CLOSED CLASS WORDS: DETERMINERS

Determiners are words that are used with nouns to clarify the noun. They can clarify:

To define something/someone: the book, that book, those students, a student.

To state the amount of people, things or other nouns: few people, some chairs.
To state possessives: my class, their room, his book.
To state something or someone is specific: the university, the boy.
To state how things or people are distributed: all men, several people.
To state someone or something is not specific: a book, an apple.
There are different types of determiners. The type of determiner depends on the type of
noun. Singular nouns always need a determiner. With plural nouns the determiner is
optional. With uncountable nouns the determiner is also optional.

There are about 50 different determiners in the English language they include:

Articles: a, an, the

Demonstratives: this, that, these, those, which etc.
Possessives: my, your, our, their, his, hers, whose, my friend's, our friends'
Quantifiers: few, a few, many, much, each, every, some, any etc.
Numbers: one, two, three, twenty, forty
Ordinals: first, second, 1st 2nd, 3rd, last, next, etc.

The ordering of Determiners

Determiners occur before nouns, and they indicate the kind of reference the nouns have.
Depending on their relative position before a noun, we distinguish three classes of
determiners.

Pre- Central Post- Noun Post-modifiers

determiner Determiner determiner

He bought all the few books from the bookstore

A sentence like this is somewhat unusual, because it is rare for all three determiner slots to
be filled in the same sentence. Generally, only one or two slots are filled

Pre-determiners: they specify quantity in the noun which follows them, and they are of
three major types:

1. Multipliers: expressions, including those ending in: times:

twice my salary double my salary ten times my salary (‘a salary ten times as large’)
twice/double the length
once a day, twice each game, four times every year

2. Fractions: half my salary one-third my salary

3. The words all and both: all my salary both my salaries

Pre-determiners do not normally co-occur: all half my salary

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http://www.english-the-easy-way.com/Determiners/What_Are_Determiners.htm

POST-DETERMINERS: QUANTIFIERS - PARTITIVES

CONTRAINER- BASED CULTURAL – BASED IDIOMATIC MEASURE: PORTION-BASED

MEASURE WORDS MEASURE WORDS FOOD MEASURE

CAN A QUART OF A HEAD OF LECTUCE A SLICE OF

BOTTLE TEASPOON A HEAD OF CABBAGE A PIECE OF
JAR TABLESPOON A STALK OF CELERY A BIT OF
CARTON AN EAR OF CORN A PINCH OF
POUND
BAG A CLOVE OF GARLIC
BUSHEL A BUNCH OF EGGS
CUP PECK OF STRAWBERRIES A HAND OF BANANAS
GLASS TON A DOZEN OF EGGS
BOWL YARD A LOAF OF BREAD
BOX LITTER A LUMP OF BREAD
A ROLL OF BREAD

THE PHRASE OR GROUP

We can use either term “phrase” stated by Quirk and “group” used by Halliday. The phrase
considered as a group of related words not containing a subject and predicate. A phrase can function
as a subject, object, verb, complement or adjunct (adverbial) as an element of the clause that finally
will make the sentence.

All Phrases have a central element by which the phrase is recognized. This central element is called
HEAD. Therefore in the Noun Phrase the central element is the Noun, in the verb phrase, the verb;
in the adjective phrase, the adjective; in the adverb phrase, the adverb; in the prepositional phrase,
the preposition. Each phrase has a particular function in the clause. One or more units (words) form
phrases. Only one element can form the noun, adjective, verb and adverb phrases, that is, it is not
necessary to have more elements in order to make up a phrase.

Words and phrases are the constituents of the clauses.

We can distinguish several types of phrases according to the class to which the head (the most
dominant constituent) of the phrase belongs. We distinguish at least the following:

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/phrases.htm
 THE NOUN PHRASE Those are GREAT BOOKS (Two elements.)
Those are BOOKS (One element)
ADJECTIVE PHRASE: Some children are REALLY NOISY. (Two elements)
Some children are NOISY (One element)
ADVERB PHRASE: Paul runs RATHER FAST (Two elements)
Paul runs FAST (One element)
VERB PHRASE All the hospital nurses MUST WORK overtime. (Two elements)
All the hospital nurses WORK overtime. (One element)
PREPOSITIONAL Most people travel IN THE SUMMER. (Both elements necessary)
Most people travel IN THE SUMMER
PHRASE

Phrases are made up of words, and a minimal phrase consists of one single word (headed phrases:
N.ph, V.ph, Adj.ph, Adv.ph.

The Noun, Adjective, Adverb, Verb phrases are called by Quirk: HEADED PHRASES because
only the head makes the phrase. The prepositional phrase is called a NON-HEADED
PHRASE because no element can be omitted. The Prepositional Phrase needs the Noun
phrase as complementation. In this phrase we cannot omit any of the elements. They are
necessary to make a phrase.

NOUN PHRASE CHART

DETERMINERS PREMODIFIERS: Adjectives/attributive function HEAD POST

Noun modifiers MODIFIERS
Pre- Central Post- Pre- Central: Post- Pre-head: Any kind Prepositional
determin determiner determin central: Abstract central: Origin- of Noun Phrase
*All (of) Articles er qualities Nationality Abstract Non-finite: TO
Both (of) Possessives Open Intensifier Size, Material Concrete ___
Have Demonstra. Class HUGE shape, Participles Purpose Count
What… Quantifiers Closed FAIR temperat Present Denominal: Non- ING
Such… Class Height (ing) and (NATIONAL) count
Multipliers Numerals Restrictive Weight Past (ed–) Proper Past Participle
Fractions Quantif. ONLY Width Common
SOLE Age Colours Collective
UNIQUE
Those Certain Modern Amazing Venezian Curtains
small Green
ringing Vocals
Atlantic schools
Ms. Coast
Travers’s Conference

* All, both, have can occur before the articles, the demonstratives, and the possessives.