Introduction
Determiners are words placed before a noun to clarify which or how many things are being referred to. They are the first element in a noun phrase and help specify the noun's reference. Unlike adjectives, most determiners are not gradable (no 'very') and cannot follow linking verbs.
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Articles | a, an, the |
| Demonstratives | this, that, these, those |
| Possessives | my, your, his, her, its, our, their |
| Quantifiers | some, any, many, much, few, little, all, both |
| Numbers (cardinal and ordinal) | one, two, first, second |
| Interrogatives | which, what, whose |
| Distributives | each, every, either, neither |
| Difference words | other, another |
- The dog barked.
- Her book is on the table.
- Some students arrived late.
Determiners vs Adjectives
Determiners come before any adjectives in a noun phrase and cannot normally be replaced by adjectives or used predicatively (after be).
determiner+(adjective)+noun my old car, those interesting books, every single day
- The car is my.My car / The car is mine.possessive pronoun after be
- She brought the hers bags.She brought her bags.only one determiner needed
A noun phrase can have only one central determiner (an article, demonstrative or possessive): not the my book or this a problem. Pre-determiners (all, both, half) and post-determiners (numbers, ordinals) can combine with it - see the next section.
Pre-determiners and Post-determiners
A small group of words can come before the main determiner (pre-determiners), and numbers/ordinals come after (post-determiners).
| Pre-determiner | Determiner | Post-det. | Adjective | Noun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| all | the | three | tall | men |
| half | a | - | long | day |
| both | my | - | old | friends |
| double | the | - | - | amount |
- All the students passed.
- Half an hour later.
- Both my parents came.
Practice
Which word is a determiner?
Determiners come ___ any adjectives in a noun phrase.
Which of these is a pre-determiner?
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