DETERMINER DEFINITION
What are
determiners in English?
Determiners are a kind of noun modifier; they precede and are
necessarily followed by nouns. While adjectives perform a similar function, the term ‘determiner’
refers to a relatively limited set of well-established words that can be said
to ‘mark’ nouns.
The function
of determiners is to ‘express reference’; i.e. they clarify what a noun is
referring to. For example, when one says, ‘that box’, the listener knows which
box is being referred to.
Types of determiners: There are many types of determiners:
Articles
Indefinite Articles
A and an are indefinite articles that serve the same purpose, but they cannot be used interchangeably,
because ‘a’ is only used before words that begin with consonants, and ‘an’ is
used only before words that begin with vowels. (Note: ‘an’ before ‘h’ when it
is silent, as in ‘hour’ and ‘honor’; ‘a’ before ‘u’ and ‘eu’ when they sound
like ‘you’, as in ‘European’ and
‘university’.
The uses of
the indefinite article are as follows:
· To refer to
some member of a group, class or category. For example, He is a doctor
(profession)/an Indian (nationality)/a Hindu (religion).
·
To refer to a
kind of or example of something. For example, He has a large nose/a thick
beard/a strange aunt.
·
Preceding
singular nouns, with the words ‘what’ and ‘such’. For example What a car! Oh, that’s such a
shame!
·
To mean ‘one’
object, whether a person or thing. For example, The thieves stole a necklace
and a portrait.
·
To refer to
something that is being mentioned for the first time. For example, There
was a chill in the air.
- Note:
We usually
say a hundred, a thousand, a million, etc.
‘ A’ is not indiscriminately used to refer to singular objects; ‘one’ is used when emphasis is required. For example, there is only one way out of this mess.
‘ A’ is not indiscriminately used to refer to singular objects; ‘one’ is used when emphasis is required. For example, there is only one way out of this mess.
Definite Article
When something is being referred to that has already been mentioned. For
example, I saw a pretty girl at the mall today. The pretty girl did not, however, see
me.
When both parties involved in the conversation are aware of what is being discussed. For example Where is the restroom?
When both parties involved in the conversation are aware of what is being discussed. For example Where is the restroom?
To refer to unique objects. For example, the sun, the moon, the Earth, the Taj Mahal.
4.
With
superlatives and ordinal numbers (numbers used to rank a set of objects). For
example, Mt Everest is the tallest mountain on earth, Neil Armstrong was the
first man on the moon.
To refer to groups of people, geographical areas, and oceans, and with decades or groups of years. For example, the Americans, the Sahara/Pacific, the fifties/sixties/seventies/eighties.
Quantifiers
Quantifiers
form a sub-class under determiners. They are adjectives or phrases that serve
to answer two possible questions:
1. How many?
2. and How
much?
Quantifier
Usage:
It is used to describe quantity.
It is used to express attitude.
For examples:
much
a
little/little/very little *
a bit (of)
a great deal of
all
enough
many
a
few/few/very few **
a number (of)
Demonstratives
This, that, these and those are known are demonstratives; they describe the position of an object, seen
from the speaker’s viewpoint.
This and these (used for singular and plural nouns respectively) refer
to objects that close by. For example: Whose car is this? Whose cars are these?
That and those (used for singular and plural nouns respectively) refer
to objects that are further away. The closeness can be physical or
psychological. For example: Who lives in that house?
Numbers
Numbers are cardinal (one, two, three, etc) and ordinal (first, second,
third, etc). Cardinal numbers are adjectives that indicate quantity (There are
fives apples on the table), and ordinal numbers indicate rank or order (This is
the first time for me on a plane).
Distributives
The words all, both, half, each, every, either and neither are known as
distributives.
All, Both, Half – These three words can be used in the following
ways:
All +
Uncountable Noun:
§ Don Bradman is the greatest batsman of all time.
‘the’ + uncountable noun/countable noun in plural form
§ We have all the time in the world.
§ All the people in the hall went quiet.
‘my’, ‘your’, etc + uncountable noun/countable noun in plural form
§ All my life I have been waiting for this moment.
§ All your friends have been invited to the party.
‘this’, ‘that’ + uncountable noun/‘these’, ‘those’ + countable noun in
plural form
§ Look at all this dust!
§ I do not have time for all these formalities.
Both +
‘the’ /‘my’, ‘your’, etc/‘these’, ‘those’ + countable noun in plural
form (note: used only when two objects are being referred to).
§ Both the dogs have passed away.
§ Both my ankles have been hurting since I jumped
from the balcony.
§ Both these books must be returned within the week.
Half +
‘a’ + uncountable noun
§ We bought half a kilo of rice.
‘the’/‘my’, ‘your’, etc/‘this’, ‘that’, ‘these’, ‘those’ + noun
§ Half the village perished in the floods.
§ I spent half my inheritance on travelling the
world.
§ You may have half (of) this cake.
§ Only half (of) those points are relevant.
Possessives
Possessive pronouns and adjectives indicate who an object belongs to.
The pronouns are:
§ mine (first person: This car is mine = I own this
car)
§ yours (second person: This car is yours = You own
this car)
§ his, hers, and its (third person: This cars is
his/hers = He/she owns this car).
The corresponding adjectives are:
§ my
§ your
§ his, her, and it
Difference Words
‘Other’ and ‘another’ are
‘difference words’; they refer to something different, or remaining, or more. ‘Other’ is used with singular and plural
nouns, while ‘another’ is used strictly with singular
nouns.
§ What other colours can I get this in?
§ Is there another colour that this is available in?
Defining Words
Which and whose are ‘defining words’; they indicate which thing or
person is being referred to.
§ This is the house which I used to live in as a
child.
§ This is the man whose window you broke.
Question Words
There are a number of words in the English language that are used
primarily to make questions; these words are ‘question words’, sometimes known
as ‘WH question words’, owing to the fact that all of them start with the
letter ‘w’, except one which starts with ‘h’.
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