Determiners are used in front of nouns to indicate whether something specific or something of a particular type.
Determiners are different to pronouns in that a determiner is always followed hy a noun.
Therefore, personal pronouns (I, you, he, etc.) and possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, etc.) cannot be determiners.
The definite and indefinite articles a/an/the are all determiners.
We use a specific determiner when people know exactly which thing(s) or person/people we are talking about.
The specific determiners are:
the definite article: the
demonstratives: this, that, these, those
possessive : my your, his. her, its, our their
Examples:
Look at the determiners used in the following 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 determiners are:
the indefinite articles : a, an
a few
a little
all
another
any
both
each
either
enough
every
few
fewer
less
little
many
more
most
much
neither
no
other
several
some
Examples:
A man sat under an umbrella
Have you got any English books that I could have?
There 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 determiners.
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 good/great many (of), a great/good deal (of), a large/great/huge + number/quantity/amount etc. tof), a lot on. 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 dises
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, much 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 the 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 adjectives and pronouns. No is used as an adjective. None is used as a pronoun. Some and any are used as adjectives with plural countable nouns and singular uncountable nouns.
Examples:
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 othing are written as one word.
No and one in combination is written no one Or no-one.
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.
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