the vs this

the

adv
  • With a comparative, and often with for it, indicates a result more like said comparative. This can be negated with none. 

  • With a comparative or with more and a verb phrase, establishes a correlation with one or more other such comparatives. 

article
  • Introducing a singular term to be taken generically: preceding a name of something standing for a whole class. 

  • Used before an adjective, indicating all things (especially persons) described by that adjective. 

  • Used to indicate a certain example of (a noun) which is usually of most concern or most common or familiar. 

  • Added to a superlative or an ordinal number to make it into a substantive. 

  • Used before a body part (especially of someone previously mentioned), as an alternative to a possessive pronoun. 

  • When stressed, indicates that it describes an object which is considered to be best or exclusively worthy of attention. 

  • Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that an entity it hints at is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in that same sentence, or assumed already completely specified. 

  • Used before an object considered to be unique, or of which there is only one at a time. 

  • Used before a noun modified by a restrictive relative clause, indicating that the noun refers to a single referent defined by the relative clause. 

  • Used before a superlative or an ordinal number modifying a noun, to indicate that the noun refers to a single item. 

prep
  • For each; per. 

this

adv
  • To the degree or extent indicated. 

intj
  • Indicates the speaker's strong approval or agreement with the previous material. 

det
  • The (thing) here (used in indicating something or someone nearby). 

  • A known (thing) (used in first mentioning a person or thing that the speaker does not think is known to the audience). Compare with "a certain ...". 

  • The known (thing) (used in indicating something or someone just mentioned). 

  • The known (thing) (used in indicating something or someone about to be mentioned). 

  • Designates the current or next instance. 

  • Referring to oneself. 

pron
  • The thing, item, etc. being indicated. 

noun
  • Something being indicated that is here; one of these. 

How often have the words the and this occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )