Kinds of Determiners

1. Articles : a/an, the.

2. Demonstratives : this, that, these, those.

3.Possessives : my, our, your, his, her, their, its.

4. Quantifiers : a few, a little, much, many, a lot of, most, some, any, enough.

5. Numbers : one, ten, some, any, many, a few, all, several, each, every, either, neither etc.

6. Distributive : all, both, half, either, neither, each, every, only

1 Articles

'A', 'an' and 'the' are called articles in the English language. These are divided into two categories:

(A) Indefinite Articles — A or An (B) Definite Article — The

'A' and 'an' are called indefinite articles. 'A' is used before words which begin with consonant sound,
no matter whether their first letter is a vowel or a consonant.

e.g. a man, a boy, a university, a European, a pen, a dog, a useful thing, a useless pen, etc.

'An' is used before words which begin with vowel sound, no matter whether their first letter is a

vowel or a consonant.

e.g.an apple, an hour, an M.A., an egg, an heir an M.B.B.S., an elephant, an honourable man,

an M.Sc., etc.

1.Articles

Use of a/n

(1) Before the countable and singular nouns which are used for the first time.

(i) I have a book. (ii) She lives in a hut.

(2) Before such singular noun complements which signify a business or profession.

(i) She is a nurse. (ii) He is an engineer. (

(3) Before expressions of price, speed, repetitions, etc. (a = per) As :

two rupees a kilo, six times a day, 80 rupees a dozen, 20 kms an hour, etc.

(4) Before numerical expressions.

half a dozen, a lot of, a great deal of, a great many, a quarter, etc.

(5) Before singular countable in exclamatory sentences.

1. What a beautiful flower! 2. What a pretty colour ! 3. What a cold day !

(6) Before abbreviated form of degrees and posts.

(a) If the word begins with vowel sound then 'an' is used.

(b) If the word begins with consonant sound then 'a' is used.

e.g. an M.A., an M.Sc., an M. Com., an S.P., an L.L. B., an M.L.A., an S.D.M., an L.D.C., or a B.

Com., a B. Sc., a U.D.C., etc.

(7) 'A' is used before Mr/ Mrs/ Miss + Surname, if the speaker is not well acquainted with

the speaker.

a Mr Sharma, a Mrs Mathur, a Miss Gupta, etc.

he should say 'Mr Sharma' instead of 'a Mr Sharma'.

Use of 'The' — Definite Article

'The' is called definite article and it can be used before singular as well as plural nouns in the

following situations :

(1) Before nouns introduced earlier.

(i) I saw a lion. The lion was sleeping under a tree.

(ii) We heard a noise. The noise came from a neighbour's house.

(2) Before the superlative degrees of adjectives.

(i) Ravi is the best singer in the school. (ii) My uncle is the richest man in the town.

(3) Before nouns defined by a phrase or a clause.

(i) The girl in the blue skirt is my sister. (ii) The man with a little nose is our Principal.

(4) Before singular nouns which signify the whole class or race.

(i) The dog is a faithful animal. (ii) The elephant has a long trunk. (iii) The cat likes milk.

(5) Before the names of rivers, seas, oceans, bays, deserts, islands, chains of mountains, canals,

jungles, plural names of countries and republics.

The Ganga, The Yamuna, (rivers) The Bay of Bengal, The Arabian Sea,

The Gulf of Maxico, The Thar, The Sahara, The Himalayas, The Aravalis,

The USA, The UK, The West Indies, The U.N.,etc.

NOTE : If words like 'Lake', 'Mount' and 'Cape' come before such entities, 'The' is not used

before such words. e.g. Mount Everst, Lake Mansarovar, Cape Comorin, etc.

(6) Before adjectives which are used as nouns.

(i) The brave always rule over the earth. (ii) The rich should help the poor.

(7) Before the names of things which are unique and only one in the world.

The sun, the moon, the sky, the earth, the world, the Taj, the Great Wall of China, etc.

(8) Before names which are in combination of adjective + noun.

The National Highway.

The Geeta, the Bible, the Quran, the Ramayan, the violin, the flute, the first, the fourth, the

eleventh, the last, the next, etc.

(10) When two comparative degrees are used in one statement.

(i) The more you have, the more you want. (ii) The sooner, the better.

(11) When a proper noun is compared with another well renowned proper noun, that well

renowned proper noun acts as common noun and 'the' is used before it.

Kalidas is the Shakespeare of India. (Great Dramatist)

(12) Before the names of religious communities, castes, nationality, political parties, ships, trains,

aeroplanes, etc.

The Hindus, the Sikhs, the Jats.

The English] the Indians, the Americans, the Congress, the BJP, the CPI, the CPM, the Pink

City Express, the Ashoka, the Titanic.

(13) Before the plural surnames used for the entire family.

The Guptas, (Gupta family) the Sharmas, (Sharma family), etc.

(14) Before the dates and days of national importance.

The 15th August, the 26th January, the Independence Day, the Republic Day, etc.

(15) Before nouns which come after the words like all, some of, one of, each of.

All the boys, some of the students, one of the girls, each of the winners.

(16) Before combination as noun + of + noun.

The Bay of Bengal, The temples of Mathura.

(17) Before the name of newspapers, directions and regions.

The Rajasthan Patrika, the East, the North, the East.

Omission of the Articles

No article is used in the following situations :

(1) Before proper noun, material noun and abstract noun.

(i) Arjun was a great archer. (Proper noun)

(ii) Gold is more expensive than silver. (Material noun)

(2) When a common noun is used in wide sense.

(i) Man is mortal. (ii) Man is a social animal.

(3) Before the names of languages, subjects, public places, games, diseases and meals at definite

times.

(i) I am learning French. (language) (ii) She doesn't like physics. (subject)

(iii) They go to school regularly. (public place) (iv) We play hockey everyday. (game)

(v) I have lunch at noon. (meal) (vi) He goes to temple daily. (public place)

(4) Before the names of nations, colours, festivals, states, cities :

(i) India has a very old and rich culture. (ii) The leaves of this plant have turned yellow.

(iii) Diwali is celebrated with pomp and show.(iv) Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan.

(5) Before the word God (when G is capital and the word God is used for Almighty) :

(i) He prayed to God for help. (ii) God is everywhere and within every soul.

(6) Before the names of bed, church, court, hospital, prison, school/college, university, when

they are used for their primary purpose.

(i) I go to school to study. (i) My father is coming to the school to see the teacher.

Omission of the Articles

No article is used in the following situations :

(1) Before proper noun, material noun and abstract noun.

(i) Arjun was a great archer. (Proper noun)

(ii) Gold is more expensive than silver. (Material noun)

(iii) Wisdom is greater than wealth. (Abstract noun)

(2) When a common noun is used in wide sense.

(i) Man is mortal. (ii) Man is a social animal.

(3) Before the names of languages, subjects, public places, games, diseases and meals at definite

times.

(i) I am learning French. (language) (ii) She doesn't like physics. (subject)

(iii) They go to school regularly. (public place) (iv) We play hockey everyday. (game)
(v) I have lunch at noon. (meal) (vi) He goes to temple daily. (public place)

(4) Before the names of nations, colours, festivals, states, cities :

(i) India has a very old and rich culture. (ii) The leaves of this plant have turned yellow.

(iii) Diwali is celebrated with pomp and show.(iv) Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan.

(5) Before the word God (when G is capital and the word God is used for Almighty) :

(i) He prayed to God for help. (ii) God is everywhere and within every soul.

(6) Before the names of bed, church, court, hospital, prison, school/college, university, when

they are used for their primary purpose.

(i) I go to school to study. (i) My father is coming to the school to see the teacher.

2. Demonstratives

This and that are used before singular countable nouns while these and those are used before

plural countable nouns. e.g.

(i) This student is my brother. (ii) These books are ours. (iii) That cat is mine.

NOTE : 'This' and 'these' are used for the things and persons which are near the speaker,

while 'that' and 'those' are used for distant nouns or things.

3. Possessives

My, our, your, his, her, its, their are called possessive and these are used to indicate relation of

things or actions with other things or nouns. e.g.

(i) He is my brother. (ii) Your brother is coming.

4. Quantifiers

(i) Little : It is used before uncountable nouns and it means very less or negligible.

I am very busy. I have little time for fun.

(ii) A little : It is also used before uncountable nouns and it means less amount. They have a positive
meaning.

There is a little milk in the jug.

(iii) The little : It is also used before uncountable nouns and it means all that very less.

I ate the little food you gave me.

(iv) Few : It is used before plural countable nouns and it means very less or negligible.
He has few book.

(v) A few : It is also used before plural countable nouns and it means something but less in number.
They have a positive meaning.

Only a few boys passed in English.

(vi) The few : It is also used before plural countable nouns and it means all that very less.

I have already read the few books I had.

(vii) Many : It is used before plural countable nouns and it means large in number.

I have many friends.

(viii) Much : It is used before uncountable nouns and it means large in amount.

I don’t have much milk.

(ix) Some : It is used before countable as well as uncountable nouns in affirmative sentences and to

express offer or request. It means less in amount or number.

(i) There is some milk in the pot. (ii) Will you spare some time for me?

(x) Any : It is also used before countable as well as uncountable nouns and it means some in

number or amount. It is usually used in negative and interrogative sentences. But in affirmative

sentences it can be used with some negative adverbials :

(i) He didn’t do any work. (ii) Are there any pens?

(iii) He has hardly any work to do.

(xi) Various and Several : These both are used before plural countable nouns. Various is used for

many things or persons of different types. Several is used for many things or persons of some

category.

(i) Various books were lying on the table. (ii) He sold several books.

(xii) Enough : It is used before both countable as well as uncountable nouns and it means adequate

in number or amount.

I have enough money.

(xiii) Both : It is used before countable nouns to indicate their being two in number. It can also be

used before uncountable nouns if they are of two types.

(i) Both of them were wise. (ii) I will drink both milk and tea.

5. Numbers
Determiners signifying number are of two types :

(a) Definite Number : These indicate definite number such as : one, two, first, second.

(b) Indefinite Number : These indicate indefinite number. These are : some, many, many a, a few,

all, lots of, a great deal of, a good deal of, plenty of, a large number of, several, etc.

Many a : It means several but singular noun is used with it. e.g.

Many a man has lost everything due to their greed.

All : It means including everyone or the entire amount there is :

All of us were tired.

A lot of, a great deal of, a good deal of, plenty of, a large number of :

All these are used before singular uncountable and plural countable nouns and these mean large

in number or amount.

(i) I have a lot of friends. (ii) People have a good deal of faith in democracy.

6. Distributive

Each, every, either and neither are used to indicate one person or thing among many persons or

things.

Each : It is used for a definite number. It is used when the number of persons or things is limited

or less.

Every : It is used for an indefinite number of persons or things.

(i) Each question carries equal marks. (ii) Every word of this letter is correct.

(iii) Either room is good. (iv) Neither boy was present.

Only : It is used to indicate just the one and none or nothing else.

(i) Sangeeta is the only girl fit to take this responsibility.

(ii) The bank is the only place where our money is safe.

(iii) Rahim is the only cook who can cook such delicious food

7. Interrogatives

Question words like which, whose, how much, how many are also determiners when they introduce
a noun, pronoun or a noun phrase in a question.
Examples:
 (i) Whose purse is that on the table?

(ii) Which cricket team are you supporting this season?

Fill In the blanks with few, little, a few, a little, the few, the little.
1. Just …………… persons were present there.
2. I cannot prepare tea; there is …………. milk in the house.
3. I have consumed ………… sugar you gave me.
4. ………… water of the pond will not last the year.
5. The class was not held as …………. students were present.
6. Don’t worry. I have ………… money in the bank.
Answers:
1. a few
2. little
3. the little
4. The little
5. few
6. a little