Determiners
are
words which come at the beginning of the noun phrase.
They
tell us whether the noun phrase is specific or general.
Determiners
are either specific or general
Specific determiners:
The
specific determiners are:
- the definite article: the
- possessives: my, your, his, her, its; our, their, whose
- demonstratives: this, that, these, those
- interrogatives: which
We
use a specific determiner when we believe the listener/reader
knows exactly what we are referring to:
Can
you pass me the sauce please?
Look at those lovely cats.
I bring your letter.
Whose pencil is this?
Look at those lovely cats.
I bring your letter.
Whose pencil is this?
General determiners:
The
general determiners are:
- a; an; any; another; other; what
When
we are talking about things in general and the listener/reader does not know
exactly what we are referring to, we can use a uncount noun or a plural
noun with no determiner:
Milk
is
very good for children. (= uncount noun)
money and education are very important. (= 2 uncount nouns)
Girls normally do better in school than boys. (= plural nouns with no determiner)
money and education are very important. (= 2 uncount nouns)
Girls normally do better in school than boys. (= plural nouns with no determiner)
…
or you can use a singular noun with the indefinite article a or an:
A
woman was
trapped in a broken building.
A man climbing nearby saw the accident.
A man climbing nearby saw the accident.
We
use the general determiner any with a singular noun or an
uncount noun when we are talking about all of those people or things:
It’s
very fun. Any child laughs loudly. (= All children laugh)
With a full licence you are allowed to drive any car.
I like beef, lamb, chicken. - any meat.
With a full licence you are allowed to drive any car.
I like beef, lamb, chicken. - any meat.
We
use the general determiner another to talk about an additional
person or thing:
Would
you like another glass of juice?
The
plural form of another is other:
I
spoke to John, Helen and a few other friends.
Quantifiers
We
use quantifiers when we want to give someone information about the number
of something: how much or how many.
