Determiners

Determiners are those words that are prefixed before nouns to determine their meaning. They
contain several classes of words, including pronouns and adjectives. They determine or limit
the noun by giving some additional information about it. Determiners show whether a noun
refers to is a general or a specific object, person, or place. They indicate which or how many
things the noun refers to. Determiners also define or limit a noun to the singular or plural.

They can be divided into the following types:

(a) Pre-determiners: Pre-determiners are the words which occur before a determiner to limit
the meaning of a noun:
• You will get all the information.
• He drank half of the milk.
• Both the boys were present.

(b) Articles: The article system in English consists of the definite article ‘the’ and the
indefinite articles ‘a’ and ‘an’.

Uses of the Definite Article ‘The’:

1. Before any common noun: • He threw the ball into the river.
• The boys were not in the class.
2. To refer to specific persons or things: • I want to meet the principal in the school.
• The tourists crossed the river in a boat.
3. To refer to the things that are only one in • The moon and stars were shining in the sky.
the world: • The earth revolves round the sun.
4. With the words such as school, university, • They will visit the school on Monday.
prison, when we are referring to a particular • I met him in the university.
building:
5. With the countable nouns that are used in • If you break the law, you will be punished.
the singular to refer to things more general: • He played the violin for half an hour.
6. To refer to the parts of the body: • Smoking is harmful for the lungs.
• He caught him by the neck.
7. With time expressions: • I met her in the evening.
• She came here in the morning.
8. Before something that has already been • I met a man at the station.
mentioned: • The man belonged to Tamil Nadu.
9. Before a noun that is followed by a relative • The man I met at the station belonged to Haryana.
clause or a prepositional phrase: • He put the sweater on the table.
10. To refer to familiar things we use • She looked at the ceiling.
regularly: • Suddenly the lights went out.
11. Before dates or periods of time: • We met on the 15th of October.
• It is a popular music of the 1940s.
12. Before a noun which is followed by ‘of ‘: • This led to the destruction of the whole village.
• The burning of houses rendered people homeless.
13. Before the names of seas, rivers, deserts, • The ship crossed the Pacific Ocean.
mountains. • They came across the Himalayas.
14. Before the names of large public • They visited the Taj Mahal.
buildings: • They went to the Town Hall.
15. Before the superlative adjectives: • He is the best boy in the class.
• She is the most beautiful girl in the school.
16. Before adjectives such as rich, poor, deaf, • The rich and the poor went to the fair.
dumb, blind, etc to use them as nouns: • We should help the blind.
17. Before the nationals of a country or • The Indians are very religious.
continent: • Some of the Europeans live here.
18. Before the names of trains and ships: • The Rajdhani Express is a very fast train.
• The Queen Elizabeth is a famous ship.

Uses of the Indefinite Articles- ‘a’ and ‘an’:

The indefinite articles are used when we talk about people in a general or indefinite way.
1. Before the words which begin with • He is a European.
consonant sounds and ‘an’ is used before the • This is a unique idea.
words beginning with vowel sounds. • Theirs is a one-parent family.
However, some words start with a vowel • He is teaching at a university.
letter but begin with a consonant sound. So,
we use the article ‘a’ before these words:
2. We use ‘an’ before words which begin with • He is an Indian.
a vowel sound: • He had an umbrella in his hand.
3. Some words begin with silent letters. So, • He is an honest man.
we use ‘an’ before them: • He is an heir to the throne.
4. We use ‘a’ or ‘an’ before singular • Kolkata is a big city.
countable nouns: • The dog is an animal.
5. We use ‘a’ or ‘on’ before the names of • His father is an engineer.
occupations and professions: • He is a pilot.
6. When we use ‘a’ before ‘little’ and ‘few’, • Few people visit this temple now.
there is a change in the meaning of these • I know a few students of this school.
words. ‘A few’ is used with plural countable • There is little water in the bucket.
nouns, and ‘a little’ with uncountable nouns. • There is a little milk in the bottle.
‘Few’ means not many, while ‘a few’ means a
small number. ‘Little’ means not much, while
‘a little’ means some.
7. We use ‘a’, ‘an’ before an adjective in a • She is a good girl.
noun phrase: • She told me an interesting story.
8. We use ‘an’ with abbreviations beginning • His father is an M.P.
with the following letters: A, E, F, H, I, L, M, • He is an N.R.I.
N, O, R, S, X (They should have vowel • She got an X-Ray done.
sounds):
9. We use the indefinite article before certain • She bought a knife and fork.
nouns considered as a single unit: • The old lady had a cup and saucer in her hand.

(c) Demonstratives: This, These, That, Those: The demonstrative determiners are used to
talk about persons or things that have already been mentioned.
This and These refer to the things that are near and can be seen. ‘That’ and ‘Those’ are
used to refer to the things that are at a distance but can be seen.
• We lived in this house for four years.
• She bought these books.
This’ and ‘that’ are used for singular nouns and ‘these’ and ‘those’ for plural nouns.
• Can you lift that box?
• These boys have done their work.
• I have already met that man.

(d) Possessives: My, our, your, his, her, its, their. The possessives are used to show
possession.
• Our neighbour is a rich man.
• Do you know its value?
• Their house is very big.

(e) Ordinals: first, second, next, last, etc. The ordinals show what position something has in
a series:
• He is the first boy who has joined this school.
• I shall meet him the next week.

(f) Cardinals or Numerals: one, two, three, hundred, etc. Cardinals are ordinary numbers
like one, two, three, etc. They show how many of something there are:
• There were only ten boys in the class.
• He balanced himself on one foot.

(g) Quantifiers: much, some, several, a lot of, both, all, etc. The quantifiers refer to the
quantity of things or amount of something.
• There were some people at the airport.
• All children enjoyed the show.
• They didn’t make much progress.
• There was little water in the jug.
• It has not made any difference to me.
• There is enough powder in the can.
• He drank a lot of water.

(h) Distributives: each, every, either, neither. Distributive determiners refer to each single
member of a group.
1. Each is used when we talk about the members of • He met each guest.
a group individually and every when we make a • I agree with every word he says.
general statement. Both are followed by a singular • Each request will be considered.
countable noun:
2. Either is used to talk about two things, but • Either of the two girls should come here.
usually indicates that only one of the two is
involved.
3. Neither is the negative of either: • Neither member came to attend the
meeting.

(i) Interrogatives: what, which, whose, etc. The interrogative determiners are used for
asking questions:
• What subjects are you studying?
• Which colour do you like the most?
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Practice Exercise
1. Fill in the blanks using suitable determiners.
Bon Appetit – With Flowers
Flowers are not only beautiful and fragrant; they are often also edible. Indians have always
relished eating flowers and (a) ________ (some/one) of the delicacies of Bengali cuisine is
fritters made of pumpkin flowers. (b) ________ (one/another) flower widely eaten in the
north-east is the banana flower which is made into a number of dishes.
Today, eating flowers is catching on in a big way. Apart from the cauliflower and broccoli,
there are (c) ________ (various/some) other edible flowers too. In (d) ________ (any/some)
western countries, crystallized flowers are used as decoration for cakes and puddings.
Lavender flowers have (e) ________ (much/many) uses. They are used for making lavender
water as well as in custards and ice creams. (f) ________ (many/any) herbs like rosemary,
thyme, and basil are used for garnishing and flavour.

2. Fill in the blanks with suitable determiners.

(a) ________ house is not mine.
(b) I have ________ more files to complete.
(c) She doesn’t like him ________.
(d) Nidhi answered ________ the questions wrong.
(e) ________ the girls had to carry their own luggage.
(f) I shall not buy ________ oranges. These are rotten.
(g) I have bought ________ cycle.
(h) I drive 10 Kms ________ day to reach my school.
(i) We are expecting ________ guests tonight.
(j) ________ of my answers were correct. So, I passed.
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