DETERMINERS
Determiners are used in front of nouns to indicate whether you are referring something specific or something of a particular type.
Determiners are different to pronouns in that a determiner is always followed by a noun. Therefore, personal pronouns (I, you, he, etc.) and possessive (mine, yours, his, etc.) cannot be determiners.
The definite and indefinite articles a/an/the are all determiners.
We use a specific detenniner when people know exactly which thing(s) or
person/peoplev we aretalking about.
The specific determiners are:
the definite article : the
demonstratives : this, that, these, those
possessives : my, your, his, hen its, our, their
Examples: Look at the determiners (in bold italics) used in thefollowing
sentences.
The dog barked at the boy.
These apples are rotten.
Their bus was late.
We use general determiners to talk about people or things without saying
exactly who or what they are.
The general detenmners are.
the indefinite articles : a, an
a few, a little, all, another, any
both, each, either, enough, every
few, fewer, less, little, many, more, mot, much
neither, no, other, several, some
Examples:
A man sat under an umbrella.
Have you got any English books that I could have?
is enough food to feed everyone.
However, the term determiner covers a wide range of words. Sometimes, a
determiner indicates a quantity or amount of a noun (as in two, several, few,
many etc.)
Here is a list of commonly used determiners:
Determiners:
a, an, all, another, any, both, certain, each,
either, enough, every, few, half, last, least, less,
little, many, more, most, much, neither, next, no,
other, own, plenty, same, several, some, such,
that, those, this, these, the, whole
Now, we are going to look at the ways of using some common detenniners.
The indefinite articles
The determiners a/an is used with singular countable nouns. Two meanings
have to be distinguished, a/an may be used to mean ‘any’ or 'every' as in the
sentence 'A horse is an animal.‘ Here 'A' does not refer to a particular horse, it
refers to all horses.
Indefinite articles are widely used to identify a single specimen which is
followed by further information. When the individual or thing is first
mentioned, the indefinite article is used. Then the noun may be preceded by
the or this/that.
Examples:
This is a pen. This is a pencil. The pen is in my left hand. The pencil is in my right hand.
I have a red book and a green book. This red book is mine. This green book is her.
The indefinite articles may be used in word groups such as- a great/good number, a great/good many (of), a great/good deal (of), a large/great/huge + number/quantity/amount etc. (of), a lot (of).
It is used with good and a numeral.
It is not used with plenty.
Much and Many
Much is used with uncountable nouns and many is used with plural nouns,
They are used mainly in questions and negative sentences:
In my Spanish exam, I didn't have much time left for the third question.
I don't have very many DVD discs.
a lot of, lots of, plenty of and loads of
In conversation, a lot of lots of plenty of and loads of are more common with
uncountable and plural nouns used in positive sentences.
Examples:
There is a lot of pollution in this city, isn't there?
There are loads of tourists in town today. (informal spoken English)
Note: In a more formal English style, mach and many are preferred to a lot of
lots of, plenty of, loads of.
much and a lot
Much and a lot can be used as adverbs (used to say more about the verb) after
certain verbs:
I still read a lot but I don't write very much these days.
little and a little, few and a few
We use few and a few with plural nouns, and little and a little with uncountable
nouns. Little and few carry negative ideas. A little and a few carry much more
positive ideas and are similar in meaning to some.
Examples:
He showed little interest in socialising (he wasn't very sociable) and
few people came to his twenty-first birthday party. (some people
came, but not enough to make a 'good‘ party)
He had a little money in the bank (not a lot of money but enough to travel) and a few friends in the travel business and was able to go on holiday every year. (not many friends but enough to give him discounts on flights etc.)
some, any, no, none
Some and any are used as adjectivcs and pronouns.
No is used as an adjective.
None is used as a pronoun. Some and any are used as
with plural countable nouns and singular uncountable nouns.
There is a dog in the garden. There are some dogs in the garden.
Have you a good book on botany? Have you any good books on
botany?
No is used adjectivally with plural nouns and uncountable nouns. It may be
replaced by not......any.
Examples:
There were no (weren't any) eggs in the shop.
I have no (haven't any) money.
There is no (isn't any) food in the house.
There are no (aren't any) train to Chittagong tonight.
None is used pronominally and means 'not one' or 'not any'. It is used with 'of'.
Examples:
None of this meat is ready to eat.
None of them were selected for the job.
Notes on spelling: Some, any, no, every combine with one, body, and thing.
Someone, anyone, somebody, anybody, something, anything, everything and
nothing are written as one word. No and one in combination is written no one of no-one and none.
each, either, neither, every
Each, either, and neither are used adjectivally with singular countable nouns,
and pronominally with of and plural countable noun or pronoun.
Examples:
The prime minister invited each member of the cabinet/each of them to state his views.
Each of the ministers was invited to state his views and each of them did so.
Either proposal/Either of these proposals will have my support.
Every member of the cabinet was present.
Every room in the hotel has a private bathroom.
Every may be used with the pronoun one. The words are written separately.
Examine every one of the glasses carefully as you unpack them.
Enough
This determiner is used with plural countable nouns and with uncountable nouns.
Have we got enough spoons for twenty people?
Have we enough space to move freely?
Are there enough pens for the invigilators?
Is there enough food for the guests?
The order in which a number of determiners is arranged is not variable. The definite articles and the demonstratives may be preceded by all and both but not by ordinals, cardinals or possessives. Determiners followed by of may procede the definite article, the demonstratives and possessives.
