determiners

Página 1

DETERMINERS Types and Application What are Determiners? Determiners are words placed in front of a noun or noun phrase to make it clear which object is being referred to. They are said to “mark” nouns or noun phrases. Examples: She is standing by the chair A few of the students missed the deadline for submission. He takes his tea with lots of sugar. They had just arranged that display and now it’s destroyed. She let him borrow her gaming console Khyati asked, “Which assignment are we supposed to submit today?” Types of Determiners: ARTICLES DEMONSTRATIVES POSSESSIVES ORDINALS CARDINALS or NUMERALS a, an, the this, these, that, those my, our, your, his, her, its, their first, second, next, last, etc. one, two, hundred, million, etc. QUANTIFIERS DISTRIBUTIVES INTERROGATIVES PRE-DETERMINERS much, some, no, any, many, enough, several, lot of, plenty of, little, few, all, both, another, etc. each, every, either, neither what, which, whose, etc. all, all of, half, half of, both, double, twice, quite, rather, such, what, etc. Articles: Articles are used to determine if the noun it precedes is being referred to in a general or a more specific way. There are three articles: a, an, and the. Example: The friends saw an eagle perched on a branch in the park. Articles are usually used before common nouns, not proper nouns, though there are some exceptions in case of the definite article. Common Nouns: student, city, dog, newspaper Proper Nouns: Jack, Abu Dhabi, Labrador, Times Jack is a talented student. Abu Dhabi is the city of my dreams. Labradors can be vicious when provoked. The Times published an article on gender disparity in India. Newspapers in any country should hold the government responsible and be the voice of its people. Indefinite Articles: A and an are the indefinite articles or general determiners and are used when the speaker is talking about a general version of the noun. Example: A student in year 6 needs to work hard to do well in their SATs. The sentence is talking about any student in that grade. “Call 911! There is a bear in our backyard.” I had an amazing vacation with my family. We use ‘a’ or ‘an’ before singular common nouns that are general. Examples: Dubai is a melting-pot of varied world cultures. A star in the night sky is named after my mother. We also use a or an before the names of occupations and professions. Example: A doctor must be a kind human being. An influencer’s fame is often short-lived. We also use a or an before an adjective in a noun phrase, where the adjective precedes a general common noun. Example: Sia told me an interesting story. The article ‘a’ is used before the words which begin with consonant sounds and ‘an’ is used before the words beginning with vowel sounds. Examples: An apple a day, keeps the doctor away. What a nuisance! I plan on taking an engineering workshop during the summer break. Some words start with a vowel letter but begin with a consonant sound. So we use the article ‘a’ before these words: Examples: a university, a European, a unique idea, a one-parent family. Alternatively, we use an before words that start with a consonant but begin with a vowel sound: Examples: an hour, an heir, an honest man. Definite article: The is the definite article and is used when the speaker is referring to a specific noun or to something that has already been mentioned and can be understood. Examples: The student needs to work harder to do well in their SATs. We found an old piano tucked away in the attic. Surprisingly, the piano is still in pristine condition. Definite article ‘the’ is used before both singular and plural common nouns that are specific. Examples: He threw the ball into the river. The boys were not in the class. Definite article ‘the’ is also used before adjectives that give more information about specific common nouns. Examples: The limited pokemon cards are in high demand. Definite article ‘the’ can be used before nouns and adjectives that start with both vowel or consonant sounds. Example: The school offers scholarships at the annual seminar. The definite article may be used with the countable nouns that are used in the singular to refer to things more general. Examples: If you break the law, you will be punished. He played the violin for an enchanted audience. The definite article is used to refer to the things that are only one in the world. Examples: The Taj Mahal is made of beautiful white marble. The Himalayan mountain range was formed due to a collision between two tectonic plates. The definite article is used to refer to the parts of the body, with time expressions and before dates or periods of time. Examples: Smoking is harmful for the lung. My day starts early in the morning. It is the popular music of the 1940s. The definite article is used before the superlative adjectives. Examples: She is the most talented performer in competition. We use the definite article the before the nationals of a country or continent. Examples: Some of the Europeans have settled here. Omission of Articles: The article is omitted before a common noun used in the widest sense. Example: Man is mortal. No articles are used when plural common nouns are referred to in a general manner. Example: Computers dominate our day-to-day in the current era. Articles are usually omitted before proper nouns. Example: John has settled in London. Articles are not used before abstract nouns used in a general sense. Examples: Wisdom can be honed through practice. Honesty is the best policy. Note: An abstract noun when it is qualified by an adjective or adjectival phrase may have the article such as: Example: The wisdom of Solomon is famous. Demonstratives: This, These, That, Those The demonstrative determiners are used to talk about persons or things that have already been mentioned or can be pointed to. This and These refers to objects nearby, while that and those refers to things further away. This’ and ‘that’ are used for singular nouns and ‘these’ and ‘those’ for plural nouns. Examples: These birds migrate from Europe to Africa during peak winters. This folder contains my portfolio. That bike belongs to Sara. Those children are playing basket-ball. Possessives: My, our, your, his, her, its, their The possessives are used to show possession. Possessive determiners are used to refer to a noun that belongs to someone or something. Possessives include my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. Examples: My students are well behaved. Their plan was brilliantly executed. What is its value? Our country has a rich and diverse culture. Note - Determiners are different to pronouns in that a determiner is always followed by a noun. Therefore personal pronouns (I , you , he , etc.) and possessive pronouns (mine, yours, etc.) cannot be determiners. Ordinals: First, secondary, former, final, latter, next, etc. When used as a determiner, ordinals show what position something has in a series. When ordinals are used as determiners, we commonly use other determiners such as articles (a/an, the) and possessives (my, your) in front of them Examples: She is quite happy working in the primary sector. The subsequent books of the series will explore the early lives of the characters. Sherlock’s final problem was a complex one. The last student to leave the class will switch-off the lights. He was the last to arrive as usual. (last is simply an ordinal, but not a determiner in this example. Cardinals or Numerals: These are ordinary numbers like five, hundred, a million, etc., used as determiners. Examples: She lived for eighty years. He balanced himself on one foot. A million years ago, the earth would have been uninhabitable for humans. Quantifiers: much, some, several, both, a lot of, all etc. Quantifiers are used to refer to the quantity or amount of a noun. Examples: All the children enjoyed the show. I want half the butter. We can use most of these quantifiers as determiners with both countable and uncountable nouns. Examples: We have lots of time. Joe has lots of friends. I can’t go out as I’ve got no money. There was a lot of food but no drinks. Some quantifiers can only be used with countable nouns. These include – many, few, each, either, several, both, neither, fewer, a couple of, thousands of, etc. Examples: Hundreds of wars have been fought over this land. Many students are attending virtual classes due to the pandemic. Some quantifiers can only be used with uncountable nouns. These include – much, a bit of, a little, a great deal of, etc. Example: I always add a little milk and some carrots to my soup. Not much has been done to tackle the cyber crimes in the current era. They didn’t make much progress with the governor’s plan for development. Distributives: each, every, neither, either Distributive determiners are used to refer to each single member of a group. Examples: Each request will be considered. The minister visited every flood-affected region. You can walk on either sides of the road. Each is used when we talk about the members of a group individually and every when we make a general statement. Both are followed by a singular countable noun. Examples: Each child in this class submitted an excellent portfolio. Every living thing dies. Either is used to talk about two things, but usually indicates that only one of the two is involved. Neither is its negative. Examples: Either of you can participate in the competition. One could either opt for the virtual class model or the face-to-face one. Neither of them is efficient. Interrogatives: What, which, whose, etc. Interrogative determiners are used to formulate direct or indirect questions and exclamations. Examples- What subjects are you studying? Which colour would you prefer? Whose house is this? Note- What is applied in a more general sense, while which requires a relatively more specific answer. Example- What food do you like? Which is your favourite restaurant. Predeterminers: Pre-determiners are the words which occur before a determiner to limit the meaning of a noun or give more information about that noun: Examples: They received infamy for all their trouble. I’ve had such a good time today. He drank half of the milk. He has rather a pleasant personality. He gets twice the pay I get. Have fun applying these determiners in your day-to-day expression.