Determiners PDF

## Determiners Determiners introduce noun phrases. They fix the nouns that follow them. They express such notions as number or quantity and the kind of reference of the noun phrase. In short, determiners are fixing words. **Examples:** * I have never read any books by Tolstoy. * Come here and lo...

## Determiners Determiners introduce noun phrases. They fix the nouns that follow them. They express such notions as number or quantity and the kind of reference of the noun phrase. In short, determiners are fixing words. **Examples:** * I have never read any books by Tolstoy. * Come here and look at this picture. * These apples are very sweet. * Only four students are sitting in the class. * Each boy must have his own book. * Every worker is expected to do his best. * Can you lend me some money? * Many a child comes to play in this park. * Most children like playing. * I want to be a writer. In the above examples, the italicised words are determiners followed by nouns (both singular and plural). ### Determiners In Common Use 1. **A, an, the** 2. **This, that, these, those** 3. **My, our, your, his, her, its, their** 4. **Few, a few, the few, little, a little, the little, many more, most, no, any, some, all, either, neither, each , every, many, much, less, a lot of, lots of** 5. **One, two, three, four, etc. (numbers)** Following are the uses of the determiners mentioned above (For Articles and Pronouns look into the relevant chapters): 1. **This, these:** This and these point to the objects which are near. **Examples:** * Is this the book you mean? * This pen belongs to Sunaina. * These chairs are very comfortable. 2. **That, those:** That and those point to the objects which are far. **Examples:** * Look at that man standing there. * Where did that noise come from? * Who are those people over there? * Those apples at the back cost very high. 3. **Few, a few, the few:** Few means not many, hardly any; a few means some; the few means not many but all of them. We use a few in a positive way, i.e., to talk about a small amount or quantity, to indicate that this is enough. We often use few in a negative way, i.e., to suggest that the amount or quantity is not enough. **Examples:** * The police have very few clues to the murderer's identity. * Few cars are parked outside the gate. * Only a few members were present in the meeting. * There are only a few books in this library. * The few houses we have seen are in terrible condition. * I have read the few books I had. 4. **Little, a little, the little :** Little means not much, hardly any; a little means some; the little means not much but all of that much. We use a little in a positive way, to indicate that this is not enough. We use little to indicate that the amount is surprisingly low. **Examples:** * We had little rain all summer in Delhi. * I have very little time for reading * A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. * A little money is better than none. * I gave the little money I had to my cousin. * We should use the little time we have available to discuss Mr. Sebastian's proposal. 5. **Many, many a, much:** Many is followed by a plural number; many a is followed by a singular number. Much denotes quantity. **Examples:** * Many people agree with privatization. * Were there many pictures by women artists? * Many a young person has experimented with drugs. * I have been at my cousin's place many a time. * How much water do you need? * There was so much traffic that we were an hour late. 6. **Either, neither:** Either denotes one of the two persons or things. Neither is the opposite of either. **Examples:** * There is a staircase at either end of the corridor. * You can park on either side of the street. * Neither team liked the arrangement. * Neither answer is correct. 7. **All, both:** All means the total of many units together about things or people in a group. Both means the total of two units together. **Examples:** * All wood tends to shrink. * All the people you invited are coming. * Both the parties are ready to sign the contract. 8. **Some, any:** Some is used to denote the following: * when we mean quite a large amount of or large number of something. * when we mean not all. * when we make offers and requests, expecting the answer yes. Any is used when we mean all (of them) and it is not important which. It can be used in the singular and plural numbers. Any is commonly used in if clauses. It is also used in negative and interrogative sentences and after the words hardly, scarcely and barely. **Examples:** * There is some ice in the fridge. * Would you like some milk in your coffee? * Shall I send you some details? * Didn't I give you some money yesterday? * If you have any problem, let me know. * There wasn't any water in the bucket. * Have you any news for me? * There are scarcely any flowers in the garden. 9. **A lot of, lots of:** A lot of and lots of mean a large number or amount of. The two phrases indicate the same meaning. **Examples:** * A lot of people were killed in the fury of the Tsunami waves. * What a lot of presents! * I want black coffee with lots of sugar. * We took lots of food and drink on our walk through the hills 10. **More, most, less:** More means a greater or additional number or amount; most is the superlative of more and it means the greatest in number, amount or extent, less is the comparative of little and it means not as much (as) or a smaller amount of. It is used with uncountable nouns. **Examples:** * More people came to attend the meeting. * I need more money. * Who do you think will get the most votes? * When we toured Tamil Nadu, we spent most time in Madras. * Mr. Amit was advised to smoke fewer cigarettes and drink less wine. * He gave me less time. 11. **Each, every :** Each, is used with singular countable nouns and singular verbs. It means every person, group, thing, etc. considered separately. Every means each individual. It is used with singular countable nouns to refer to individual people or things belonging to groups of three or more. **Examples:** * Each day passed without any news. * Raju has put on a ring on each finger. * Every child in the class passed the examination. * I could hear every word they said. 12. **One, two, three, etc. :** These are numbers used rather than a before hundred, thousand, dozen, etc.