About "Determiners" (part 01)

What is a "Determiner" ?

Simply put, in English, a determiner is a word that introduce a noun. It always comes before a noun, not after, and it also comes before any other adjectives used to describe the noun.

Determiners are required before a singular noun but are optional when it comes to introducing plural nouns. 
For example, consider the placement and usage of the common determiner the in the sentences below:

• The bunny went home.
• I ate the chocolate cookie for dessert.
• Metal cans are recyclable.
• The metal cans are recyclable.

In every example, the determiner is placed before the noun or noun phrase, regardless of whether the noun in the subject or predicate. In the first example, it comes directly before the noun, but in the second example, it comes before the adjective ("chocolate") that describes the noun ("cookie").

Note also that in the third example there is no determiner, as determiners are optional for plural nouns and noun phrases. When you want to discuss the noun in general (i.e., all metal cans), you don't need a determiner for plural nouns. However, the fourth example shows that you may add a determiner to refer to specific nouns (i.e., the metal cans right here).

There are four different types of determiners in English: articles, demonstratives, quantifiers, and possessives.

Types of Determiners

Articles

Articles are among the most common of the determiners. There are three singular articles: a, an, and the. Articles specify (or determine) which noun the speaker is referring to. A and an are indefinite articles and are used when you are talking about a general version of the noun. For example:

• A dog is a good pet.
• An ostrich would beat a chicken in a race.

In these examples, the sentence is talking about dogs or ostriches in general, meaning any dog. When your meaning is general, use an indefinite article. Note that a is used before words that begin with consonants while an is used before words beginning with vowels.

On the other hand, the is a definite article, meaning the speaker is referring to a specific noun. For example:

• We went to the best restaurant in town.
• The dog is barking too loudly.

Here the speaker is referring to a particular dog and a particular restaurant. It's not a general category, but only one animal or place that's important. When your meaning is specific, use a definite article.

Demonstratives

Demonstrative pronouns are also used as determiners in English. There are four of them: this, that, these and those.Demonstratives are used in a situation in which the speaker can point to the item they mean, making them even more specific than a definite article. For example:

• Do you want this piece of chicken?
• I don't want to go to that movie.
• These black raspberries are sour.
• He wanted those boys to go away.

This and these refer to items nearby; that and those refer to items far away. Note also that this and that are singular while these and those are plural.

Quantifiers

Quantifiers are determiners that indicate how much or how little of the noun is being discussed. They include words such as all, few and many. For example:

• He took all the books.
• She liked all desserts equally.
• Few children like lima beans, so the cafeteria stopped serving them.
• Many kittens are taught to hunt by their mothers.

Note that all can be used with other determiners to specify which particular items are meant (i.e. all the books in this pile). In this case, the quantifier always comes before the article or demonstrative. It's also possible to use all alone to refer to items generally, as in the second example.

Possessives

When referring to a noun that belongs to someone or something, you can use possessive pronouns to show ownership. Possessive pronouns include my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. For example:

• Where is your car?
• The dog growled and showed its teeth.
• My best friend is a cat.
• Which one is his house?
• Honesty is her best quality.
• The tree shed its leaves.
• It's our secret recipe.

As always, the determiner comes before the noun and any modifying adjectives. In English, you can use the same possessive whether the noun it references is singular or plural.

#See you soon in next lesson....🔝 

(Using determiners correctly)

Writer : hasitha vilochana perera