What's the difference between "these" and "those"?

Solution 1:

In the 'Have you seen those boots?' example, if meant as an exclamation, there is also a sense of distancing oneself. That is to say if it was meant to imply "Have you seen those boots, they are fantastic/awful", one is indicating the boots are not yours, but belonging to someone else, and thus conceptually distant from you.

If the question is taken to mean "Where are the boots?" then their distance is unknown, and thus also conceptually distant.

In summary, I would use 'those' when something is either physically or conceptually distant, and 'these' when they are near to me, either in proximity, or my emotional sentiment toward them. That's the best way I can frame it logically, anyway.

Solution 2:

These and those can indeed have locative difference. They are the plural forms of this and that, respectively.

They often convey a more abstract idea of proximity rather than actual physical closeness. If I am unaware of where the boots are, I will say "have you seen those boots?" regardless of how close I think they might be. There are no hard and fast rules on which one to use, since they are used somewhat intuitively, and can vary from speaker to speaker.