What is a determiner?

• A determiner is a word that is used in front of a

noun or pronoun to give some information about
it.
an apple
the book
all students
both parents
five copies
fifth rank
 TYPES OF DETERMINERS
ARTICLES DEMONSTRATIVES POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES

a this my, our

an that your, his
the these her, its
those their

QUANTIFIERS NUMBERS ORDINALS

some , any one, two first , second

few, little three, four third, last
much, more twenty Next
any, every hundred
 Articles
• Articles or Determiners are three.
• They are: ‘A’ ‘An’ and ‘The’.
• ‘A’ and ‘An’ are known as Indefinite articles and
‘The’ is known as Definite article.
• ‘A’ and ‘An’ can be used only to the Singular but
‘The’ can be used for both Singular and Plural.
• ‘A’ and ‘An’ are used in the sense of ‘One’.
 USES OF ‘A’
• Article A is used before consonant sound.
He is a boy.
I bought a pen.
She gave me a watch.
• Article A is used if the vowel sounds like a consonant;
He is a European.
I saw a one –eyed man.
I have a uniform set.
I went to a university.
• Article A is used before the names of profession;
My father is a farmer. My friend is a teacher.
• Article A is used before singular countable nouns to indicate ‘One’;
There is a mango tree at the back of our home. I have a pen and three notes.
• Article A is used with a noun expressing ‘frequency’;
He earns five rupees a day.
The doctor advised me to come to hospital twice in a week.
• Article A is used for certain numbers;
I have a fifty rupee note.
A couple of days ago, I met him.
She bought a dozen of apple.
• Article A is used in the sense of any, to single and individual as the representative of a class.
A student should respect the teacher. A cow is a useful animal.
• Article A is used in expression of price, speed, ratio;
Sixty rupees a kilo. Forty K.M. is not a distance. Once a day.
 USES OF ‘AN’ Article
• ‘An’ is used In the sense of ‘one’ before vowel sound.
I bought an apple. It is an orange.
She is an enemy to me. An ant bit me.
It is an ox. I bought an umbrella.
• Article ‘An’ is used before the ‘h’ silent word;
I was an hour late to class. He is an honest man.
• Article ‘An’ is used if a consonant word sounds like a vowel;
My father is an M.P. She is an M.L.A. She is an L.I.C agent.
 DEFINITE ARTICLE-‘THE’
• Definite article points out a particular person or thing.
• Article ‘The’ is used before the names of rivers, seas, famous buildings, groups of islands, historical events, directions,
canals, deserts, positions and a very few names of countries, which include words like republic and kingdom article
‘the’ is used.
The Ganges is a holy river. The black sea is very rough.
We visited the Tajmahal last year.
The West Indies cricket team’s performance is very good.
The world war III may happen due to water scarcity.
The sun rises in the east. The suez canals run for long distance. The sahara is a big desert. The manager of Indian
bank is very active.
The U.S.A., The U.A.E., The Irish republic, The united kingdom, The Netherlands.
• Article The is used to refer singular nouns again.
I saw a film. The film was nice.
I read a book. The book was interesting.
• Article The is used before plural nouns.
The apples are costly. The students are waiting there.
• Article The is used to specify a particular Person, place or thing.
I want to meet the boy wearing a blue shirt.
The boy who got the highest mark in English was awarded a prize.
 DEFINITE ARTICLE-‘THE’
• Article The is used before holy books.
The Bhagavad Gita. The Holy Bible.
• Article The is used with Superlative degrees.
She is the tallest girl in our class.
• Article The is used when a singular noun represents a whole class or group.
The elephant is a huge animal.
• Article The is used before inhabitants- citizen.
The Indians. The Americans.
• Article The is used before the Government Sectors / Banks/ Important Events.
The ministry of finance. The Indian bank. The civil disobedience movements.
• Article The is used before an adjective with a plural meaning.
This is a school for the blind. The rich should help the poor.
• Article The is used with ordinals
He was the first man to arrive. The ninth chapter of the book is very interesting.
 DEMONSTRATIVE DETERMINER

The words this, that, these and those are used to indicate specific persons or things.
In the following examples, the words this, that, these and those are used independently,
and can be referred to as demonstrative pronouns.
e.g. This is an apple pie.
      That is a good idea.
      These are my friends.
      Those are maple trees.
The words this, that, these and those can also be used immediately preceding
a noun, in which case they can be referred to as demonstrative adjectives.
e.g. This pie is made with apples.
      That idea seems practical.
      These people are my friends.
      Those trees are maples.
 USES OF DEMONSTRATIVE DETERMINER
Formerly known as demonstrative adjectives, demonstrative determiners are used
to point out or indicate the nouns which they qualify
  DEMONSTRATIVES LOCATION INDICATED SINGULAR OR PLURAL
  This Close to speaker or writer   Singular
  These Close to speaker or writer   Plural
  That Distant from speaker or writer   Singular
  Those Distant from speaker or writer   Plural

I do admire those flowers.

I used to live in that house.
These students are all taking the exam.
I love this dress, but I can’t afford it.
Who is that man over there?
Why are those people laughing at us?
These trees are huge.
Those red grapes are delicious.
These green grapes are sour.
Those rascals must be punished.
 POSSESSIVE DETERMINER
•When you wish to indicate that something belongs to someone or something or that it is
connected in some way with someone or something you use the possessive determiners my,
our, your, his/her/its, their.
•POSSESSIVE DETERMINERS: My, Our, Your, His, Her, Its, Their .
•Formerly, possessive determiners were commonly known as possessive adjectives.
I would like my book back, please.
Where are your children?
Dad let me borrow his car.
He was brushing his teeth.
She looks very like her mother.
Unfortunately, the dog broke its leg in the accident.
The children loved their new bikes
 QUANTIFIERS

• Quantifiers are such words or group of words, which are used before a noun
to indicate the amount or quantity of that noun.
• “some‟ is mostly used in positive sentences(affirmative verbs ) while “any‟ is
often used in negative sentences(negative verbs).
I have got some milk.
I haven’t got any gold.
• “some "is used with singular countable noun that is vague or unknown.
Some gentleman is waiting to see you.
• “some” is used before definite numbers to mean “approximately or about’.
There are some twenty people at the gate.
 QUANTIFIERS

•Few denotes number (Plural countable nouns) / Little denotes quantity (singular uncountable nouns )
The children played a few minutes.
They sold the few dogs that they had.
I have a little money I had.
• few and little are used in a negative sense i.e not many
He has few friends.
He has little money.
•A few and a little are positive , they mean some.
He has a few friends.
He has a little money.
•The few i.e. “not many , but that are there” / the little i.e.“not much , but that are there”
I have already read the few books that I have.
He has spent the little money he had.
 INDEFINITE DETERMINERS

• The indefinite determiners, also called general determiners, are used to qualify nouns or
pronouns when you are talking about people or things in a general or indefinite way,
without identifying them.
• The indefinite or general determiners include all, any, both, each, either, every, few, little,
less, many, much, more, neither, no, several, some and neither, as underlined in the
following sentences:
Any room in the hotel will do.
Both students are to blame.
Neither house is really suitable.
Either bus will take you to the village.
Every car has been damaged.
Many books were destroyed in the fire.
Few patients have survived such an operation.
No facts are known yet.
Some gardens are beautifully kept.
 NUMBER DETERMINERS
• Numbers when they are used before a noun are sometimes classified as
determiners, and sometimes as adjectives.
• Numbers such as one, two, ten, twenty, etc are called cardinal numbers, while
numbers such as first, second, tenth, twentieth, etc are called ordinal numbers.
• In the following sentences the underlined words are cardinal numbers:
We only have one chance to succeed.
There are seven people in the house.
More than sixty soldiers died in the battle.
This is the third time he’s been in prison.
This is the little girl’s fourth birthday.
They’re celebrating their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.