Lesson 19 - Determiners and Quantifiers

Lesson 19 - Determiners and Quantifiers

DETERMINERS AND QUANTIFIERSDeterminers are a group of words which include articles (a, the), demonstratives (this, those), possessive adjectives (my, their), numbers (one, two), and other words (any, both) that come before a noun, follow another determiner, or begin a noun phrase.Determiners include quantifiers, which are words or phrases used before a noun to show its quantity. Examples of quantifiers are:all,many,much,most,one,some,a few, anda lot of, etc.Determiners and quantifiers are useful in letting us know more about the noun that they refer. For example,this thingidentifies something that is close at hand;her wigmeans the wig belongs to her;another donkeytells of one more donkey; anda few marblesrefers to a small number of marble.

1. Definite and Indefinite Articles

Definite and indefinite articles:the,a,anThe definite articletheas a determiner can be used before singular or plural nouns such as people or things, and before countable and uncountable nouns.

We use the determinerthe: to refer to people or things which we know because they have already been mentioned.

There isa mandoing magic at the marketplace. I knowtheman; he is my uncle.I know there are bats in that cave. I have been tothecave and seenthebats. to refer to a person or thing when there is only one

He istheex-husbandof my friends sister.The flood occurred only intheeast coastof the country.

beforesuperlatives, words such asfirst,only, etc.Peacocks havethemost beautifulfeathers.Thefirstrunner to cross the line will be declared the winner.This duckling istheonlypet I have. beforeadjectives so that the adjectives become nouns.

Sometimes I hate myself for dreamingtheimpossible.

They buriedthe deadas soon as they could.

before a singular noun that is representative of a group of similar people or things.

A large and flightless bird,thedodois now extinct.

The satellitehas many uses, the most important of which is the transmission of information. before proper nouns.

TheRobinsonsare the latest members of the ghost-hunting club.TheNiagara Fallsisthelargest waterfall in the world.We use the determinersa/an: to refer to someone or things that we know nothing about as they have not been mentioned before, orthey are not particular persons or things.She brought homeapuppy.

They sawamanattempting to commit burglary atahouse near by.

There wasanexplosioninanearby factory.

beforean uncountable noun.The husband and wife sharea likingfor raw fish.He hasanunusually bad temper. beforean action noun.

She hadaquickglanceat me, and then looked away.She always hasabaththat lasts at leastanhour. before a quantity.

He uttereda fewforeign words before he passed away.

She never doesa bit ofexercise to reduce her enormous body weight. before a proper noun such as a persons name.AMr. Wilsoncalled while you were away.Is therea Pattersonhere?

2. Demonstratives

Demonstratives:this/these,that/those(theseandthoseare plural)This,that,theseandthoseare calleddemonstratives. As determiners,thisandthatappear before singular nouns, andtheseandthosebeing plurals ofthisandthatrespectively come before plural nouns. Thiscolouris not found in the rainbow. That hillwas shaped almost like a human head. These footprintsare left by a three-toed creature. They were trying to hatchthosedinosaureggs.We use the demonstrativesthisandtheseto refer to specific people, things, etc. that are close to us, andthatandthosethat are not near to us. Look atthisphoto of Nessie. I will askthatpoliceman the way to the police station. Listen tothesevoices and tell me whose. Thosestrange noises came from the roof.Nouns need not follow these determiners if the meaning is understood. Whose isthis? Dont touchthese. Look atthat. Thoseare not mine.The determiners can also come beforeone. This onesmells the same asthat one.The words this,that,these,those besides being determiners, are also used as pronouns. One good way to distinguish between them is determiner, unlike pronoun, comes before nouns.

DeterminerPronounThispotato is still hot.

Thisis a hot potato.

Thatduckling is ugly.

Thatis a very ugly duckling.

Theseapples are rotten.

Theseare rotten apples.

Thosedark clouds are gathering overhead.

Thoseare dark clouds gathering overhead.

3. Possessives (possessive determiners)

Possessives (possessive determiners):my,your,his,her,its,our,theirPossessive determinersindicate possession and we use them before the nouns. Who brokemynewcup? Your doghas more fleas than mine. Hisleftlegwas broken in two places in the accident. She looks just likeher mother. Its backwas bitten by another dog. Our dinnerwas delayed because mum was stuck in a traffic jam. Their parentsrefused to visit him in prison.

4. Distributives

Distributives:each, every,either,neither,another,other

We use adistributive determinerto refer to each element or individual of a group or class, and not to a group or class collectively.EachandeveryThese two words have about the same meaning. We useeachwhen we think of people or things seen as separate individuals, andeverywhen we mean every one that together make up the group.

She wears a ring oneachfinger except the thumbs.Police arrestedeverymember of the armed gang for robbery. We can useeachandeveryonly before a singular countable noun.Police questionedeach/everymember of the family for possible involvement in the murder.

We can useeachandeveryto mean more than two.Each/everymember at the meeting received a copy of the report.

We can useeachto mean two andeveryto mean three or more.Eachplayerin the singles final has a different style of play. (= two players)There were cars parked along the sides ofeverystreetin town. (= all the streets) We can useeverywith uncountable nouns.He gave meevery advicebefore I went for the climb.

EitherandneitherAs determiner,eitheris used to mean one or the other of two people or things, whileneitherindicates not the one nor the other of two people or things. Either parentis going to look for their sons bully. He received injuries oneither sideof his head from a fight. Neither boxerwas able to knock the other out. Neither onewould give in until the other apologized.Anotherandother The tribal chief has five wives already, and now he wantsanotherone. They defused a bomb but didnt know theresanotherone nearby going to explode. There areotherways of eliminating rats besides drowning them. Its no use having only one shoe. I dont know where theotherone is.

5. Quantifiers + Countable Nouns

Quantifiers used with countable nouns includea,an,one,each,every,both,a couple of,a few,several,many,a number of,a large number of, anda great number of. Arubber duck is floating in the bath. Anevil monster like him has no friends. Onepage is missing from my cookery book. He had a tattoo of a dragon oneacharm. Everychild received a lollipop. Bothdonkeys are braying at the same time. A couple ofpeople began to talk louder and louder after the third round of drinks. Someone stoleseveralpiglets from his farm. I think he is putting toomanyeggs in one basket. A number ofher friends agreed with her that she looked overweight. Illegal loggers cut downa large number oftrees. A great number oflocusts swarmed the area.Fewanda fewFewanda fewcome before plural countable nouns.Few(withouta) conveys a negative meaning ofonly a small numberorhardly any;a fewhas a positive meaning ofhaving somebutenough. There werea fewcasualties in the train accident. (= Not many died or injured.) Fewpassers-by stopped to look at my paintings. (= Almost no passers-by were interested.)

6. Quantifiers + Uncountable Nouns

Quantifiers used with uncountable nouns includea little,a bit of,much,a great deal of, and alarge amount of. There wasa bit ofcheese on your upper lip. I dont havemuchmoney to keep in my big wallet. A great deal ofher work is massaging the back of patients. The drugs were sold fora large amount ofhard cash.Littleanda little Littleanda littleare expressions of quantity used before uncountable nouns.Littlehas a negative meaning implyingscarcely any is availableoralmost none.A littlemeans a small amount. There seemed (very)littlehope of recovery for the accident victim. There isa littlepork in the fridge for the supper dish. (Positive - small amount but enough for supper)

7. Quantifiers + Countable and Uncountable Nouns

There are quantifiers that can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. They includeenough,no,any,some,a lot of,lots of,most, andall. Countable:There were notenoughcups at the party, so I drank from the bottle. Uncountable:I just hadenoughmoney to buy her an ice cream. Countable:There werenopassengers in the bus. Uncountable:She screamed for help, but receivednohelp. Countable:There wasntanypoliceman around when I was robbed. Uncountable:It didnt come withanyinstructions about assembling it. Countable:She received themostChristmas cards in the family. Uncountable:She earned themostmoney in the family. Countable:Notall monkeyshave tails. Uncountable:I have been tryingallmorning to fix my old computer.A lot ofandlots ofA lot ofandlots ofmean the same, and they both meana large quantity of. He hasa lot ofhair on his chest. He haslots ofhair on his chest.Botha lot ofandlots ofcan be used before singular uncountable nouns or plural countable nouns. A lot of/Lots ofsand has got into my shoes. (Uncountable noun) I can eata lot of/lots ofgrapes when I want to. (Countable noun) There wasa lot of/lots ofrubbish everywhere. (Uncountable noun) There werea lot of/lots ofpeople on the beach. (Countable noun)When we usea lot of/lots ofwith a plural subject, we use a plural verb. A lot of/Lots ofreplies were received in response to her advertisement.When we usea lot of/lots ofwith a singular subject, we use a singular verb. A lot of/Lots offalse information was given by him to the tax authorities.

8. Some and Any

Someandanyare determiners indicating quantities (quantifiers). Grandpa believessome dinosaursstill exist in the Amazon jungle. Anylivingdinosaurfound would be headline news in all newspapers.We usesomein statements andanyin questions and after negatives. I want some cake. Do you want any cake? No, I dont want any cake.We usesomeandanybefore plural countable nouns and singular uncountable nounsPositive (some) Plural countable:There aresome coinsin the piggy bank.I havesome peanutsfor the monkeys. Singular uncountable:There issome moneyin the piggy bank.The clay pot containssomeoxtail soup.Questions (any) Plural countable:Are thereany coinsin the piggy bank?Do you haveany peanutsfor the monkeys? Singular uncountable:Is thereany moneyin the piggy bank?Is thereanymore oxtail soup?Negative (any) Plural countable:No, therearentany coinsin the piggy bank.Idont have any peanutsfor the monkeys. Singular uncountable:No, there isntany moneyin the piggy bank.There's isn't any oxtail soup left.We usually useanyfor questions whose answers are uncertain. We can also usesomefor questions whose answers are possibleyes. Is thereany medicinefor my cough? Do you wantsome medicinefor your cough?We can usesomeandanyto meanone. Someidiotput a pile of rubbish on top of my car. (= one idiot) What type of girl do I want? I likeany girl.We can usesomeandanyas a plural form for countable nouns. Here isa pictureof Titanic. / Here aresome picturesof Titanic. There isan ostrichroaming the streets. / There aresome ostrichesroaming the streets. Is therea duckswimming on my pond? / Are thereany ducksswimming on my pond?We may omitsomeoranyfrom sentences or questions without affecting their meanings. There issomedirt under the table. / There is dirt under the table. Do you haveanychildren? / Do you have children?

9. THIS, THAT, THESE and THOSE

Thisandtheseare used to refer to people or things that are close to us, andthatandthoseare used to talk about people or things that are not near to us.

EXAMPLE: Look atthisphoto of the sun rising . / I'll speak tothatpoliceman over there.

Thisandtheseare used for an action that is still going on. We usethatandthoseto say about things that are finished.

EXAMPLE: Why are you telling me allthis? / Listen tothesevoices, and tell me who they belong to.EXAMPLE: Let's playthatpiece of music again. /Thosestrange noises came from the roof.

This/theseis used forintroductionandthat/thosefor identification.

EXAMPLE:Thisis my best friend Colonel Sanders. /Theseare my twin brothers Laurel and Hardy.EXAMPLE:Thatdogis a German shepherd.EXAMPLE:Thosethat are flying around at night are a species of bat.

This,that,theseandthosecan be used without adding nouns if the meaning is clear.

EXAMPLE: I hatethis. / Stop pushingthese. / Look atthat. /Thosewere tricky.

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