A determiner is an important part of a sentence that identifies or quantifies a noun. It usually occurs in a sentence immediately before the noun. Sometimes, it occurs before the adjective in a sentence, followed by the noun. It always occurs before the noun. Let’s see what these special words are.
Determiner Groups
Determiners can be divided into groups according to how they relate to the noun.
Articles: a, an, (indefinite articles), the (definite article); these describe which noun you’re talking about.
Identifiers: this, that, those, these, also describe which noun you are talking about.
Possessives: my, your, its, Jon’s. These describe who the noun belongs to.
Numbers: 1,2,3, half, double. These quantify the noun. i.e. say how much or many of a noun is in the sentence.
Ordinals: first, second, third etc.
Quantifiers: some, any, few, little, much, less, little, many, few, fewer.
Determiners are Adjectives
Traditionally, determiners were called adjectives. Possessive adjectives: his, hers, theirs, etc. Demonstrative adjectives: this, that, those, these. Indefinite adjectives: some, a, any, etc. Determiners are still called adjectives, but more and more, they are referred to as determiners. Determiners are adjectives because they describe the noun by saying which noun, how many nouns, whose noun, etc.
Determiners and Other Adjectives
Determiners are different from other adjectives in some ways.
A] Remove a determiner from a sentence and it makes no sense. The sentence can still make sense if you leave out a normal adjective.
e.g.
- I left the big house. Correct
- I left the house.
- With the adjective removed, the sentence is still Correct.
- I left house. This last sentence doesn’t make sense without the determiner. (the)
B] There is no comparative form of a determiner.
e.g. descriptive adjective tall > taller Here, taller is the comparative form of tall.
But put a determiner here; the > there is no comparative form. Nothing fits.
C] Determiners can have an antecedent. I.E., a word it refers back to. e.g. He caught the fish and threw it back in straight away. Fish is the antecedent, and the determiner ‘it’ refers to the fish. ( a little bit like a pronoun) No descriptive adjective fits here.
D] Determiners cannot function as a subject complement. Descriptive adjectives: He is wise fits, but he is …. no determiner fits.
When a Determiner is not a Determiner
This, that, these, and those can be used as a pronoun in a sentence, so if they are not identifying a noun, they are probably functioning as a pronoun.
e.g.
- This pen is blue. This is the determiner because it identifies which noun we are talking about.
- If you say, this is blue (indicating the pen), this is a pronoun because it stands in for this pen.
E.G. I left the big house. I left the house. I climbed a steep hill. I climbed a hill.
A, an or The
We use ‘an’ before a noun or adjective that begins with a vowel sound. We use an even if it is a consonant that sounds like a vowel. e.g. an honorary degree. An x-ray, an heir to a fortune.
We use a for nouns or adjectives that start with a consonant sound, even if it’s a vowel. e.g. a one-track mind. A university.
Countable or Non-Countable Nouns
If a noun is uncountable, we use much, little, or less to quantify it. These determiners are indeterminate adjectives. An uncountable noun is a noun we cannot count. e.g. sun, rain, rubbish, electricity. These nouns have an indeterminate number.
e.g.,
- I earn less money than you do. (There’s no such thing as 1 money, 2 monies etc.)
- There is very little time left. (1 time 2 times, 3 times.) In this sentence, time is not countable.
- There is not much time left. There’s even less money left.
Many, few, fewer (used with countable nouns). A countable noun is a noun we can count., e.g. one person, two people, three people, etc.
e.g.
- I know fewer people than you do.
- I have read many books.
- I have read a few books more than once.
Countable/ Non-Countable Phrases with Nouns
A number of or a lot of is used with countable nouns.
- A number of animal species are at risk of extinction.
- There are a number of people who haven’t voted yet.
- There are a lot of children who play basketball.
The amount of (uncountable nouns) of time, rubbish, rain etc.
- The amount of rubbish in the streets is atrocious.
- The amount of rain we have had today is above average for this time of year.
- The amount of time left to fix things is minimal.
There you have the most common determiners. They are small words with a big job in English sentences. Practice noticing them when you use them in a sentence. And do as many exercises as you can. You’ll be a natural before you know it.
