DETERMINERS

DETERMINERS:

The determiners are words that are used before noun or before an adjective to refer or clarity something as specific or general in nature. They mainly act as noun modifier. Specific determiners are used when we are pointing something or somebody specific like that man, this book. but general determiners are used to address subject or object in general like books, people. Where no specific object is pointed like books, it can be any book, it can be any book, and people can be any population at large.

TYPES OF DETERMINERS: –

1. Articles (a, an, the)
2. The demonstratives (this, that, these, those)
3. Possessives (my, mine, our, ours, her, hers, their, theirs)
4. Quantifies (a little, some, a few, several, plenty of, any, many)
5. Numerals (one, ten, hundred, thousand)
6. Distributives (all, both, either, neither, every, each)
7. Interrogative words (which, what, whose)

1. ARTICLE:

• They are the words that are placed before a noun to classify the noun as a definite of indefinite noun.
• Articles are of two types definite and indefinite articles.

Examples: –

• The sun is a huge ball of gases.
• The President of India.
• The world is concerned about global warming.
• The mango you are eating is a hybrid.

A) DEFINITE ARTICLES:

• They are used when the subject or object is definite in nature like’ the sun’, the man who stole my wallet’. herein ‘the’ is used when we know that there is just the word the is used as we are definite about the subject we are talking about or in ‘the man’ we know the particular person whom we are referring.

Examples: –

• The President of India.
• The world is concerned about global warming.
• The mango you are eating is a hybrid.

B) INDEFINITE ARTICLES:

• They are used when the subject or object is definite in nature like ‘a pen’, ‘a strange incident’. Here ‘ a pen’ indicates any pen which is not specific in nature, or in the sentences ‘ a strange incident’ we refer once of the strange incident a person has come across, it can be any, so here again we are referring to a general incidence not any specified incident.

Examples: –

• I am an Indian girl.
• He is a boy.
• She is a university graduate.
• I am an honest girl.

2. THE DEMONSTRATIVES:

• They are words that are used to specify or points out a particular object or subject. They differ according to singular, plural or distance.
• E.g. those, these, this that.
• A demonstrative adjective modifies a noun:
• This mango is ripe. I appreciated those designs. (here, ‘this’ and ‘those’ have modified mango and designs)
• A demonstrative pronoun stands on its own, replacing rather than modifying a noun:

Examples: –

• Those are my orchards (far in distance and plural)
• These are my cattle (near and plural)
• This is my farmhouse (near and singular)
•  That is my tractor (far and plural)
• This is better than that
• These books are better than those.

3. POSSESSIVE DETERMINERS:

• They point out the possessor in relation to an object or subject they belong to. E.g. my, her, their.
• There are three types of possessive determiners:
• Possessive pronouns
• Possessive adjectives
• Possessed case

Examples: –

• No, it is mine.
• This is her pen.
• Your friend is nice.
• Her hair id shin.

4. QUANTIFIER DETERMINERS:

• They are the determiners that classify the quantity, or it answers how much is the quantity. They are adjective or adjective phrases that are usually put before the noun. A little, a lot, a few, some, several are a few examples of quantified determiners.

Examples: –

• I have a few apples in my basket.
• You should have plenty of water.
• Can you lend me little amount of money?

Affirmative: –

Neutral: –    Some, Several, A number of, Enough

Large Quantity: –     Numerous, Plenty of, A lot of, Lots of, Too many.

Small Quantity: –     Few, A few, A little, A bit, The little

Nil Quantity: –          No, None

Negative: –

Neutral: –   Any. Enough

Large Quantity: –   Much, Many, Too Many

Small Quantity: –    Not So Much

Nil Quantity: –       Not Any

Interrogative: –

Neutral: –     Any, Enough, How Much, How Many

Large Quantity: –    Much, Many, Too Many

5. NUMERALS: 

• The numerals as determiners are a set of English numbers that act as adjective when referred in a sentence like one, two, ten, hundred. When the numerals are classified with reference to sequence or ordinal like first, second, third, hundredth. they refer to distribution.

Examples: –

• There are ten floors in this hotel. (Cardinal Number)
• The conference is to be held on the seventh floor. (Ordinal Number)
• I had lived in the United States for three years. (Cardinal Number)
• I have visited this place for the third time. (Ordinary Number)
• She can have five large burgers.  (Cardinal Number)
• This is the fifth burger she is having.  (Ordinal Number)

6. DISTRIBUTIVE DETERMERS: 

• They are words that are used to point out the distribution of any subject, object, people, or things to evaluate how they are distributed, divided or shared to classify the determiners to distinguish the group it belongs to. E.g. all, both, half, each, either, neither, other, another.

Examples: –

• All the boys in our class are naughty.
• Both of them are fond of pizza.
• Every dream is worth a try.
• It’s neither nor healthy.

7. INTERROGATIVE DETERMINERS: –

• They are determiners that classify and formulate the set of those sentences that are in a question form. They are usually placed before the noun. E.g. which, what, whose, how.

Examples: –

• Which car are you going to buy?
• What school have you last attended?
• Whose house are you going to buy?
• How old is this monastery?

EXERCISE-1

Fill in the blanks with suitable determiners.

1. Who is the owner of _____________ car?

A) Those       B) These       C) This.

2. There are _____________children in the class.

A) Tenth       B) Ten          C) Each

3. ___________ book are you reading these days?

A) Which       B) What       C) Few

4. ____________ book are you reading these days?

A) Whose       B) We      C) A lot

5. Is this ____________ mobile?

A) Much         B) Those           C) Your

6. ____________ money do I owe you?

A) How much     B) How many       C) Several

7. I saw a ________________ of wolves.

A) Heard        B) Pack       C) Flock.

8. She gave me ____________ chocolates and toffees. 

A) A few                B) Much            C) Few

9. Can I have ______________ glass of water?

A) Much            B) Another           C) Other

10. There were a _____________ of trees.

A) Groove              B) Bunch                     C) Bouquet

EXERCISE-2

Read the following idiomatic expressions and underline the determiners.

1. A stich in time saves nine.
2. A penny saved is a penny earned.
3. Go down like a lead ballon.
4. Like a chicken with its head cut off.
5. Rome was not built in a day.
6. The ball is in your court.
7. The bigger they are the harder they fall.
8. Variety is the spice of life.
9. Wear your heart on your sleeves.
10. You can’t judge a book by its cover.

EXERCISE-3

Put in a, an, many, much, a few, or a little where necessary.

1. She is ________ University graduate.
2. ____________honest man never has to prove his honesty.
3. There are _______________ good movies that can inspire you.
4. She spent __________ amount but gained a lot of profit from it.
5. There are ____________ people who still believe in ghosts and spirits.
6. I do not bother _____________ about what people have to say.
7. She daily eats _____________ apple and ___________banana.
8. I have _________books but only _______________of them are interesting.
9. Too_____________ of fat intake has __________ adverse effects on the body.
10. Though she has _______________ knowledge but only ______________ people can show that much confidence.