Lesson 19 - Determiners and Quantifiers

DETERMINERS AND QUANTIFIERS

Determiners are a group of words which include articles (a, the), demonstratives (this, those),
possessive adjectives (my, their), numbers (one, two), and other words (any, both) that come
before a noun, follow another determiner, or begin a noun phrase.
Determiners include quantifiers, which are words or phrases used before a noun to show its
quantity. Examples of quantifiers are: all, many, much, most, one, some,a few, and a lot of, etc.
Determiners and quantifiers are useful in letting us know more about the noun that they refer. For
example, this thing identifies something that is close at hand; her wig means the wig belongs to
her; another donkey tells of one more donkey; and a few marbles refers to a small number of
marble.

1. Definite and Indefinite Articles

Definite and indefinite articles: the, a, an
The definite article the as a determiner can be used before singular or plural nouns such as
people or things, and before countable and uncountable nouns.

We use the determiner the:

to refer to people or things which we know because they have already been mentioned.

There is a man doing magic at the marketplace. I know the man; he is my uncle.
I know there are bats in that cave. I have been to the cave and seen the bats.

to refer to a person or thing when there is only one

He is the ex-husband of my friends sister.

The flood occurred only in the east coast of the country.

before superlatives, words such as first, only, etc.

Peacocks have the most beautiful feathers.
The first runner to cross the line will be declared the winner.
This duckling is the only pet I have.

before adjectives so that the adjectives become nouns.

Sometimes I hate myself for dreaming the impossible.

They buried the dead as soon as they could.

before a singular noun that is representative of a group of similar people or things.

A large and flightless bird, the dodo is now extinct.
The satellite has many uses, the most important of which is the transmission of
information.

before proper nouns.

The Robinsons are the latest members of the ghost-hunting club.
The Niagara Falls is the largest waterfall in the world.

We use the determiners a/an:

to refer to someone or things that we know nothing about as they have not been
mentioned before, or they are not particular persons or things.
She brought home a puppy.

They saw a man attempting to commit burglary at a house near by.

There was an explosion in a nearby factory.

before an uncountable noun.

The husband and wife share a liking for raw fish.
He has an unusually bad temper.
before an action noun.
She had a quick glance at me, and then looked away.
She always has a bath that lasts at least an hour.

before a quantity.
He uttered a few foreign words before he passed away.
She never does a bit of exercise to reduce her enormous body weight.

before a proper noun such as a persons name.

A Mr. Wilson called while you were away.

Is there a Patterson here?

2. Demonstratives
Demonstratives: this/these, that/those (these and those are plural)

This, that, these and those are called demonstratives. As determiners, this andthat appear
before singular nouns, and these and those being plurals of this and thatrespectively come
before plural nouns.

This colour is not found in the rainbow.

That hill was shaped almost like a human head.
These footprints are left by a three-toed creature.
They were trying to hatch those dinosaur eggs.

We use the demonstratives this and these to refer to specific people, things, etc. that are close to
us, and that and those that are not near to us.

Look at this photo of Nessie.

I will ask that policeman the way to the police station.
Listen to these voices and tell me whose.
Those strange noises came from the roof.

Nouns need not follow these determiners if the meaning is understood.

Whose is this?
Dont touch these.
Look at that.
Those are not mine.

The determiners can also come before one.

This one smells the same as that one.

The words this, that, these, those besides being determiners, are also used as pronouns.
One good way to distinguish between them is determiner, unlike pronoun, comes before nouns.

Determiner

Pronoun

This potato is still hot.

That duckling is ugly.
These apples are rotten.
Those dark clouds are gathering
overhead.

This is a hot potato.

That is a very ugly duckling.
These are rotten apples.
Those are dark clouds gathering
overhead.

3. Possessives (possessive determiners)

Possessives (possessive determiners): my, your, his, her, its, our, their
Possessive determiners indicate possession and we use them before the nouns.

Who broke my new cup?

Your dog has more fleas than mine.
His left leg was broken in two places in the accident.
She looks just like her mother.
Its back was bitten by another dog.
Our dinner was delayed because mum was stuck in a traffic jam.
Their parents refused to visit him in prison.

4. Distributives
Distributives: each, every, either, neither, another, other

We use a distributive determiner to refer to each element or individual of a group or class, and
not to a group or class collectively.

Each and every

These two words have about the same meaning.
We use each when we think of people or things seen as separate individuals,
and every when we mean every one that together make up the group.

She wears a ring on each finger except the thumbs.

Police arrested every member of the armed gang for robbery.

We can use each and every only before a singular countable noun.
Police questioned each/every member of the family for possible involvement in the
murder.

We can use each and every to mean more than two.

Each/every member at the meeting received a copy of the report.

We can use each to mean two and every to mean three or more.
Each player in the singles final has a different style of play. (= two players)
There were cars parked along the sides of every street in town. (= all the streets)
We can use every with uncountable nouns.
He gave me every advice before I went for the climb.

Either and neither

As determiner, either is used to mean one or the other of two people or things,
whileneither indicates not the one nor the other of two people or things.

Either parent is going to look for their sons bully.

He received injuries on either side of his head from a fight.
Neither boxer was able to knock the other out.
Neither one would give in until the other apologized.

Another and other

The tribal chief has five wives already, and now he wants another one.
They defused a bomb but didnt know theres another one nearby going to explode.
There are other ways of eliminating rats besides drowning them.
Its no use having only one shoe. I dont know where the other one is.

5. Quantifiers + Countable Nouns

Quantifiers used with countable nouns include a, an, one, each, every, both, a couple of, a
few, several, many, a number of, a large number of, and a great number of.

A rubber duck is floating in the bath.

An evil monster like him has no friends.
One page is missing from my cookery book.
He had a tattoo of a dragon on each arm.
Every child received a lollipop.
Both donkeys are braying at the same time.
A couple of people began to talk louder and louder after the third round of drinks.
Someone stole several piglets from his farm.
I think he is putting too many eggs in one basket.
A number of her friends agreed with her that she looked overweight.
Illegal loggers cut down a large number of trees.
A great number of locusts swarmed the area.

Few and a few

Few and a few come before plural countable nouns. Few (without a) conveys a negative meaning
of only a small number or hardly any; a few has a positive meaning of having
some but enough.

There were a few casualties in the train accident. (= Not many died or injured.)

Few passers-by stopped to look at my paintings. (= Almost no passers-by were

interested.)

6. Quantifiers + Uncountable Nouns

Quantifiers used with uncountable nouns include a little, a bit of, much , a great deal of, and
a large amount of.

There was a bit of cheese on your upper lip.

I dont have much money to keep in my big wallet.
A great deal of her work is massaging the back of patients.
The drugs were sold for a large amount of hard cash.

Little and a little

Little and a little are expressions of quantity used before uncountable nouns.Little has a
negative meaning implying scarcely any is available or almost none. A little means a
small amount.
There seemed (very) little hope of recovery for the accident victim.
There is a little pork in the fridge for the supper dish. (Positive - small amount but enough
for supper)

7. Quantifiers + Countable and Uncountable Nouns

There are quantifiers that can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. They
include enough, no, any, some, a lot of, lots of, most, and all.

Countable: There were not enough cups at the party, so I drank from the bottle.
Uncountable: I just had enough money to buy her an ice cream.

Countable: There were no passengers in the bus.

Uncountable: She screamed for help, but received no help.

Countable: There wasnt any policeman around when I was robbed.

Uncountable: It didnt come with any instructions about assembling it.

Countable: She received the most Christmas cards in the family.

Uncountable: She earned the most money in the family.

Countable: Not all monkeys have tails.

Uncountable: I have been trying all morning to fix my old computer.

A lot of and lots of

A lot of and lots of mean the same, and they both mean a large quantity of.

He has a lot of hair on his chest.

He has lots of hair on his chest.

Both a lot of and lots of can be used before singular uncountable nouns or plural countable
nouns.

A lot of/Lots of sand has got into my shoes. (Uncountable noun)

I can eat a lot of/lots of grapes when I want to. (Countable noun)
There was a lot of/lots of rubbish everywhere. (Uncountable noun)
There were a lot of/lots of people on the beach. (Countable noun)

When we use a lot of/lots of with a plural subject, we use a plural verb.
A lot of/Lots of replies were received in response to her advertisement.

When we use a lot of/lots of with a singular subject, we use a singular verb.
A lot of/Lots of false information was given by him to the tax authorities.

8. Some and Any

Some and any are determiners indicating quantities (quantifiers).

Grandpa believes some dinosaurs still exist in the Amazon jungle.

Any living dinosaur found would be headline news in all newspapers.

We use some in statements and any in questions and after negatives.

I want some cake.

Do you want any cake?
No, I dont want any cake.

We use some and any before plural countable nouns and singular uncountable nouns
Positive (some)
Plural countable:
There are some coins in the piggy bank.
I have some peanuts for the monkeys.

Singular uncountable:
There is some money in the piggy bank.
The clay pot contains some oxtail soup.

Questions (any)
Plural countable:
Are there any coins in the piggy bank?

Do you have any peanuts for the monkeys?

Singular uncountable:
Is there any money in the piggy bank?
Is there any more oxtail soup?

Negative (any)
Plural countable:
No, there arent any coins in the piggy bank.
I dont have any peanuts for the monkeys.

Singular uncountable:
No, there isnt any money in the piggy bank.
There's isn't any oxtail soup left.

We usually use any for questions whose answers are uncertain. We can also usesome for
questions whose answers are possible yes.

Is there any medicine for my cough?

Do you want some medicine for your cough?

We can use some and any to mean one.

Some idiot put a pile of rubbish on top of my car. (= one idiot)

What type of girl do I want? I like any girl.

We can use some and any as a plural form for countable nouns.

Here is a picture of Titanic. / Here are some pictures of Titanic.

There is an ostrich roaming the streets. / There are some ostriches roaming the streets.
Is there a duck swimming on my pond? / Are there any ducks swimming on my pond?

We may omit some or any from sentences or questions without affecting their meanings.

There is some dirt under the table. / There is dirt under the table.

Do you have any children? / Do you have children?

9. THIS, THAT, THESE and THOSE

This and these are used to refer to people or things that are close to us,
and that and those are used to talk about people or things that are not near to us.
EXAMPLE: Look at this photo of the sun rising . / I'll speak to that policeman over there.

This and these are used for an action that is still going on. We use that andthose to
say about things that are finished.

EXAMPLE: Why are you telling me all this? / Listen to these voices, and tell me who they
belong to.
EXAMPLE: Let's play that piece of music again. / Those strange noises came from the roof.

This/these is used for introduction and that/those for identification.

EXAMPLE: This is my best friend Colonel Sanders. / These are my twin brothers Laurel and
Hardy.
EXAMPLE: That dog is a German shepherd.
EXAMPLE: Those that are flying around at night are a species of bat.

This, that, these and those can be used without adding nouns if the meaning is
clear.

EXAMPLE: I hate this. / Stop pushing these. / Look at that. / Those were tricky.
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