07 Determiners Determiners are the words that modify nouns. In other words, determiners are the words that can be used before nouns to determine or to modify their meaning. Determiners function like adjectives. They are also called as fixing words. Characteristics of Determiners Characteristics of determiners are as follows + A determiner may determine or fix a place, person or thing. + A determiner may identify two or more persons or things. * A determiner may precede numerals or objects. + A determiner may indicate a quantity or amount. Classification of Determiners Determiners can be classified into 1. Articles a, an, the 2. Demonstrative Adjectives this, that, these, those, 3, Quantifiers A quantifier is a word or phrase which is used before a noun to indicate the amount or quantity. Types of quantifiers are as follows (i) Definite one, two, hundred, ..., first, second, both etc. (ii) Indefinite some, many, much, enough, few, a few, the few, all, little, a little, the little, several, most etc. (iii) Distributive each, every, all, either, neither. (iv) Difference another, other. (v) Comparative more, less, fewer. 4. Possessives my, your, his, her, its, our, their, mine, hers, yours, ours, theirs etc.132 Allizone English Language and Literature Class. ee 1. Articles — A, An, The Articles are used before nouns, ‘A’ is used before a noun starting with a consonant sound and ‘An’ is used before a oun starting with a vowel sound, ‘The’ is used before singular countable nouns, plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns Use of Indefinite Articles : A/An ‘A’ is used before a noun beginning with a consonant sound. 2. awoman, ahorse,atree (Here woman, horse and tree are words beginning with a consonant sound.) “An is used before a noun beginning with a vowel sound. 2. an orange, an egg, an elephant, an hour (Here orange, egg, elephant and: hour are words beginning witha vowel sound) Howto Use ‘A’ and ‘An’ +The use ofa” and ‘an’ is determined by sound. The folowing words begin with a vowel, but nos with a vowel sound, A ‘unique thing, a one rupee coin, @ European, a unicorn, a ‘university, a useful thing. a union So here '' is used * On the other hand, with the following words, ‘an’ is used although they begin with a consonant, + An hour, an honest man, an heir othe throne, an MCA. Here the sound isthe criterion to decide whether alan wil be used, Use of Definite Article : The ‘The’ is used before singular countable nouns, plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns. Uncountable nouns do not have plural forms, eg. we cannot say ‘sugars’, we will say ‘the sugar’. “The' is used 1 While talking about a particular person or thing or one already referred to (that is, when it is clear from the context which one do we mean). €.g. The book you want is not available. TL, When a singular noun represents the whole class, eg. The dog isa faithful animal IIL Before some proper names that denote physical features. ( Oceans and Seas e.g, The Pacific, Ocean, The Arabian Sea (Gi) Rivers eg. The Ganges, The Thames (Gi) Canals eg, the Suez Canal (iv) Deserts eg, the Thar Desert, the Sthara Desert (2) Group of islands e.g, the West Indies, the Netherlands (x) Mountain ranges eg. the Himalayas, che Saspura Ranges fnich include words like ri) A few names of countries, u ‘ “ Republic or Kingdom eg. The People’s Republic of ce the United Kingdom, the USA, the Republic of Kya Hague ete IV. Before the names of eligious ot mythological by, fg. the Vedas, the Puranas, the Mahabharata (but we'say Homer's liad, Valmiki's Ramayana V. Before the names of things which are unique og, of their kind. eg, the Sun, ; VIL Before a proper noun, when it is qualified by adjective or a defining adjectival clause. ‘eg. The Great Caesar, the King of Rome, The Mr Verma whom you met last night is my toys VIL. With superlative degrees. eg. This is the worst performance | have ever seen, VIIL. With ordinals. eg. He was the first man to walk on the Moon, IX, Before musical instruments ‘e.g. He can play the tabla very well X. Before an adjective when the noun is understood, e.g. The rich always exploit the poor. Here the werd ‘people’ is understood. XL Asan adverb with comparatives. eg. The more money we have, the more we want, .e Moon, the Pacific Ocean Omission of Article The’ + Before material, abstract and proper nouns used int general sense, €.9. (a) Honesty is the best policy. (not The | honesty...) (0) Sugar tastes sweet. (not The ‘sugar....) (0) Paris is the capital of France, (not The Paris...) Before plural countable nouns used in a general sen. ®9. Children ke toys. + Before names of people eg. Rohit Before names of continents, countries, cities et ©. Europe, Pakistan, Nagpur Before names of individual mountains @g. Mount Everest Before names of meals 9. Dinner is ready. Before languages and words like school, calls university, church, hospital, 9. (a) learn English at school, (b) My uncle is Still in hospital. Before names of relations, like father, mothe & 89. Fathers sil not at home, used in a general sense.Determiners (Section B) eee 133 a 7 + In certain phrases consisting of preposition followed Usage of quantifiers are a fllous by its object. @9, _Athome, in hand, by night, n case, on foot, by train, on demand ete 2. Demonstrative Adjectives (This, That, These, Those} I. That (in case of plural, those) (a) Ieisused o avoid the repetition ofthe preceding noun() ©9. + My batis better than that of my friend * Our soldiers are better equipped than those of Pakistan, (©) Te refers to person(s) or chingis) far from the speaker. €.9. * Get that dog out of here. *+ Those houses are for sale IL This (in case of plural, these) (@) It refers to person(s) or thing(s) near the speaker. ©. * This book is very interesting + These flowers are very beautiful 3. Quantifiers ‘Some’, ‘many’, ‘a lot of’ and ‘a few’ are examples of quantifiers. Quantifiers can be used in affirmative sentences, questions, requests or commands with both countable and uncountable nouns. €.g.* There are some books on the desk. + He's got only a few dollars * How much money have you got? © There is a large quantity of fish in this river. + He's got more friends than his sister. Some quantifiers can go only with countable nouns (e.g friends, people, cups), some can go only with uncountable nouns (e.g. sugar, tea, money, advice), while some can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. Examples of quantifiers are given below Onlywith With both Countable Only with Countable ‘Uncountable Nouns and ‘Nouns Uncountable Nouns alittle no, none, not any _@ few abit of some, all a number of - any several large amount plenty of a large number of of 1. Use of few/a few/the few and little/a little/the little (@) Few, afew and the few Few emphasises the lack of something. eg. . There are few sweets left in the jar. {We should be careful not to eat them too ‘quickly because they are almost finished.) [A few emphasises that something till remains. e.g, Weestil have a few minutes let before the class gets over. Do you have any questions? (We sil have some time, so we should use it) “The few signifies not many but all there are. e.g. The few clothes he has are all very old. (The clothes that he had were not many, but ail those were very old) (b) Litde, a little and the lite. Litale emphasises the lack of something. e.g, We have litle money right now; we should go ‘out for dinner another day (We should be careful and use the money wisely because we don't have much.) ‘A little emphasises that something still remains. * eg. There's alitle ice-cream let; who will eat it? (We stil have some ice-cream left. Who wants to eat it?) The little signifies not much, but al there is e.g. The little sugar she had, she gave to her neighbour. {Al the sugar that she had, though nat much, ‘she gave to her neighbour.) IL Use of much and many (@) We use much with singular uncountable nouns and many with plural nouns. + Thaven’e got much change; I've only gor @ hundred rupee note + Are there many campsites near your place? (b) We usually use much and many wich interrogative sentences and negative seitences. + Is there much unemployment in that area? + How many eggs have been used in this cake? + Do you think many people will come? + The sain was pouring down in torrents but there wasn’t much wind. ILL Use of more, less and fewer (comparative determiners) (@) We use more or less before singular uncountable nouns by adding ‘than’ after it, or for an additional or lesser quantity of something,134 ©9- + 1.do more work than Suresh 7 Glease aive me some more salad. 1 Piatsh does tess work than me * Iwant less salad than Mahosty ©) We use fewer be 8tOUp of things» eg. fore plural countable nouns to refer to a ‘mallet than another. * Rewer students succeeded in passing than last year. * We had fewer computers a year ago IV. Use of each an \d every (distributive determiners) + Each of the two boys has won a prize. * Every student in the school is present today, () We use each when the nui definite, bur every is used unknown, eg. imber in the group is limited or ‘when the number is indefinice or * Each student in my Class was promoted. * Every person in the world has a parent. V. Use of most, several and all (@) We usually use most with plural uncountable nouns, ©9. + Most of the people can be trusted ‘* Most of the time | am not at home, (©) We usually use several with plural nouns, but it refers to a ‘number which is not very large. (ie. less than most) 9. * Several people were erushed in the stampede. * Several people lost thei lives in the Tsunami (© Allrequires a plural verb when used with a countable noun, but requires a singular verb with an uncountable noun, 9. * All are going to Delhi * All that glitters is not gold. VI. Use of another and other We use another only with singular countable nouns, whereas other can be used with singular countable, plural countable or uncountable nouns. ©.9. + Bring me another knife, as this one is blunt. * | would prefer the other house. + The other students went back home. * Hels. better human being than most others, /IL. Use of either and neither (@) Weuse either to refer to two things, people, situations ete. It may mean one or the other of two or each of the two. 9. _ | don't agree with either Ram or Shyam. (b) We use neither wich only singular countable nouns and a singular verb. Neither is the negative of either. e.g. Neither of the two boys passed the exam, Alone English Language and Literature Cjq.. ‘ | 4. Possessives (My, Your, His, Her, Its, Our, Their Ry srminers or possessive adjectives tel] y, rss pe une #ponesive determing ae fore noun to show who owns the noun we are talking ait They come in front of any other adjectives. * Thi is your book “8 '* That is our beautiful house. it miners depend; different possessive determiners depending , wih toons the thing we are walking abou " Used with Type of Noun ~ Subject _Possessive Determiner 1 my st person singular —~ _ We __ first person plural = You second person singulat/plual _Th third person plural _— rr third person singular masculine” She third person singular feminine Ie its — third person singular neuter My, her, his and its are used with singular nouns, while our and their are used with plural nouns. Your can by used with either singular ot plural nouns, the sense eg * This is my book. * The dog licked its paw. + Which is their car? * All three of you, have you done your homework? Determiners and Kind: Ne With Which They are Used os + A,an, each, everyone, with singular countable + This and that are us Aouns/singular countable nouns These and those are used with uncountable Nouns/plural countable nouns * A litte, a lot of, a great deal of, much are used wih Uncountable nouns, + More, most, Used with + Afew, * The, some, any, whose, depending on another and either are used nouns, ed with uncountable a lot of, enough, adequate, some are uncountable nouns/plural countable nour Several, many, both are used with plural my, her, your, our, ther, its, w! what are use d with any type of noun.PRACTICE QUESTIONS 1 Fill in the blanks with appropriate determiners. (a) How «ss (rauch/many) chaits do we need? (b) The owner of the house is selling... (a few/the lice) pieces of furniture. (0) He can’t hear .. «»- (anybody/somebody). He is completely deaf. dd (These/That) doctor charges high fees. (@) My sitet i5 .susn.(an/the) architect. o (My/Mine) younger brother will reach Delhi today. () Copper is (h) It isa public holiday today, so... --- (a/an) useful metal. (nothing/nowhere) is open. (i). This is «.......... (the/a) best book of Elementary Chemistry. () Honest men speak ....ne(a/the) truth. 2 Fill in the blanks using any one of the given determiners, @ (Few/The few) persons can keep a secret. (b) «rece (A few/Few) words spoken in earnest will convince him. (0) sane (The few/Few) friends he has are all very poor. (a eis _ (a/the) onerupee note. (©) semen (The/A) poor are always with us. .. (The/A) dinner we had at the Tourist Hotel. was very nice. ( Lwent £0 wns (a/the) hospital to see my uncle, (h) Mr Roy was «rns (a/the) great orator and statesman. (i) ssn (The/A) Secretary and Treasurer are absent. () sense (A little/The litele) grain they had was damaged by sea water. 3 In the following passage, choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below to complete the passage. Gravitation is the force (a) .. (b) (©) only the Earth that has the pull of gravity, (d) . also everything els in the universe. Everything in this universe attracts (€) .. f « ... other body to. - holds us all down, the surface of the Earth. Anything upwards falls back to the Earth. It is not ) (whom (ii) that (iii) whose (iv) who © @ into ion (i) to Gv) in ) (i) thrown (ii) throwing (iii) to throw (iv) threw (d) (i) because (ii) and (ii) so (iv) but (e) (i) each (ii) every (iii) either (iv) neither (f) (i) themselves(ii) herself (iv) himself (iii) itself 4 Fill in the blanks with appropriate determiners. (2) Do you need .nnnnn assistance? () sonnei the time by your watch? © is your favourite Chinese dish? @ . is the most frightening horror story ever read by me. (e) Show me maps. 5 Fill in the blanks with appropriate determiners. (a) You are the only teacher who i . (b) Tes non Lowest level of water. (6) You are living With wn. Parents. (2) He was efficient in num profession. (©) The -nnnnens person of our group is a ranger. 6 Fill in the blanks with appropriate determiners. (2) How sonnoue milk is available in the bowl? (6) From the container, I found items missing. (©) That he is sno honest boy is known to all (a) Which is the highest grossing movie of director who has turned 80 today? (e) Lhave lost ... MA. high school certificate. 7 Fill in the blanks with appropriate determiners. (a) See that white building jit is... residence. (B) sues cinema hall did you go to last night? (0) We are tensed because we don’t know . going to happen. (d) Please tell me what is the cost of (€) How much do I have to pay for .. . book.; and Literature cj, 136 Allnone English Language Ass5, SS i) To © (ii) From ) iv) Ay 8 Fill in the banks with ti (2) @Sinee — ywhere (il) whenever german wnerweniae A hates (@) He richest person of the town. (iv) whe Gi) his (il) an” (is) the ) Lused to be ent those days. © @a noose th (©) Thave planned nothing for trip, the following passage, choose the mog | () You should take eare of pet. ie ees option from the ones given bey, (©) Th boy in the row is a foreigner to complete the passage. Lecture asa method of teaching is as old as civiisa, 9 In the following passage, choose the most commonly practised and very wit appropriate option from the ones given It is (a) .. below to complete the passage. eT) rn COURETES (mn Haig Mark Twain was the pen name of Samuel and almost the only tec ae use of Lene ite Langhorne Clemens, (@) suru. was one of (b) formal lecture. The effective use of lecture FeAuing ~~~ Breatest fiction writers of America. He grew skilful preparation, (2) ad enw oO up ina .» followed by questions and answers, ip in a small town (6)... the banks of the i Mississippi River. (@) (more ii) much (iii) most (iv) many (2) von n a small boy he moved to Hainnibal on (6) (i) a (ii) the Gil) an Civ) many the banks of this river (e) he experienced (¢) (i) the (ia (ii) every (iv) an oO excitement of river travel. 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