In summary, "What is this?" and "What are these?" are basic English questions to inquire about singular or plural objects, respectively, and are foundational in learning vocabulary and practicing sentence structure.