Determiners

 Determiners are used in front of nouns to indicate whether you are referring to something specific or something of a particular type.

Common kinds of determiners include definite and indefinite articles (like the English the and a or an), demonstratives (this and that), possessives (my and their), quantifiers (many, few and several), numerals (three, twenty), and interrogatives (which).

Determiners List

Possessives

• My
• Our
• Your
• His
• Her
• Its
• Their

Ordinals

• First
• Second
• Third
• Next
• Last

Quantifiers

• Much
• Some
• No
• Any
• Many
• Enough
• Several
• Little
• All
• Lot of
• Plenty of
• Another

Articles

• A
• An
• The

Distributives

• Each
• Every
• Neither
• Either

Numerals

• One
• Two
• Three
• Ten
• Fifty
• Hundred
• Thousand

Predeterminers

• All
• All of
• What
• Such
• Rather
• Quite
• Twice
• Double
• Both

Class X: Grammar: Determiners

Determiners

‘Determiners’ means which determines. These are the words which come at the beginning of the noun phrase. A determiner tells us if the noun phrase is specific or general. Thus, determiners are either specific or general.

Specific determiners tell us that the noun phrase is specific. These specific determiners are:

·         Article:                    the

·         Possessive:              my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose

·         Demonstrative:        this, that, these, those

·         Interrogative:          which, who, whose, whom, etc

Specific determiners are used when we know that the listener or the reader knows what we are referring to.

For example:

·         Can you give me that glass, please?

·         Look at those lovely plants.

·         Thanks a lot for your lovely gift.

Non-specific Determiners or The General Determiners

These determiners tell us about the noun which is introduced first time to the reader or the listener. The general determiners are: a, an, another, other, what, etc.

We can use a singular noun with the indefinite articles like ‘a’ or ‘an’. For example:

·         A man came to rescue the drowning girl.

·         A woman purchasing vegetable was in the market.

·         An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

For uncountable nouns and plural nouns, we do not use any determiner.

For example:

·         Milk is good source of protein. (Uncountable noun)

·         Health and wealth are very important.  (Uncountable noun)

·         Airplanes are faster means to commute. (Plural nouns)

Use of ‘any’

It is used with a singular noun or an uncountable noun when we are talking about all the things in general.

For example:

·         This is very easy. Any child can do this.

·         If you have the license, you are allowed to drive any vehicle.

·         I love rose, lily – any flower.

Use of ‘another’

The word ‘another’ is used when we talk about an additional person or thing. For example:

·         Would you like to have another piece of cake?

The word ‘other’ is the plural form of the word ‘another’. For example:

·         I met Amit, Rahul and few other people.

Quantifiers

Quantifiers are the determiners that we use when we want to talk or give information about the number of something. For example:
· How much
· How many
There are several classes of determiners:
· Definite and Indefinite articles: the, a, an
· Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
· Possessives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
· Quantifiers: a few, a little, much, many, a lot of, most, some, any, enough, etc.
· Numbers: one, ten, thirty, etc.
· Distributives: all, both, half, either, neither, each, every
· Difference words: other, another
· Question words: Which, what, whose
· Defining words: which, whose

DETERMINERS

SET-1

Fill in the blanks with suitable determiners:

1. _________ man that we saw turned out to be a thief.

A. A B. The C. That D. This

2. Can ___________ help me?

A. many B. nobody C. everybody D. somebody

3. He should work _________ and take a break.

A. less B. little C. a little D. more

4. He told me that __________ blue was her favourite colour.

A. a B. the C. this D. None of the above

5. You can pick ___________ of two.

A. many B. more C. either D. some

SET-2

Fill in the blanks with suitable determiners:

1. __________ those students were punished.

A. All B. Much C. Enough D. Some

2. There isn’t ___________ cash left with us.

A. some B. many C. more D. much

3. Despite looking for her ___________, I couldn’t find her.

A. somewhere B. anywhere C. everywhere D. nowhere

4. ____________ one of them has been invited.

A. Each B. Every C. Many D. Much

5. ___________ sun is about to set.

A. A B. An C. The D. A little

SET-3

Fill in the blanks with suitable determiners:

1. ___________ of the people who came have left.

A. Most B. Many C. Every D. Each

2. We need to do ___________ of work before the event starts.

A. much B. a lot C. more D. some

3. There are ___________ messages for you.

A. none B. no C. much D. little

4. ___________ people who migrated here died in the floods.

A. A few B. Few C. The few D. Many

5. Not ___________ is known about these legends.

A. little B. all C. many D. much

SET-4

Fill in the blanks with suitable determiners:

1. There is not __________ space for others here.

A. some B. enough C. many D. little

2. Is there __________ at the door?

A. nobody B. somebody C. someone D. everybody

3. __________ Shatabdi express will arrive at eight o’clock.

A. A B. Any

C. Some D. The

4. It is __________ heirloom of the family.

A. a B. an C. some D. none

5. He will be there in __________ hour.

A. the B. an C. a D. two

SET-5

Fill in the blanks with suitable determiners:

1. He teaches us _________ Biology.

A. the B. a C. an D. None of the above

2. ___________ left a letter for you at the gate.

A. Somebody B. None C. Everybody D. Anybody

3. She is __________ most intelligent in the class.

A. a B. the C. much D. None of the above

4. He does not have ___________ friends.

A. much B. more C. many D. all

5. ___________ of the helpers is available.

A. No B. Any C. Some D. None

DETERMINERS

SET-1

ANSWERS:

1. B. The (“The” refers to particular person or thing.)

2. D. somebody (any person)

3. A. less (quantity of work) 4. D. None of the above

5. C. either (one of two things)

SET-2

ANSWERS:

1. A. All (includes every person or thing) 2. D. much (emphasizes quantity)

3. C. everywhere ( includes all places) 4. A. Each (indicates every one of two or more persons)

5. C. The (particular /unique thing)

SET-3

ANSWERS:

1. A. Most (indicates nearly all of a group)

2. B. a lot (to express large quantity of something)

3. B. no (indicate negation)

4. A. A few (means ‘some’)

5. D. much (emphasizes big quantity)

SET-4

ANSWERS:

1. B. enough ( indicates less than sufficient) 2. C. someone (any person)

3. D. The (particular thing)

4. B. an (used before singular countable noun begins with vowel sound) 5. B. an (used before singular countable noun begins with vowel sound)

SET-5

ANSWERS:

1. D. None of the above

2. A. Somebody (any person) 3. B. the (used before superlative degree)

4. C. many (used for plural countable noun)

5. D. None