Advanced Grammar for IELTS: Determiners – Diagnose Test, Grammar

Explanation & Practice Exercises

A      DIAGNOSTIC TEST: Determiners

Complete each sentence with a/an, the or – (no article).

Example: All our towels are made of….-…Egyptian cotton.

1. Ruthless poachers hunt………. elephant for the valuable ivory of its tusks.
2. Next week I’ll be reviewing a stunning new film. …….. film stars Michael Douglas
and is directed by Curtis Hanson.
3. Yesterday evening’s Nature Scope about …….. sun’s future worried a large number
of viewers.
4. Muhammad Ali was voted ……… greatest sports personality of the twentieth century.
5. It is commonly accepted today that ……….. brown bread is good for you.
6. Many research scientists are inspired by ……………hope of curing diseases by
genetic engineering.
7. Fewer people attend…….. church regularly now than twenty years ago.
8. Julianne studied for seven years to become …….. criminal lawyer.
9. Like many people, I learnt to play……… piano when I was a child, but gave it up in
my teens.
10. We recommend that children and teenagers are inoculated against………meningitis.

Underline the correct determiner or determiners in each sentence (- = no article). In some

cases two may be correct.

Example: None/ Some/ Both neighbours rushed to the aid of the elderly woman.

11. It costs £10 a/an/- hour to hire the squash court.

12. There’s a/ the/ – good wine bar in the town centre, isn’t there?
13. A/ The/- Mr Jones came to see you this afternoon.
14. My parents grew up in the 1950s. In the/ these/ those days there was far less freedom
than there is now.
15. This/That/A woman I’d never met before came up to me in the bank and asked if she
could borrow £10!
16. It’s freezing! I’ve never known a winter -/this/that cold before.
17. Isn’t there any / some/ the way that you can ensure delivery tomorrow?
18. Every /All/ Each the children in the school have to take up at least one sport.
19. We have asked our retail outlets to return both/both of/some the new models for
further inspection.
20. Much/A lot / A few depends on the final outcome of the negotiations.

B       GRAMMAR EXPLANATION: Determiners

Determiners are words that precede nouns, e.g. articles, demonstratives, quantifiers and
possessive adjectives. Articles can be a problem area in English for students even at advanced
level, especially for those whose own language has a very different article system. This unit
covers articles, demonstratives and quantifiers.
 1. ARTICLES

1A. Basic rules

Articles (a/ an, the) precede nouns and some other words in a noun phrase, e.g. few, little,
adjectives. The article is usually the first word in a noun phrase, but note:

 all/ both/ half + the: all the information, both the twins
 quite / rather /such / what/ half + a/ an: quite a difficult problem

We use the indefinite article (a/ an) with singular countable nouns: a garage, an opinion.

We use the definite article (the) with singular countable nouns (the garage), with plural nouns
(the latest computers) and uncountable nouns (the purest water). We can omit the with
uncountable and plural nouns.

1B. Naming, describing and classifying

We use a/ an when we name or describe something:

That’s a scarab beetle. ‘What’s that?’ ‘It’s an enormous anthill.’

We use a/ an when we refer to one example of a class or a species:

An African elephant has larger ears than an Indian elephant.

We use the to refer to the whole class or species:

The African elephant has larger ears than the Indian elephant.

However, it is more common to refer to the whole class with the plural:

African elephants have larger ears than Indian elephants.

Note: We do not use a/ an to refer to a whole class rather than individual examples:

X  Ruthless poachers hunt an elephant for the valuable ivory of its tusks.

✓ Ruthless poachers hunt the elephant for the valuable ivory of its tusks.

✓ Ruthless poachers hunt elephants for the valuable ivory of their tusks.

We can also use the with an adjective to refer to a class of people :

The homeless will be removed from the streets and placed in hostels.

1C. Known or unknown topic

We use a/ an when the topic (noun) is not known to our listener/reader; we use the when it is
known. Therefore, we usually use a/ an for the first reference to a topic in a text, but then use
the for subsequent references:

A new travel guide has advised would-be tourists to Morecambe that it is a place to avoid. …
The guide paints a bleak – if not third- world – picture.

We do not always have to mention something for it to be known to the listener. We consider
that it is known in the following situations:

situation example
something is unique superlatives We are in danger of permanently damaging the Earth.

Muhammad AH is the greatest heavyweight boxer

ever.

‘Has Edward arrived get?’ ‘Yes, he’s in the dining-

the context makes it ‘known’ room.’

(= the dining-room of the house we are in)

Oasis is the Manchester band that shot to fame in the
a defining phrase makes it known’
early
a prepositional phrase makes it
Meet me in the café next to the underground station
‘known’
near my house

1D. General and  specific

 With plural nouns we use either the or no article. We don’t use an article when we want to
refer to a group or class in general. Compare:

 Tourists are often blamed for changing the character of a place. (= all tourists)

Did you notice what the tourists in the cathedral were doing? (= specific tourists)

It is commonly accepted today that brown bread is good for you.

Did you remember to get the bread out of the freezer?

We only use an article before an abstract noun if we wish to make an abstract noun more
specific, e.g. to talk about a particular type of hope.

X  It is impossible to live in a world without the hope

✓ It is impossible to live in a world without hope (hope in general)

The hope of finding a cure for cancer drives a lot of medical research.
Nouns such as church, hospital, school do not take an article if we think of their purpose, i.e.
church as a place of worship, or school as a place of learning:

Fewer people attend church regularly now than twenty years ago.

Can children leave school at fourteen in your country?

If we think of the physical place or building, we use an article:

The collection for restoring the church has almost reached its target.

Is there a school in the village or do the children have to go to the town?

1E. Other common uses of articles

jobs, nationalities and beliefs: I’m a structural engineer. Helmut’s an

Austrian. Cat Stevens became a Muslim1
A /an
numbers: a hundred thousand

prices, speeds, etc: two dollars a kilo, 20km an hour

1
: We can use these without an article if we put the noun before the person’s name:
Irishman Eddie Jordan has put together a team of great quality and spirit.
 some geographical names: plurals (the United States, the US), areas (the
West),

mountain ranges (the Pyrenees), oceans or seas (the Pacific Ocean, the
Black Sea), rivers (the Rhone)

musical instruments: She plays the violin.

the media: All our family work in the theatre 2

in some comparative phrases: the more the merrier, all the better
the
in front of superlatives and first, last, next, only, same, right, wrong: the
most

dangerous profession, the last time, the only one

in measurements: You can buy saffron by the gram.

physical environments: I prefer the town to the country.

newspapers: the Times, the Herald Tribune, the Dally Mirror

dates when spoken: the tenth of May

2
: We often use television, cinema, etc. without an article to refer to the art or
entertainment form: She works in television. I’m studying film in my final year.

If we refer to a specific item we use the article:

Don’t put flowers on the television. Have you seen the new film by Ridley Scott?
 proper names: James, Chris Graham, Mr Jones 3

names of most countries, mountains, lakes: Japan, Mount Everest. Lake

Victoria

substances, liquids and gases: Cooking oil is simply liquid fat.

materials: This blouse is made of silk.

political or business roles: Lagos became President of Chile in 2000.

no article
transport: We’re going by rail to London, then by plane.

times and seasons: at night, in summer, at dusk 4 

meal(time)s: Have you had breakfast? See you at lunch.

sports: She plays both tennis and squash very well.

illnesses: He’s got lung cancer. She’s had German measles.

3
: We use a/ an if we want to make a name less specific:

A Mr Jones came to see you this afternoon. (I don’t know which Mr Jones.)

We can make a name more specific by using the:

The Mr Jones with the stutter came to see you. (The stutter identifies this Mr Jones.)
4
: Although we don’t usually use an article with seasons, it is possible to use the: in
the

spring/the summer, and note that we use the with parts of the day: in the afternoon.

Note: We usually use a possessive adjective (not the) to refer to parts of the body:

Put your hand up if you know the answer.

 2. DEMONSTRATIVES

2A. Used as adjectives

We can use demonstratives, this/that (singular) and these/those (plural), as adjectives before
nouns to refer to someone or something known to both speaker and listener:

I’m not sure which shoes to buy.’ ‘Well, I think these shoes are lovely.’

close distance
Do you recognise this man? I’ve seen that man before.
Space
These parrots can live to over 70. Can you see those birds in the tree?
Do you remember that weekend?
What are you doing this weekend? There’s
Time
so much crime these days.
There were no drugs in those days.

 We use them to distinguish between close and distant things (in both space and time): In
very informal speech we can use this or these instead of a/ an or some, often to introduce a
topic or start telling a story:

This woman came up to me in the bank and asked if she could borrow …

2B. Used as pronouns or intensifiers

We can use demonstratives as pronouns to refer to a noun, a thing or idea:

This is a really wonderful cup of tea. What kind is it?

A/ an says he’s giving up his job to travel the world. I think that’s stupid.

We can use this to talk about a situation that we are experiencing:

This is the worst recession we have seen for more than ten years.

We can use demonstratives as a more formal alternative to the one(s):

Hundreds of Brixton residents turned out to welcome Tyson to their borough. Those who had
bothered were rewarded by a 40-minute walkabout.

In certain expressions, we can use this or that instead of so to intensify an adjective:

I’ve never known a winter this cold before. So you think you’re that clever, do you?

3. QUANTIFIERS

3A. Common quantifiers and their use

Quantifiers are determiners which describe the quantity of something. Notice the use of of or
of the shown in the table:

quantifier + singular noun + plural noun + uncountable noun

no I’ve got no coins. I ‘ve got no money.

none of the none of the details none of the information

neither neither cat neither of the cats

either either twin either of the twins

any any document any (of the) documents any (of the) information

both both (of the) awards 2

few/ little (a) few (of the) sweets 3 (a) little (of the) water 5

half half (of) the task half (of) the tasks half (of) the work

some some (of the) jewels some (of the) jewellery

several several (of the) episodes

a lot of a lot of the conference a lot of (the) ideas a lot of (the) time

many/ much many (of the) chairs much (of the) furniture

most most of the holiday most (of the) apples most (of the) fruit

each each applicant each of the applicants

every (one of) every page 4 every one of the pages

all all (of) the problem all (of) the problems all (of) the trouble
1
: We often use quantifiers (except none and a lot) directly before a noun:

It is impossible to nominate both candidates for the Vice-presidency.

With most quantifiers, using of the before a plural or uncountable noun changes the meaning of the noun
from general to specific:

I’d like some jewellery. (general, we don’t know which jewellery)

I’d like some of the jewellery. (specific, a particular set of jewellery)

2
: With both we can omit of before the. Both (of) the candidates believed they had won.
3
:  For the difference between little/few and a little/ a few.
4
: Note the difference between each and every. Both quantifiers describe ‘more than one’; we can use each to
refer to two things, but not every:
X  She was wearing a fine gold chain on every ankle.

✓ She was wearing a fine gold chain on each ankle.

But: She was wearing a ring on every finger.

We usually use some in positive sentences, any in questions and negatives:

You’ve got some interesting ideas, but have you got any money to back them?

We can use any in positive sentences with the meaning ‘it doesn’t matter which’:

You won’t catch any fish here. Any fisherman will tell you that.

Note: it is possible to use some in questions where we have some expectation that the answer
will be positive:

Is some of the information useful? (I expect that a part of it is.)

Is any of the information useful? (I have no idea if it is useful or not.)

3B. Quantifiers as subjects verb.

We can use quantifiers (except no and every) without a noun as subject of the clause:

 The vote was split: half were in favour of the motion, half were against it.

When used as subjects some quantifiers take a singular verb, and some take a plural Others
are used with a singular or plural verb, depending on the noun they substitute or modify.
Look at the table.

each, either, much

always singular
Much of the research has already been completed.

both, several, a few, many

always plural Some visitors to the new gallery are enthusiastic but many have

expressed their disappointment.

 any, half, some, a lot. all

Some of the information is considered top secret.

singular or plural
Some of us are hiring a minibus to go to the match.

‘We can’t get many books to the schools in the outback.’ ‘Don’t worry. Any (books)
are better than none.’

1: The quantifiers neither and none take a singular verb with plural nouns, though a plural verb is now
accepted in speech and informal writing:

None of the students is/are willing to accept the increase in coursework.

C       PRACTICE EXERCISE

Q 1.

Read this story and fill in the gaps with the correct article: a/ an, the or – (no article). For one
gap you will need a possessive adjective.

I first experienced terror when I was seven. My mother lived in London, but after a brief
liaison with (1)____ soldier from the United States she became pregnant and fled to (2)____
country. (At that time, fifty years ago, it was considered shameful to be a single parent.) A
great aunt of hers lived in (3)____ cottage in (4)_____ North Wales, and there she was able to
bring me up in (5)____ peace, pretending that she was a widow. (6)_____  locals were all
very friendly to us and accepted us without question, and I had (7)______ blissful childhood.

One day I arrived home from (8)_____ school to find my mother clutching (9)_____telegram,
in floods of tears. (10)_______ telegram informed her that her father – my grandfather – had
died. His funeral would be in three days and we had to go to London. I had never been
outside  (11)_____ village and I was really excited at the thought of going to (12)______
capital city. So, two days later, we boarded a train to London. It was (13)_____ first time I
had been on a train and I could barely contain (14)_______ excitement of such an adventure.
Several hours later we arrived. I clutched my mother’s hand as we stepped down from the
train. (15)________ station was full of people rushing home from (16)______ work and it
was quite dark. Now (17)_____ fear was starting to creep into my mind. Then, suddenly, we
were in (18)_______ street outside the station. I had never seen so many people, buses and
cars, nor heard so much noise. I was terrified. I opened (19)________ mouth and the wail that
I let escape was one of (20)______ sheer terror.

Q 2.

Complete these short sentences with an appropriate article: a/an, the or – (no article).

1          He’s got……… asthma.

2          The ring is just a band of ………. gold.

3          It prints seven pages minute.

4          Let’s have a weekend in ………. mountains

5          She’s at………. work.

6          It’s in Tasman Sea.

7          Sorry – it’s ………. wrong answer.

8          It appeared in ………. New York Times.

9          She’s always been ………. Catholic.

10        What’s for ………. dinner?

11        We’re going on a day trip by …………  coach

12        They’re flying to …………. Seychelles.

13        It’s ……….. best solution.

14        Can you ski on …………… Mont Blanc?

15        It’s quite warm there in …………. winter.

16        We all need ……….. oxygen.

17        We’ve had over …………. dozen applicants.

18        She works in ………. television.

19        It’s all…………… better if you can come early.

20        He was crowned…………. king.

Q 3.

Complete the dialogue with a demonstrative adjective or pronoun from the box.

this (x3)        that (x4)         these (x1)               those (x2)

ROB                What’s on TV tonight, do you know?

JENNY           No. Why don’t you look in the paper you’re reading?

ROB                (1)…….. paper doesn’t have TV listings.

JENNY           Oh, right. Well try (2)………. one on the shelf, over there.

ROB                OK … yes, let’s see. There’s nothing much on (3)…….. days at all, is there?
It’s all soaps and detective series.

JENNY           Mmm. I thought there was always a serious documentary on Tuesday
evenings. (4)…….. one last week on homelessness was really interesting.

ROB                Yes, you’re right. There’s one on travellers. Listen. (5)………. is awful.
‘Although landowners may lose income while travellers are on their land, there is no fast
route to evicting them. (6)………   who go through the courts often have to take out more
than one injunction before the matter is settled.’

JENNY           Well, what do you expect? The travellers need somewhere to live, like the rest
of us. The government should give them land.

ROB                (7)……….’s no solution, is it? They want to travel, not to settle.

JENNY           How do you know? There was (8)……… story in my magazine about
travellers from years ago and the encampments they made – they were allowed to settle down
then.

ROB                Yes, but in (9)…….. days there was more free land. Land is (10)
………..valuable today, people use every bit of it and don’t want travellers on their land.

JENNY           Mmm, well why don’t we turn the TV on and find out what the documentary
says?

Q 4.

Match one of the sentences or beginnings of sentences in each pair (1-8) with a continuation
of the sentence or conversation from the list below (A-l).

A I don’t know him. Do you?

B Could I have a closer look at it, please?

C It’s a basic human right.

D You just have to shop around.

E It’s the tallest type of tree in the world.

F She took journalism and media studies.

G You know, the one where Chris works.

H You know, the one that we couldn’t get last week.

I I’ve never come across one so talkative before!

a Let’s meet in a wine bar.

b Let’s meet in the wine bar.  ==> ….b…. + …..G….

a My sister went to university.

b My sister went to the university

a The cat communicates a lot of desires and emotions.

b This cat communicates a lot of desires and emotions.

a Dr Richards called to speak to you.

b A Dr Richards called to speak to you.

a People shouldn’t be denied freedom.

b People shouldn’t be denied the freedom …

a A giant redwood once grew to over 70 metres.

b The giant redwood can grow to more than 70 metres.

a Let’s get a video out this evening.

b Let’s get that video out this evening.

a You can pay a lot less for a car these days.

b You could pay a lot less for a car in those days.

a This is an interesting specimen.

b That’s an interesting specimen.

Q 5.

For each of these questions, either one or two alternatives (A-C) are correct. Circle the letters
ofall the correct alternatives.

1          I haven’t seen  ______ of those films, so I don’t mind which one we go to.

A any              B no                C either

2          You shouldn’t slouch like that. It puts            ______of pressure on one hip and leg.

A much           B a lot                         C all

3          At this stage______ information would have been a step In the right direction.

A little             B some            C any

4          The Fitness Room would like to invite ________ of its patrons to enter the annual
fitness challenge.

A all                B every            C some

5          _______ witnesses responded to the police appeal after the accident.

A No               B None            C Any

6          _______ of the women who attended the demonstration was willing to give us an
Interview.

A No               B None            C Many

7          We would like to add that _______ medallion is inscribed with the name of its lucky
owner.

A each             B every            C either

8          Only _______ of the news today has been about the election.

A half              B a little          C a few

9          We guarantee that _______ item of the dinner service will be replaceable for a period
of ten years.
A each             B every            C all

10        We are delighted to be able to welcome _______ the competition winners to the gala
evening.

A both             B either           C all

Q 6.

Complete the article with the words from above each paragraph. (- = no article)

a         all          the           the           the          The           this         your            –            –

FOOD FRIGHTS

Planning a big day out this summer? It’s not just the rides that could turn your stomach!

The risk of food poisoning should be the last thing on (1)…. mind when you’re enjoying a
quiet day out (2)…..            summer. But, in (3)….. UK, there were around 95,000 reported
cases of (4)…. food poisoning in (5)….. last year alone – a four-fold increase on the number
of reported cases just ten years ago.

We checked food safety at 13 of our top tourist attractions. We tested the food on offer and
inspected hygiene standards at restaurants, cafés and kiosks on site. Standards were generally
poor. About (6)……. third of the 65 food samples we bought tailed to meet satisfactory
microbiological guidelines. Sandwiches came out worst — in five of (7)…….. 25 samples we
bought we found food-poisoning bacteria. But, to judge from our inspections, the results are
not that surprising. Only one in seven food outlets passed (8)……… of our inspection
criteria. (9)…………….majority of problems we came across were staff-related, and showed
a lack of training in (10)………..food safety.

each         half           most          the         the           these          these       This        –         –

What we found

At (11)………….. tourist attraction we bought a selection of sandwiches and other food

products. Our tests revealed specific food-poisoning bacteria in five of (12)………..
sandwiches. High levels of other general bacteria were also found in more than (13)……….
of the sandwiches – while (14)……….. bacteria don’t make you ill, they do point to (15)
………… poor hygiene practices.

Five sandwiches contained food-poisoning bacteria at levels that are not satisfactory
according to guidelines. (16)……………could cause food-poisoning – (17)……….. children,
elderly people and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable. We’ve informed (18)
…………… food outlets and tourist attractions concerned; (19)……………(but not all) have
taken positive action as a result of (20)………….disturbing findings.

Q 7.
Read the following text. In most lines there is an unnecessary word, a word missing or an
incorrect word. For each numbered line (1-23), identify the mistake and write the correct
word in the space on the right. Some lines are correct. Indicate these with a tick (✓). The
exercise begins with three examples.

Magnum past and present

0          Magnum is a co-operative of nearly sixty photographers with offices in New       ✓

00        York, London, Paris and Tokyo. A co-operative was founded in 1947 by         ….   A
=> The

000      photographers the Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson. George Rodger and     the

1          David Seymour. All them had been involved in the Second World War.

2          Rodger had walked hundreds of miles through forest to escape Japanese

3          in the Burma. And Seymour received a medal for his work in American

4          intelligence.

5          However, all of founders of Magnum had been photographers for

6          some time. Photographic work they were famous for dated back further.

7          Capa’s photos of the Spanish Civil war were called ‘finest pictures of

8          front-line action ever taken.’

9          They all appreciated an importance of showing the world what really

10        happens during this major conflicts and world crises, so they decided to

11        produce the best documentary photography at this time. Cartier-Bresson

12        once commented ‘Some photographers tell the news step by the step as

13        if making an accountant’s statement.’ He and Magnum, on the other hand,

14        felt that the news had to be shown in that way that would engage most

15        the people who are unable to experience world-changing events at first-hand.

16        Tragically, within a decade of the start of Magnum, the half of its original

17        founders died while covering other wars. However, agency had started to

18        employ other top-class photographers and its work was sure to continue.
19        Today, Magnum is some goal for many young photographers. It still

20        produces the finest documentary photographs of world events. Recent

21        coverage has included the events in Balkans and the tribal wars in East

22        Africa, and while Magnum photographers cover these events, we will all be

23        able to appreciate both best and worst of humanity.

D       ANSWER KEY FOR DIAGNOSTIC TEST

1          the

2          The

3          the

4          the

5          –

6          the

7          –

8          a

9          the

10        –

11        an

12        a

13        A/-

14        those

15        This/A

16        this

17        any/ some

18        All

19        both/ both of

20        Much/ A lot

E       ANSWER KEY FOR PRACTICE EXERCISE

Q 1.

1a 6 The 11 the 16 –

2 the 7a 12 the 17 –

3a 8– 13 the 18 the/a

4– 9a 14 the 19 my

5- 10 The 15 The 20 –

Q 2.

1– 6 the 11 – 16 –

2– 7 the 12 the 17 a

3a 8 the 13 the 18 –

4 the 9a 14 – 19 the

5– 10 – 15 -/ the 20 –

 Q 3.

1 This

2 that

3 these

4 That

5 This

6 Those

7 That

8 this

9 those
10 that

Q 4.

1 a+F

2 b+ I

3 b+A

4 a+C

5 b+E

6 b+H

7 a+D

8 b+B

Q 5.

1 A, C 6B

2B 7 A, B

3 B, C 8 A, B

4 A, C 9 A, B

5A 10 A, C

Q 6.

1 your 11 each

2 this 12 the

3 the 13 half

4– 14 these

5 the 15 –

6a 16 This
7 the 17-

8 all 18 the

9 The 19 most

10 – 20 these

Q 7.

1          All them => All of them

2          Japanese => the Japanese

3          the Burma => Burma

4          ✓

5          of-founders =>» of the founders

6          Photographic work => The photographic work

7          finest pictures => the finest pictures

8          ✓

9          an => the

10        this => these

11        this => that

12        step by the step => step by step

13        ✓

14        that way => a way

15        most-the people => most of the people

16        the half => half

17        agency => the agency

18        ✓

19        some goal => the goal

20        ✓

21        in Balkans => in the Balkans

22        ✓

23        best => the best