Determiners

Functional English I
Determiners
Determiners are words which sit before nouns to tell either of the following,
• Quantity of noun (known as Quantifiers)
• Pointing out some specific noun (known as Demonstrative determiners)
• Tell the possession of noun (known as Possessive determiners)
• And as articles (a, an, the)

Note: For Quantifiers, Demonstrative and Possessive Determiners see Adjectives slides.
Determiners as articles
When used as articles, determiners tell if the noun is general or specific

The Definite Article (The)

"The" is called the definite article. It defines its noun as something specific (e.g., something
previously mentioned or known, something unique, something being identified by the
speaker). For example
• This is the lake.
(This is a previously specified lake, i.e., one already mentioned previously by the speaker or
writer.)

‘The’ is also used

- When a singular noun is meant to represent the whole class. For example
• The horse is a faithful animal.
• The cow is a useful animal.
• The cat loves comfort.
- Before some proper Names/Nouns. For example
• Oceans and seas, e.g. the Pacific, the Black Sea
• Rivers e.g. The Punjab, The Nile
• Canals e.g. the Suez Canal
• Deserts e.g. the Sahara, the Thar.
• Groups of islands e.g. the West Indies
• Mountain ranges e.g. the Himalayas, the Alps
• Names of certain books, e.g., The Holy Quran, The Bible
(names of people are not included, e.g., it is incorrect to say The Ali)

- Before the names of things which are unique. For example

• The sun
• The sky
• The earth
• The moon
• The sea
-With superlative degree. For example
• The darkest
• The tallest
• The bravest
• The best

- With ordinals: For example

• He was the First person I met.
• The tenth chapter of this book is really interesting.
The Indefinite Article (A, An)
"A" and "An" are called the indefinite articles. They define their noun as something
unspecific (e.g., something generic, something mentioned for the first time). For example
• This is a lake.
(Here ‘lake’ is being mentioned in front of the reader or listener for the first time.)

Use of an, a
The choice between a and an is determined by the Sound.
Use of An:

Before a word which begins with a vowel sound an is used. For example:

• An enemy

• An umbrella

• An orange

• An hour

• An honest man

• An honor
Use of A:

A is used before a word beginning with a consonant sound. For Example:

• A boy

• A deer

• A woman

• A horse

• A hole

• A university