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Determiners Definition, Types And Examples

Determiners: Determiners are the words that are placed before nouns. The two essential functions of determiners are, to refer and to quantify. It acts like an adjective that comes before the noun. It is not necessary to use determiners at the beginning of the sentence, it is only necessary to use them before the noun. There are different types of determiners, namely, Articles, Possessive Determiners, Demonstrative Determiners, Quantifiers, and Distributive Determiners.

Definition of Determiners

According to Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, a determiner is defined as “a word such as the some, my, etc. that comes before a noun to show how the noun is being used”, 

The definition given by the Cambridge Dictionary, of determiner is “a word that is used before a noun to show which particular example of the noun you are referring to”. 

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a determiner as “a word (such as an article, possessive, demonstrative, or quantifier) that makes specific the denotation of a noun phrase”.

Types of Determiners

Determiners are the word that is used before the noun, they sometimes act as an adjective. Determiners are of the following types-

Types of Determiners
TypesMeaningDeterminersExamples
ArticlesAn article is a word that modifies or describes the nounA, An (Indefinite articles ), The(definite articles)
  • A dog is a good pet.
  • An ostrich would beat a chicken in a race.
  • The dog is barking too loudly.
Possessive DeterminersPossessive pronouns and adjectives indicate who an object belongs to.Mine, yours, his, hers, its, my, your, his, her, and it.
  • Where is your dog?
  • The dog growled and showed its teeth.
  • My best friend is a cat.
  • Which one is his car?
Demonstrative DeterminersThey describe the position of an object, seen from the speaker's viewpoint.This, that, those, these
  • Do you want this piece of chicken?
  • I don't want to go to that movie.
  • These black raspberries are sour.
  • He wanted those boys to go away.
QuantifiersThey describe how much or how little of the noun is being discussed.All, few, many
  • He took all the books.
  • She liked all desserts equally.
  • Few children like lima beans, so the cafeteria stopped serving them.
Distributive DeterminersThey might refer to an entire group or each individual inside it.Each, either, all, both, half, either, neither
  • Each parent was given a school packet.
  • Each ticket holder was allowed backstage.
  • Either teacher will be chaperoning the field trip.
  • Neither parent showed up to the recital.

Use of Determiners

Some of the use of determiners-

  • Determiners are used to refer to the noun. Referring means showing us who or what the noun is pointing to or talking about.
  • Also, they quantify the noun. Quantifying means showing how much of something there is, or how many.

Determiners Exercise

Below is the exercise to make you understand clearly-

1. I would like to ask a …….. question.

2. I didn’t find ……….  there.

3. Very ………..  politicians are really honest.

4. Only a ………..  politicians are really honest.

5. ………… agreed to come with me.

6. She doesn’t have …..…. friends.

7. I had ………. to help me.

8. There are ……..…  birds on the tree.

9. Does ……….  know the answer?

10. I would like to find …….. books on western philosophy.

Check the answers below-

1. I would like to ask a few questions.

2. I didn’t find anyone there.

3. Very few politicians are really honest.

4. Only a few politicians are really honest.

5. Someone agreed to come with me.

6. She doesn’t have many friends.

7. I had no one to help me.

8. There are some birds on the tree.

9. Does anyone know the answer?

10. I would like to find some books on western philosophy.

Determiners-FAQs

Ans. Determiners are the words that are placed before nouns. The two essential functions of determiners are, to refer and to quantify. It acts like an adjective that comes before the noun. It is not necessary to use determiners at the beginning of the sentence, it is only necessary to use them before the noun.

Ans. Some of the use of determiners- Determiners are used to refer to the noun. Referring means showing us who or what the noun is pointing to or talking about. Also, they quantify the noun. Quantifying means showing how much of something there is, or how many.

Ans. There are different types of determiners, namely, Articles, Possessive Determiners, Demonstrative Determiners, Quantifiers, and Distributive Determiners.

Ans. Possessive pronouns and adjectives indicate who an object belongs to. Some of the Possessive determiners are- Mine, yours, his, hers, its, my, your, his, her, and it.

Ans. They describe the position of an object, seen from the speaker's viewpoint. Some of the demonstrative determiners are- This, that, those, these.

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