Definition of determiner:
A determiner is a word or a group of words that specifies or describes or quantifies a noun or a noun phrase. It always comes before a noun, not after, and it also comes before any other adjectives used to describe the noun.
Determiners are basically known as noun modifiers. It is also called adjectives.
Types of determiners:
In fact, common kinds of determiners are Articles, Demonstratives, Distributives, Possessives, Quantifiers, Numerals, and Interrogatives.
Articles, demonstrations, and possessive are known as main determiners.
According to the position of the main determiners, determiners are two types:
1. Pre determiners : all /whole /none /half /rather /quite /such.
2. Post determiners: one/ two /many /much/ more /most/ few /little /less /least/ several other.
A short view of Determiners:
Articles : A, An, The.
Possessives : My, Our, Your, His, Her, Its, Their.
Quantifiers : Much, Some, No, Any, Many, Enough, Several, Little, All, Lot of, Plenty of, Another.
Distributives: Each, Every, Neither, Either.
Demonstratives: This, That, These, Those.
Numerals : First, Second, Third, Next, Last, One, Two, Three, Ten, Fifty, Hundred, Thousand.
Interrogatives: Which, what, when, where, whom, whose
Order of Determiners:
There are some rules to use determiners before a noun or noun phrase. Basically, all determiners come before a noun or a noun phrase. Just follow the table and example. It will be easy to understand the order of determiners.
Pre-determiners
|
Main determiners
|
post determiners
|
noun
|
Quantifiers
|
article
|
possessives
|
demonstratives
|
quantifiers/ numerals
|
|
all,
both, half, one-third, double, twice, ten times
|
a,
an, the
|
my,
our, your, his, her, their, its
|
this,
that, these, those
|
first,
second, last, next, one, two, many, much, more, most, few, little, less,
least, several other
|
|
|
a
|
|
|
|
dog
|
|
|
my
|
|
|
book
|
|
|
|
these
|
|
songs
|
all
|
|
|
those
|
|
dollars
|
both
|
|
his
|
|
|
sisters
|
twice
|
a
|
|
|
|
week
|
three
times
|
|
your
|
|
|
salary
|
|
a
|
|
|
little
|
milk
|
|
|
their
|
|
next
|
movement
|
|
|
her
|
|
second
|
daughter
|
|
|
our
|
|
next
|
project
|
⇒ Main determiners + noun
- articles + noun : a pen
- Possessives + noun : my thoughts
- Demonstratives + noun : this vessel
⇒ Pre-determiners + main determiners + noun
- all + the + people
- both + my + cousins
- one-third + of my + colleagues.
⇒ Main determiners + post-determiners + noun
- the + next + week
- my + first + verse
Quantifiers:
Definitions of Quantifiers:
Quantifiers are the part of Determiner and they are used as adjectives. They are used before the countable or uncountable or both noun to express the amount or quantity of something or somebody. 'Some', 'many', 'a lot of' and 'a few' are examples of quantifiers.
- There are some books on the desk
- He's got only a few dollars.
- How much money have you got?
- There is a lot of fish in this river.
- He's got more friends than his sister.
Quantifiers can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. They give approximate or specific answers to the questions "How much?" and "How many?"
In short, the quantifiers report quantity. They can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. They are separated into countable and uncountable. Countable nouns are used as singular or plural. Uncountable nouns do not have a plural form and they are being used with a singular verb.
Use of quantifiers:
Many, Much, Any, Some, A lot of, Lots of :
The word 'many' is used only with plural and 'much' is used with uncountable nouns. Any, some, a lot of / lots of are used with both countable plural and uncountable nouns.
Generally, the word 'any' is used in questions and negative sentences.
- Are there any wild animals in this forest?
- No, there aren’t any.
The word 'some' is used with countable plural or uncountable nouns. When it is used with countable nouns, it means 'a few', and when it is used with uncountable nouns, it gives 'a little' meaning.
A lot of / lots of is used with countable plural or uncountable nouns. It means 'a lot' in a sentence.
- Is there any people at the wedding?
- Yes, there are many people at the wedding.
How many, how much questions are used when asking quantity.
- How many people were there at the party? answer: There were a lot.
- How much money do we have? answer: We don’t have much.
Few / a few, little / a little
Few / a few is used with countable plural nouns. The other point is, little / a little is used with uncountable nouns.
My, our, your, his, her, their, its' are possessive adjectives. They are used before the noun.
Example: My aim is to study harder for the exam.
Proper nouns with the tag '-s' or of + proper nouns are also possessive adjectives. They are also known as possessive nouns. The '-s' tag or 'of' is used to declare ownership. Usually, the ‘s’ tag is used for living beings and the ‘of’ is being used for lifeless beings. The -'s' tag can sometimes be used for inanimate beings. Organization names, country, city names can receive '-s' tag.
Example:
He is Karim's son. or, He is the son of Karim.
Environmental pollution is the city’s biggest problem.
He wants to write an essay about the life of my grandfather.
Demonstratives adjectives:
This, that, these, those are demonstrative pronouns. When they are used before the noun are called demonstrative adjectives. They are used to indicate something. That and this are used with singular, those and these with plural nouns. This and these represent the relative, that and those represent the remote.
Examples:
- These are my footwear.
- That brand-new mobile is Jasim's.
An article is a word that modifies or describes the Noun. It is used before the noun to show whether it refers to something specific or not. They precede the nouns and are used in undefined expressions.
A / an is used only with countable singular nouns. Those who start with the consonant letter have 'a' tag at the beginning of the word, and nouns that begin with a vowel that will have 'an' tag at the beginning of the word. A / an is usually used when expressing what an object is. We cannot use countable singular nouns alone.
Example:
I saw an accident of a car.
If we are talking about a specific object, “the” is used. Countable singular or plural and can be used with all uncountable nouns. If we are talking about an unknown object or person a / an, but if specified, “ the” is used.
Example;
Yesterday, I bought a shirt and a pant. The shirt was surprisingly cheap, but the pant was more expensive.
The word 'the' is used to refer to objects in the environment in which the conversation takes place.
Example:
Don’t forget to turn off the television before you go out.
Types of Articles:
There are two types of articles in the English language, they are indefinite articles (a, an) and definite article (the).
Predeterminers:
Pre-determiners are those words that come before the determinants. Words such as- all, whole, none, half, rather, quite, such are predetermined.
The word 'all' is used with countable singular and plural, uncountable nouns.
Example: All nations want to be independent.
The word 'whole' is used with countable singular nouns.
Example: I read the whole book in just two hours.
The word 'none' is used with countable plural and uncountable nouns. The predicate of the sentence is positive because it is negative.
Example: None of this money belongs to you.
The words such as both, either, neither and each, every are being used to refer to two persons or two things. Neither is negative. All, most, no / none, are being used to refer more than two people and used to talk about something.
Example: Either of these solutions will work.
Neither of them knew the way to our house.
Each student has to prepare a term paper.
Every student took part in the school play.
