ENGLISH GRAMMAR – by PRAVEEN P BARATAKKE

DETERMINERS
1) Learning Objectives
➢ Comprehensive knowledge of determiners especially definite & Indefinite articles.
➢ Effective use of those determiners effectively and correctly to indicate the kind of reference a noun
and a noun group has.
➢ Knowledge of the context in which they will have to omit the use of determiners.
2) CONCEPTS IN MODULE
• Introduction
• Definition
• Classification
• Usage of “A” & “AN”
• Usage of “THE”
• Omission of articles
• Assignments
3)

Given here is a picture composition on Palampur

farmers. Some words are missing in it. Fill in the
blanks with words given in the list.

( the – every – some – many – a – a – his)

____A____ Palampur famer is very poor. He is

generally _____a_____ simple man. So ___his___ dress
is also very simple. ___Many___ farmers live in huts
or in the houses made of mud.

(the – every – some – many – a – an – his)

Only _____some_______ rich famers lin in their well furnished houses. ____The____ government should make
efforts to improve the condition of ______every________ farmer.

Observe the words with reddish fonts. What do these words

point out?

This is the picture of a classroom.

There are many boys in the class room.
Some boys are sitting.
A few girls can be seen on the last bench.
Neither the boy on the right nor the one on the left in the foreground
is looking at his book.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR – by PRAVEEN P BARATAKKE
4) All these highlighted words use with nouns mention

• Something or someone
• Number of people / things / other nouns
• Possessives
• Something or someone specific
• How things / people are distributed
• Difference between nouns
• Someone / something not specific

5) Then, What do you mean by determiners?

- DETERMINERS - Determiners are used before a noun or noun phrases. It is a
modifying word that determines the king of reference a noun or noun group is
termed as DETERMINERS.
- Classification of Determiners
DETERMINERS

Specific General

6) All the following are the Specific Determiners

• Definite article - THE
• Demonstratives – THIS – THAT – THESE – THOSE – WHICH
• Possessives – My – Your – Our – Their – His – Her – Its – whose
➢ Specific Determiners – are used when people know exactly which thing /
things or person / persons they are talking about. Let us have look at the
following examples.
i) Their bus was late.
ii) These apples are rotten.
iii) The ferocious dog snarled at me.

7) All the following words are General Determiners

• The Indefinite Articles – A & An
• Quantifiers – few – many – much – each – every – some – any
• Ordinals – first – second – third – next – last
• Distributives – every – each – either – neither
• Quantitative – little – much – more – many – few – fewer – lesser - most – several
• Interrogatives – where – which – whose – what
- General determiners – always talk about people or things without saying exactly
who or what they are –
o Study the following examples
ENGLISH GRAMMAR – by PRAVEEN P BARATAKKE
i) I saw a man walking with an umbrella.
ii) There is enough chocolates for us
iii) Have you got any English novel
- Notice the highlighted words. They are all general determiners

8) Take a look at the following examples –

I saw an elephant in the morning.
I ate a banana for lunch.
- “A” & “AN” are indefinite articles. An article which doesn’t refer to a particular
person / place or things is called Indefinite articles.

9) Let us discuss the usage of ‘A’ and ‘An’

• These are all singular and countable nouns – A boy, A river, A tiger
- ‘A’ is used when the noun referred to begins with a consonant.
• ‘An’ is used when the noun referred to begins with a vowel (a-e-i-o-u)
- An apple, an owl, an ink pot, an umbrella.
10) INNINGS – is a Singular noun, Therefore we write
➢ RCB beats Chennai Super Kings by an innings and 125 runs.
11) ‘A’ & ‘An’ are also used when we talk about a – PROFESSION
➢ I am an English lecturer.
➢ I am a musician.
12) A – is used before words which start with vowel ‘U’ but the beginning sound is like ‘YOU’ or
simple ‘U’
• She bought a uniform for her son.
• Meghana studies at a university.
• Mr. Peter is a European.
13) A – is used before words starting with ‘O’ but having a beginning consonant sound ‘W’
• Prashant had a one hundred rupees note in his hand.
14) Consider the following examples here:
✓ Atul is an honest boy
✓ Jayashree is an heir to her aunt’s property.

‘An’ – is used before words beginning with ‘H’ but where ‘H’ is silent.

15) An MP , An MD, An LG , An SHO

‘An’ is used before ABBREVIATIONS that start with a consonant but are
pronounced with a vowel sound

16) USAGE OF ‘THE’ – Consider the following examples here,

❖ The apple you ate was Arun’s.
❖ Did you lock the car?
ENGLISH GRAMMAR – by PRAVEEN P BARATAKKE
‘THE’ is used when the listener knows or can work out what particular person /
thing is being talked about.

17) Read the sentences carefully and know the use of article ‘THE’
o Revathi has two children – a girl and a boy. The girl is six and the boy is five.

‘THE’ is used when we have already mentioned the thing we are talking about

18) THE is used to describe Universal truth / is used to talk about geographical points on
the globe
Ex: The Equator, the North Pole, the Sun, the moon – etc.,

19) THE – is used to talk about rivers, oceans and seas

Ex: The Ganga, The Pacific ocean and the Arabian sea

20) THE – is used before holy book & great epics

Ex: The Gita, the Ramayana, the Quran

21) See the following examples

Ex: The Christians , the Hindus
Here , THE – is used before a Proper Noun when it conveys the sense of the whole nation or
people.

22) Look at the following examples here

o Anita is the best girl in her class.
o The Nile is the longest river in the world.
THE – is used before the Superlative degree of an adjective

23) You don’t mean you met the President, do you?

- In this use, ‘the’ is usually given strong stress in speaking
- Here, THE is also used to say that a particular person / thing being mentioned is the
best or the most famous

OMISSION OF ARTICLES – In some cases, we avoid using Articles. Let us look at these situations. –

1) With Proper nouns

o Olivia lives in Madrid
o Nelsen Mandela was a great man
ENGLISH GRAMMAR – by PRAVEEN P BARATAKKE

2) With Plural Countable Nouns

o Dogs bark

3) With diseases like – Corona , Cholera, Malaria, Fever etc.,

✓ She was treated for fever in the hospital.

4) We do not use an article when we talk about SPORTS

✓ My son plays football.
✓ Tennis is my favourite sport.
5) We do not use an article before Uncountable nouns when talking about them generally.
o Coffee is bad for you.
o Information is important to any organization.

SOME COMMON DETERMINERS & THEIR DIFFERENCES

1) EACH & EVERY
a) Each – Shows the meaning of ‘two & more than two’. It is used when the number in the group
limited & can be used with plural nouns.
- Each of the two candidates was asked to bring his ID card.
b) Every – used to show the meaning of ‘more than two’. It is used when the number is indefinite
& cannot be used with plural nouns.
- Every person has a right to freedom of expression.

2) MUCH & MANY

a) Much – Used to determine uncountable nouns & emphasize upon a large amount.
- Much help is required to complete the task in time.
b) Many - Used as a determiner for both singular & plural nouns depicting both singular & plural
meanings.
- Many ministers came to the cabinet meeting.
- Many a student is worried about his/her future dreams.

3) OTHER , ANOTHER & ONE

a) Other – used with singular / plural countable nouns or uncountable nouns.
- We should talk to other teachers about it.
- The other class is occupied.
b) Another – Used to add an additional person or thing of the same type. As an adjective, it is
always placed before a singular noun.
- She has to give another paper tomorrow.
- Another discussion took place in our office.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR – by PRAVEEN P BARATAKKE
c) One – Used to say things about a particular member of a group / to denote a person without
reflecting on its gender. It is also used in place of ‘A’ or ‘An’.
- One candidate asked about the recruitment process of the company.
- One should always respect one’s own country.

4) FEW , A FEW & THE FEW = These three are used before countable nouns to denote number.
a) Few = denotes negative meaning of scarcity.
- There are few good leaders in our government.
b) A few = denotes the meaning of small numbers in a positive sense.
- A few topics are left to be covered.
c) The few = expresses the idea of only a small number available.
- The few parents who came for the PTM gave their suggestions regarding the
new session.
- The few chairs that are left in the classroom are broken.

5) MORE , LESS , FEWER =

a) More = used with both uncountable nouns & plural nouns. It refers to a comparison. It is also
used to denote additional quantity of something in a sentence. It acts like an uncountable
number expression.
- Vinay does more than others.
- Rekha needs more help to plan her thesis.
b) Less = generally used in front of uncountable nouns to determine an amount of something
which is smaller than another.
- We have less input from the market.
- They have less time to finish their project.
c) Fewer = Only used before plural nouns to refer to a group of things smaller than another
group.
- Fewer contestants were interviewed this year.

6) LITTLE, A LITTLE, THE LITTLE = These 3 are used before uncountable nouns to denote quantity.
a) Little = denotes negative meaning of scarcity.
- She has little experience in this field.
- Ramya has little knowledge of this topic.
b) A little = denotes the meaning of a small amount in a positive sense.
- A little love is enough to pacify you
- A little hope is enough to motivate you
c) The little = Expresses the idea of only a small specific amount available.
- The little sugar left in the container is enough for the tea.
- The little soup left in the bowl was not enough for me.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR – by PRAVEEN P BARATAKKE

7) EITHER , NEITHER =
a) Either = Used to determine one of the two things, people or situation. It may either
emphasize on both subjects as possibilities or one of them.
- Either accused can be identified.
b) Neither = It is actually the negative depiction of EITHER. It always acts singular when used
with singular countable nouns.
- Neither team was selected.
EITHER or NEITHER – are used in sentences concerning a possible choice between two items.
Observe the following examples.
a) I have got tea and coffee. So you can have either
b) The room has a door at either end
- Either can mean one / the other (of two) or each of two
Go to the further example
a) Neither of the babies is awake

NEITHER – Neither does not refer to the first or the second baby

8) MOST, SEVERAL, ENOUGH =

a) Most = used as a determiner with plural countable nouns. It denotes the meaning of ‘nearly
all of a group or amount.
- Most members, Most companies, Most CM’s
b) Several = It gives the meaning of ‘ more than two but not a very large number’. Most often it is
used with plural nouns.
- Several issues were raised at the cabinet meeting.
- Several questions were raised about the new elected party.
c) Enough = Used before uncountable / plural nouns to express the meaning of ‘sufficient / as
much’
- There is enough food for all of us to eat.

9) SOME = In affirmative sentences, It is used before both countable & uncountable nouns.
- Some bottles, some courage

In case of Interrogative sentences, it is used to express a request, offer or order

- Can I give you some advice?

10) BOTH = Used to mention two persons / things of same kind to express the importance of
both simultaneously
- Both of my parents are very supportive.
- She bought both the books from this shop.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR – by PRAVEEN P BARATAKKE
11) ALL = When used before an uncountable noun. It is used with a singular verb.
- All that is said is not true.

When used before a countable plural noun, it is used with a plural verb.

- All the clothes were kept in the cupboard.

12) ANY = It is used before both countable & uncountable nouns in negative & interrogative
sentences. It is used to refer to a quantity of something that hardly exists. It conveys the meaning
of either ‘every’ or ‘nothing in specific’.
- Any support is appreciated.
- Buy any shirt that you like.
- Any charity is welcome.

ASSIGNMENTS

Fill in the blanks with suitable articles ‘A’ or ‘An’

a) Iron is _____________ useful metal.

b) He had _____________ umbrella in his hand.
c) English is _________ interesting subject.
d) The teacher went after __________ hour.
e) He is reading ___________ historical novel.
f) The leaning tower ______ historical building.

Fill in the blanks with suitable Determiners.

a) Is there one for __________ ? (my, our, me)

b) Your guess is as good as ________ ? (me, mine, much)
c) What’s ______ phone number? ( which, any, your)
d) I am going to give _______ of you a chance to win. ( every, any, each)
e) We walked for _________ time ( few, many, some)
f) Could you pass me ________ book? (Our, hers, that)
g) ___________ 300 men were present. ( many, this, some)
h) I refuse to meet ________ of them. ( every, much, either)
i) I got _________ the gift nor the card. ( all, either, neither)