Determiners । Sahil Hasan । 1 of the important concept

Determiners

What is a Determiner?

Determiners are words such as this, those, my, their, which. They are special adjectives that are used before nouns.

Determiners are one of the nine parts of speech. They are words like the, an, this, some, either, my, or whose. All determiners share some grammatical similarities:

Determiners limit or “determine” a noun phrase in some way.
Determiners come at the beginning of a noun phrase, before adjectives.
Many determiners are “mutually exclusive”: we cannot have more than one of them in the same noun phrase.
If we do have more than one determiner, they go in a very specific order.

Look at these example noun phrases. The first word in each noun phrase is a determiner:

the dog
those people
some brown rice
either side of the road
seven pink elephants
your oldest child
which car

Swajms Tip: Some grammarians do not give determiners a word class of their own but treat them as adjectives.

Articles

An article is a type of adjective that describes specific or unspecific nouns and noun equivalents.

The determiners a/an and the are called “articles”.

There are two types of articles. Definite Article and Indefinite Article.

Definite Article

The word the is called the definite article. Use the before a noun when you are talking about a certain person or thing.

The definite article the is used to identify a specific person, place, or thing.

Examples of definite article:

The telephone is ringing.
Where’s the cat?
I think she is under the bed.
Ravi has won the race.
The ice is melting.
Granny is sitting in the garden.
The street is very busy today.
The sky is getting dark.
Would you pass me the phone?
She turned on the lamp next to her bed.
The dogs next door keep me awake with their barking.

Note: You also use the before a noun when there is only one. For example

The sun
The moon
The sky
The front door of my house
The president
The prime minister
The god

How to Pronounce the

Normally, we pronounce the with a short sound like thuh (द). But when the comes before a vowel sound, we pronounce it as a long thee (दी).

vowel sound	write	say
a	the apple	thee apple
e	the egg	thee egg
i	the ice-cream	thee ice-cream
o	the orange	thee orange
u	the ugli fruit	thee ugli fruit

It is important to understand that it is what we say that matters, not what we write. It is the sound that matters, not the letter used in writing a word. So, we use a long “thee” before a vowel sound, not necessarily before a vowel. Look at these cases:

we write	with	we say	because
the house	consonant h	thuh house	consonant sound
the hour	consonant h	thee our	vowel sound
the university	vowel u	thuh youniversity	consonant sound
the umbrella	vowel u	thee umbrella	vowel sound

When we wish to place emphasis on a particular word, we can use “emphatic the” [thee], whether or not the word begins with a consonant or vowel sound. For example:

I saw the (द) President yesterday.
What! The (दी) President of the India?
Yes, exactly!

→ we can use the definite article the with ALL nouns: the dog, the eggs, the big men, the music, the food, the red wine.

Indefinite Articles

The words a and an are called indefinite articles. You can use them with singular nouns to talk about any single person or thing.

Examples of Indefinite articles:

Can you hear a bird singing?
This is a picture of an elephant.
Rudy is reading a book.
Mom bought me a new dress today.
You will need an umbrella when you go out.
She eats an apple a day.
Do you wear a uniform to school?

When to Say a or an

The rule is really very simple. It depends on the SOUND at the start of the following word.

a + consonant SOUND

If the following word starts with a consonant SOUND, then we say a:

a boy
a cat
a game of golf
a girl
a human emotion
a very nice lady
a picture

an + vowel SOUND

If the following word starts with a vowel SOUND, then we say an:

an apple
an easy job
an egg
an interesting film
an old man
an umbrella

The Importance of SOUND

Normally, we pronounce consonant letters with a consonant sound, and vowel letters with a vowel sound. But there are some exceptions. The rule about a or an is still the same. You just need to think about the SOUND, not the WRITING. Look at these examples:

vowel LETTER but consonant SOUND
a European country	you-ro-pe-an
a one-day conference	won-day
a university	you-ni-ver-si-ty

consonant LETTER but vowel SOUND
an honest man	on-est
an hour	our
an FBI agent	eff-bee-eye

→ Notice that we use the indefinite article a/an ONLY with singular countable nouns: a dog, an egg, a very big man, an extremely delicious meal.

Demonstrative Determiners

The words this, that, these, and those are determiners. They are used to tell which thing or person you mean. These words are called demonstrative determiners, or demonstrative adjectives.

The demonstrative determiners this/that, these/those point to something that is close or distant.

Examples:

I am keeping these books.
I am selling those books.
This ice cream is delicious.
How much is that racket?
Sahil lives in this house.
What is that animal?
Bring me that ball.
Would you like these apples?

	near	far
singular	this	that
plural	these	those

Note: Like all determiners, demonstrative determiners come at the beginning of a noun phrase, so they come in front of any adjective(s).

I like this food.
I use these pens.
I have to do it this morning.
We don’t meet these days.
Look at that big cloud.
Can you see those birds?
Do you remember that man we met last week?
Those days on holiday were enjoyable.

Possessive Determiners

The words my, your, his, her, its, our, their are called possessive determiners or possessive adjectives. Use these words before nouns to say who something belongs to.

We use possessive determiners to show who owns or “possesses” something.

I lent Razia my guitar.
Is this your house?
Sunil, your handwriting is difficult to read.
Raju is showing his tortoise to his friends.
My sister lost her way in the city.
The lion is chasing its prey.
The dentist asked his patient to open her mouth.

→ Note: These are determiners. Don’t confuse them with possessive pronouns.

possessive determiner with gender (Male, Female, Neuter)		example sentence
SINGULAR
my	M/F	This is my book.
*his*	M	His name is John.
*her*	F	Her first name is Mary.
*its*	N	The dog licked its wounded paw.
PLURAL
*our*	M/F	We have sold our house.
*their*	M/F/N	The students thanked their Thai teacher.
SINGULAR or PLURAL
*your*	M/F	I like your hair. Your two children are lovely.

Be careful! There is NO apostrophe (‘) in the possessive determiner its. We use an apostrophe to write the contraction of “it is” or “it has“.

For example:
it is raining. → it’s raining.
it has finished. → it’s finished.

I’m taking my dog to the vet. It’s broken its leg.

Interrogative Determiners

Use the words what, which and whose before nouns to ask about people or things. These words are called interrogative determiners or interrogative adjectives.

Whose means “belonging to which person”: They didn’t know whose car it was.
What is for asking for information specifying something: What time did you arrive? I wonder what reason he gave.
Which is for asking for information specifying one or more people or things from a definite set: Which table would you prefer? I wonder which teacher told him that.

More Examples of interrogative determiners:

What size do you wear?
What kind of bird is that?
What idiot told you that?
What time is it?
What color is her hair?
What kind of clothes do you like to wear?
Which school do you go to?
Which doll is your favorite?
Which road leads to the zoo?
I asked them which Japanese car was best.
Which runner is the winner?
Do you know which girl won the prize?
Whose footprints are these?
Whose baby is this?
Whose dog was barking in the middle of the night?
Whose iPhone was stolen?
He couldn’t remember whose car keys they were.

Swajms Tips:

Note that whose functions both as an interrogative and a possessive determiner, so technically whose is an interrogative possessive determiner. Whose is the only interrogative possessive determiner in English.
Note also that there is NO apostrophe (‘) in the determiner whose. The contraction who’s (meaning “who is” OR “who has”) sounds exactly like whose and even native speakers frequently confuse the two.

Examples of confusing words:

I wonder whose dog that is.
Sunil, who’s not here, is Thai. (who is)
Sahil, who’s just left, is American. (Who has)

Quantifiers

Quantifiers are determiners that describe quantity in a noun phrase. They answer the question “How many?” or “How much?” on a scale from none (0%) to all (100%).

Quantifiers are used to indicate the number or quantity of the noun being referred to.

Note: We use some quantifiers only with countable nouns. We use some other quantifiers only with uncountable nouns. And we use some with countable or uncountable nouns.

The table below shows quantifiers that can indicate quantity from 0% to 100%.

	countable	uncountable
100%	all
100%	every
	most
	many	much
	some
	(a) few fewest	(a) little least
	any
0%	no

Examples:

I want all the eggs and
I want all the green chillis pickle.
Please give me every egg you have.
Who has the most eggs?
Who has the most money?
We don’t have many eggs.
We don’t have much money.
I have some eggs.
I have some money.
I have a few eggs.
I have a little money.
I don’t have any eggs.
I don’t have any money.
We had no eggs.
We had no money.

Swajms Tip:

There are some other quantifiers, such as enough and several that can’t be easily shown on a scale.

Examples:

We have enough eggs for the party. No need to buy any.
There are several eggs in the fridge, but you’d better buy some more.

Use of each, every

The quantifiers each and every are a kind of determiner. They have similar but not always identical meanings. We always use them with a singular countable noun.

Each means “everyone, regarded individually”.
Each expresses the idea of “one by one”. It emphasizes individuality.
Every means “everyone, regarded as a whole”.
Every is half-way between each and all. It sees things or people as singular, but in a group or in general.

Examples:

Each student must attend a meeting with a guidance counselor.
Each person in my family does a fair share of the chores.
Please give a pen and paper to each attendee.
Each artist sees things differently.
The president gave each soldier a medal.
The president spoke to each of the soldiers.
He gave a medal to each of them.
Every artist is sensitive.
Every soldier saluted the president as he arrived.
Every student must attend a meeting with a guidance counselor.
Every person in my family does a fair share of the chores.
Please give a pen and paper to every attendee.
The bus leaves every hour.

→ Every cannot be used for two things. For two things, each can be used:

He was carrying a suitcase in each hand.

Use of either and neither

The quantifiers either and neither are a kind of determiner. We use them to talk about possible choices between two people or things.

Swajms Tip: When used as a determiner, either and neither must come before a singular countable noun.

either

Either is positive (+). It means “one OR the other” (of two).

Question: Do you want to meet on Wednesday or Thursday?
Answer: Either day is good for me. (Wednesday is good for me. Thursday is good for me.)
Question: There are two keys here. Which will open the office?
Answer: I believe either key work.

Examples:

Either girl could win this competition. (There are two girls. One will win.)
We could give the new collar to either dog. (There are two dogs. One will receive the new collar.)
Either book would be a great present. (There are two books. One will be chosen as a gift.)

neither

Neither is negative (-). It means “not one AND not the other” (of two).
Neither team scored and the game was a draw. (Team A didn’t score. Team B didn’t score.)
Neither player was allowed to return to the game after the argument.

Examples:

Neither book would be a great present. (There are two books; both would be unsuitable as gifts.)
Neither table will fit in our kitchen. (There are two tables; both are too large for the kitchen.)
Neither question is easily answered. (There are two questions; both have difficult answers.)

some, any, no

The quantifiers some, any, and no are a kind of determiner.
Some is an unspecified quantity. It could be big or small, we don’t know. Normally it is “medium”.
Any is also an unspecified quantity. It refers to “one, some, or all”. So, it’s a quantity from 1 to infinity (∞).
No is easy! No is ZERO (0).
The general rule is that we use some and no in positive (+) sentences and any in question (?) and negative (-) sentences.

	some	example situations
+	I have some money.	I have 10 rupees.
+	I have no money.	Do you have 100 rupees 1000 rupees or 1,000,000 rupees?
?	Do you have any money?	I don’t have 1 rupee and I don’t have 100 rupees and I don’t have 1,000,000 rupees. I have 0 rupees.
–	I don’t have any money.	I don’t have 1 rupee and I don’t have 100 rupees and I don’t have 1,000,000 rupees. I have 0 rupee.

She needs some money.
I must go home. I have some homework to do.
There was no money.
I have no homework to do so let’s go out.
Does he need any books?
He doesn’t need any books.
Do you have any homework to do?
I can stay. I don’t have any homework to do.

Graded Quantifiers

many/much, more, most

few, fewer, fewest
little, less, least

All quantifiers are determiners that express quantity, sometimes exact. But with graded quantifiers, we can express approximate quantity on a relative scale (rising ➚ and falling ➘). (This idea is similar to adjectives such as big, bigger, biggest or small, smaller, smallest.) Also note, in the following table, that four of these quantifiers are used with countable nouns (C), four with uncountable nouns (U), and two with both.

quantifier		comparative	superlative
increasing ➚
C	*many*	*more*	*most*
U	*much*	*more*	*most*
decreasing ➘
C	*few*	*fewer*	*fewest*
U	*little*	*less*	*least*

With countable nouns

These are some of the most common quantifiers for countable nouns only, listed in order from largest to smallest quantity:

many
each
several
a few*
a couple (of)
both
few*
not many
none of the

Note: When we use quantifiers with countable nouns, we use the plural form of the noun after the quantifier.

Examples:

There are many private schools in this town.
Were there many people in the party?
Both girls went to the party.
Not many people came to the book launch.

*Note: There is an important distinction between a few and few. While a few have a more positive connotation of signifying that there is enough of an item, few have a more negative connotation of signifying that there is not enough of an item. Compare the following two sentences:

There were a few people at the meeting. (More positive)
There were few people at the meeting. (More negative)

With uncountable nouns

These are some of the most common quantifiers for uncountable nouns only, in
order from largest to smallest quantity:

a good/great deal of (formal)
a load of / loads of / heaps of / tons of
a lot of (neutral)
a (little) bit of
a little*
little*
not much

Examples:

We have a lot of coffee already, so don’t buy it anymore.
Could you lend me a bit of sugar?
Not much effort is needed.
I don’t have much time for the IAS preparation.

*Note: A little and little have the same important distinction as a few and few. A little has the positive connotation of signifying that there is enough of an item, while little has the negative connotation of indicating that there is not enough. Compare the following two sentences:

We still have a little milk left. (We have enough, but not much.)
We have little milk left. (We need more.)

With either countable or uncountable nouns

Finally, these are some of the most common quantifiers that can be used with either countable or uncountable nouns:

all of the
most of the
a lot of / lots of / plenty of
enough
some
a lack of
no

For examples:

All of the recipes call for sugar. (countable)
All of the sugar is needed. (uncountable)
Don’t worry, we have enough cars to get us all there. (countable)
Don’t worry, we have enough time to get there. (uncountable)

Extra Examples for Graded Quantifiers:

Many people use the Internet, and more people join every year.
Last year there was a lot of crime, but there is even more crime this year.
Since you have the most money, why don’t you pay?
There were few people in the shop, so it didn’t take long.
There is little chance that he will come now so let’s go home.

The comparative form of few is fewer; and the superlative form of few is fewest. We use them with countable nouns:

There were few visitors last week but there are even fewer visitors this week.
If Sunita has the fewest jobs to do, she can help the others.

The comparative form of little is less, and the superlative form of little is least. We use them with uncountable nouns:

The run took little time last week and even less time this week.
Sunil has the least work to do so he can help you.

Swajms Tip: Although less is correctly used with uncountable nouns only, many native speakers now also use it with countable nouns, especially in informal English:

Less people came this time.

Swajms Tip: Don’t confuse the determiner/quantifier little with the adjective little (meaning “small”), which can be used with countable nouns:

determiner	There is little time left.
adjective	I have a little dog.

Final Examples:

Many people agreed with me.
Are there many cars outside?
I don’t have many books.
She used too much makeup.*
They can’t deliver today. There is too much snow.*
I don’t have much work to do.
More people will come if you advertise.
There is more money in my account than I expected.
Most winters are warmer than this.
Radha got the most points.
Few people can lift their own bodyweight—perhaps less than five per cent.
There are fewer old cars on the roads these days; more and more people prefer to buy new.
This year we’ve had the fewest hurricanes on record.
There’s little doubt that the climate is getting warmer.
Is it true that a policeman earns less money than a politician?
It’s not fair! I did the most work and I got the least money.

*Note: Note that you can add too before many or much to indicate an excess amount.

What is a Determiner?

Articles

Definite Article

How to Pronounce the

Indefinite Articles

When to Say a or an

a + consonant SOUND

an + vowel SOUND

The Importance of SOUND

Demonstrative Determiners

Possessive Determiners

Interrogative Determiners

More Examples of interrogative determiners:

Quantifiers

Use of each, every

Use of either and neither

some, any, no

Graded Quantifiers

With countable nouns

With uncountable nouns

With either countable or uncountable nouns

Read More

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