DETERMINERS: THE SPECIFIERS OF NOUNS

Determiners specify the range of reference of a noun in various ways; eg., by making it definite,
indefinite, or by indicating amount or quantity. Determiners in English are:

Articles- Definite the; indefinite a/an

Demonstratives -This, that, these, those

Possessives- My, your, his, her, its, our, their

Quantifiers - Many, some, few, little, all (of), both, etc.

Numerals- One, two, three, first, second, last, etc.

Articles
 The indefinite article a/an is used with singular countable nouns for indefinite meaning:

I bought a book yesterday.

 For plural countable nouns with indefinite meaning no articles are used. Instead, the quantifier some
or numerals are used: I bought some books/ I bought two books yesterday.

 For uncountable or mass nouns some is used: I need to buy some sugar.

 The definite article can be used with all kinds of nouns with definite meaning, either singular or plural,
except with most proper nouns, when:

1. identity has been established by an earlier mention:

John bought a TV and a radio but he returned the radio.

2. identity is established by the post-modification:

John returned the radio that he bought yesterday

3. the object or group of objects is the only one that exists or has existed:

the stars, the sun, the moon, the North Pole

4. reference is made to an institution shared by the community:

the radio, the television, the telephone.

5. plural countable nouns when used with a generic meaning NEVER take the definite article, in other
words, they take ZERO article:

Children are adorable (referring to children in general)

But: the children at the kindergarten. ( a specific group of children)

Also notice the following sentences with generic meaning

Tigers are animals in danger of extinction. The tiger is an animal in danger of extinction.

A tiger is an animal in danger of extinction. But never: * The tigers are animals in danger of extinction.

The proper names do not take articles unless they are part of the name itself:

Peter, New York, The New York Times

And also that you can find proper names determined by articles:

A Peter called you this morning.

The doctor Smith I was referring to is the one who works at the Medical Center.

Numerals
Numerals are determiners when they appear before a noun. In this position, cardinal numerals express
quantity:

one book two books twenty books

In the same position, ordinal numerals express sequence:

first impressions second chance third prize

The subclass of ordinals includes a set of words which are not directly related to numbers (as first is
related to one, second is related to two, etc). These are called general ordinals, and they include last,
latter, next, previous, and subsequent. These words also function as determiners:

next week last orders previous engagement subsequent developments

When they do not come before a noun, as we have already seen, numerals are a subclass of nouns. And
like nouns, they can take determiners:

the two of us the first of many

They can even have numerals as determiners before them:

five twos are ten

In this example, twos is a plural noun and it has the determiner five before it.

Quantifiers
• a quantifier is a type of determiner) that expresses a relative or indefinite indication of
quantity.

• Ex.- all, some, or much

• Quantifiers usually appear in front of nouns

 • Ex- all children. Many girls

-Quantifiers Used With Singular Count Nouns

• Every: You make me laugh every time you lie.

• Each: I will talk to each person individually.

Either: Perera could shoot very well with his either foot.

• Neither: He is lucky, neither foot showed anything wrong.

Quantifiers Used With Plural Count Nouns

A Few: I gave him a few candies.

• Fewer: Fewer shops accept checks nowadays. Many: They got married many years ago.

• Great Many: Both sides had great many casualties in that war.

Several: Several buildings were damaged in the earthquake.

• A Number of: A number of students failed the class.

• plenty of: We have plenty of hot dogs, it should be enough.

• a lot of / lots of: I've got a lot of candies.

• enough: We have enough hot dogs but we need more buns.

• any: Did you buy any hot dogs? Yes, five of them.

• some: She needs to buy some books.

Quantifiers Used With Non-Count Nouns

plenty of: We have plenty of gas, it should be enough.

• a lot of / lots of: I've got a lot of cash on me.
• enough: We have enough gas, you don't have to worry.
• any: Did you spend any cash? No, I didn't spend any.
• some: She needs some fatherly advice.
• a little: Give me a little money before you go.
• less / more: You spend less time and lose more weight.
• much: We don't have so much water in the tank.
• a bit of: Can I have a bit of your chocolate?
Some & Any

• Some and any” are determiners and they express an indefinite quantity or number. “Some and
Any” are used when it is not easy, necessary or important to say exactly how many / how much
we want to mean. They are both used with countable and uncountable nouns. “Some” is often
used in affirmative statements.
 SOME + COUNTABLE NOUNS : In this case, “some” means “ a few”.

There are some postcards in my bag. There are some students in the class.
There are some cherries in the basket. There are some mistakes in the list.

SOME + UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

There is some dust on the floor / There is some cheese in the fridge.

There is some fruit in the basket /There is some fish on the plate

“Any” is often used in negative sentences and questions.

There aren’t any people on the moon. There are not any empty chairs for the guests.

Are there any doctors in your family? Yes, there are some doctors in my family.
No, there aren’t any doctors in my family.

4. ANY + UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

There isn’t any milk in the bottle / There isn’t any honey at home.

There isn’t any cold water here / Is there any bread on the table?

Yes, there is some bread on the table.

No, there isn’t any bread on the table.
Many and Much express a large quantity
Examples: (+)

I have many postcards.

She has got much influence on you.
There are many students in the class.
There is much orange juice in the glass.

Examples: (-)

There isn’t much sugar in the kitchen.

There aren’t many people in the streets.
He doesn’t have much time.
There isn’t much fun here.
Examples: (?)
Is there much rain in Istanbul?
Has Eric got much cash?
Are there many books in your bag?
Do you have many CDs?
 • A FEW / A LITTLE
Differences Between A FEW / FEW & A LITTLE / LITTLE
• “A few” expresses a small quantity. “Few” implies that something is not many, not enough
or almost none. It expresses a negative idea.

I have a few close friends in town, and we have a very good time together.

I have few friends in town, so I feel lonely from time to time.

“A little” expresses a small quantity. “Little” implies that something is not much, not enough or almost
none. It expresses a negative idea.

We have a little milk. Let’s make a cake.

We have little milk. We can’t make a cake.

Let's go and have a drink. We've got a little time before the train leaves. (a little time = some time,
enough time to have a drink)

'Do you speak English?' 'A little.' (So we can talk a bit)

There is little sugar in my coffee. Could I have some more?

• A LOT OF

• Quantifier "a lot of" is used in all forms.

Instead of A lot of, we can use lots of.
Lots of is an informal form of a lot of.

• Example sentences:
There are a lot of bus stops in Bornova.
I have got lots of story books.
Are there a lot of people in the queue? Yes, there are.
There is a lot of milk in the jug.
There isn’t a lot of honey in the hive.
Do you know a lot of people there?
She has lots of oxen on the farm.

Demonstratives

This book is very boring

That film is excellent

Possessive determiners

The personal pronouns (I, you, he, etc) cannot be determiners. This is also true of

the possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his/hers, ours, and theirs). However, these

pronouns do have corresponding forms which are determiners:

Possessive Pronoun The white car is mine My car is white

Yours is the blue coat Your coat is blue

The car in the garage is his/hers His/her car is in the garage

David's house is big, but ours is bigger Our house is bigger than David's

Theirs is the house on the left Their house is on the left

The Ordering of Determiners:

Determiners occur before nouns, and they indicate the kind of reference which the nouns have.
Depending on their relative position before a noun, we distinguish three classes of determiners. Pre-
determiner Central Determiner Post -determiner

I met all my many friends

A sentence like this is somewhat unusual, because it is rare for all three determiner slots to be filled in
the same sentence. Generally, only one or two slots are filled.. Predeterminers

Pre-determiners

Pre-determiners specify quantity in the noun which follows them, and they are of three major types:

1. "Multiplying" expressions, including expressions ending in times:

twice my salary double my salary ten times my salary

2. Fractions

half my salary one-third my salary

3. The words all and both:

all my salary both my salaries

Pre- determiners do not normally co-occur:

*all half my salary

Central Determiners

Central determiners may be preceded by pre-determiners and followed by Post- determiners:

1. The definite article ‘the’ and the indefinite article ‘a/an ‘ are the most common central determiners

all the book half a chapter

2. As many of our previous examples show, the word my can also occupy the central determiner slot.
This is equally true of the other possessives:

all your money all his/her money all our money all their money

3. The demonstratives, too, are central determiners:

all these problems twice that size four times this amount

Post-determiners

Post-determiners follow central determiners:

1. Cardinal and ordinal numerals occupy the post-determiner slot:

the two children his fourth birthday

2. This applies also to general ordinals:

my next project our last meeting your previous remark her subsequent letter

3. Other quantifying expressions are also post-determiners:

my many friends our several achievements the few friends that I have

4. Unlike pre-determiners, post- determiners can co-occur:

my next two projects several other people