Grammar

Determiners
Definition Determiners are words used to identify
or specify a noun in some way.
 Look at these expressions:

❖ Your books
❖ This poem
❖ The highest peak

 The italicized words in above expressions are determiners.

 A determiner signals the coming of a noun in a sentence.

Type Kinds Of Determiners
Determiners fall into the following categories:

 Articles : a, an, the

 Possessives : my, our, your, his, her, its, their

 Demonstratives : this, that, these, those, such

 Distributives : each, every, either, neither

 Quantifiers : much, some, any, no, little, enough, a lot of, lots of, some

of, much of, plenty of

 Expressions of number : many, several, some, any, no, few, enough, another, number of, a
lot of, plenty of, some of, many of, one, two, three

 Interrogatives : what, which, whose, etc.

Articles
There are three articles: a, an & the

a, an - Indefinite articles
✓ They suggest one
Example :
✓ they are used before countable nouns in the ▪ A bird
single number, ▪ An eagle
 The - The definite article
‘ Pronounced as di : before a vowel sound and as θ before a consonant sound’
Articles
It is used before:

 a noun whenever we want to particularize that noun: E.g. The books lying on the table are mine.

 when it is clear from the situation which people or thing we mean E.g. Would you please switch on the fan?

 when there is only one of something: E.g. The sun , The moon

 the name of a person or thing whose identity is known to every one: E.g. The President

 common noun when that noun represents the whole class: E.g. The dog is a faithful animal.

 an adjective or a participle to represent a class of people: E.g. Law does not discriminate between the rich and
the poor.
 We go to the cinema, the theatre. We usually say the radio but television (without the):

E.g. My grandparents rarely go to the cinema.

She is watching television. (the television X)
Articles We do not use articles
 With nouns that name materials:
➢ E.g. Water is going to be scarce. (the water x)
 With abstract nouns:
➢ E.g. Honesty is a great virtue. (the honesty X)

 When a noun is used in the general sense:

➢ E.g. Man is a social animal. (we are talking of man in the general sense).

 With plural nouns when they denote a class:

➢ E.g. Saints believe in simple living and high thinking.
 With the names of meals – dinner, lunch, breakfast:
➢ E.g. What do you normally eat for breakfast
➢ E.g. Lunch is served between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m..

 With the names of diseases:

➢ E.g. Tuberculosis is no longer an incurable disease.
Type Kinds Of Determiners
Determiners fall into the following categories:

 Articles : a, an, the

 Possessives : my, our, your, his, her, its, their

 Demonstratives : this, that, these, those, such

 Distributives : each, every, either, neither

 Quantifiers : much, some, any, no, little, enough, a lot of, lots of, some

of, much of, plenty of

 Expressions of number : many, several, some, any, no, few, enough, another, number of, a
lot of, plenty of, some of, many of, one, two, three

 Interrogatives : what, which, whose, etc.

Possessives My, Our, Your, His, Her, Its, Their

‘My, our, your, his, her, its and there are called possessives, because they possess the nouns that
follow them.’

 Possessives can be used before both singular and plural nouns.

✓ E.g: My book My books, Your question & Your questions

 They can be used before countable as well as uncountable nouns.

✓ E.g: Our house , Our houses , Our duty

Type Kinds Of Determiners
Determiners fall into the following categories:

 Articles : a, an, the

 Possessives : my, our, your, his, her, its, their

 Demonstratives : this, that, these, those, such

 Distributives : each, every, either, neither

 Quantifiers : much, some, any, no, little, enough, a lot of, lots of, some

of, much of, plenty of

 Expressions of number : many, several, some, any, no, few, enough, another, number of, a
lot of, plenty of, some of, many of, one, two, three

 Interrogatives : what, which, whose, etc.

Demonstratives This, That, These, Those

‘This, that, these and those are used to point out persons or objects.’

 This and these are used to point out persons or objects close to the speaker. This is used
before singular nouns and these before plural nouns.

✓ E.g. This book will serve your purpose.

✓ These chocolates are for you.

 That (singular) and those (plural)refer to persons or objects at a distance

✓ E.g.: That house belongs to my uncle

Type Kinds Of Determiners
Determiners fall into the following categories:

 Articles : a, an, the

 Possessives : my, our, your, his, her, its, their

 Demonstratives : this, that, these, those, such

 Distributives : each, every, either, neither

 Quantifiers : much, some, any, no, little, enough, a lot of, lots of, some

of, much of, plenty of

 Expressions of number : many, several, some, any, no, few, enough, another, number of, a
lot of, plenty of, some of, many of, one, two, three

 Interrogatives : what, which, whose, etc.

Distributives Either & Neither

Either
 Either has two different meanings:
(a) Any of the two different persons or things:
➢ E.g.: We can hold the meeting on Monday or Tuesday.Either day is suitable.
(b) The both:
➢ E.g.: There were high rising building on either side.(on both sides)
Neither
 Neither is the opposite of either: It means not the one nor the other:
➢ E.g.: Neither book covers my syllabus.

Either and neither take a singular countable noun.

E.g.:either side, neither proposal
Distributives... Each & Every

 We use ‘Each’ when we think of people or things separately, one by one;

✓ E.g.: I questioned each member and got the same answer.

 We use ‘Every’ when we think of people or thinks as a groups. The meaning is:
without exception:

✓ E.g.: I know every line of this poem by heart.

Type Kinds Of Determiners
Determiners fall into the following categories:

 Articles : a, an, the

 Possessives : my, our, your, his, her, its, their

 Demonstratives : this, that, these, those, such

 Distributives : each, every, either, neither

 Quantifiers : much, some, any, no, little, enough, a lot of, lots of, some

of, much of, plenty of

 Expressions of number : many, several, some, any, no, few, enough, another, number of, a
lot of, plenty of, some of, many of, one, two, three

 Interrogatives : what, which, whose, etc.

Quantifiers Much, Some, Any, No, Little, Enough, a lot
of, lots of, some of, Much of, Plenty of
The words above are all determiners of number or quantity.
 Some determiners like many and several suggest number. They are used before countable nouns.
Many students
Several projects
 Others like much and a little suggest quantity. They are used before uncountable nouns:
Much hope
A little salt
 Some determiners like some and any can be used before countable as well as uncountable nouns:
Some book
Some experience
Any child
Any difficulty
Quantifiers little, a little, the little, few, a few, the few

 Little, a little, denote quantity. They are used before uncountable nouns.

 Few, a few, thefew denote number. They are used before countable nouns in the plural
number.

 Little – hardly any. Little is used in the negative sense

✓ E.g. He has little money. (hardly any, no)

 A little – at least some (though not much

✓ E.g. I have a little money in my pocket. We can have ice cream at the Nirulas.

 The little- the whole quantity, though very little

✓ E.g. The little money that I had in my pocket was not adequate to buy ice cream for the two of
us.
 Exercise - A
 Fill in the blanks with either, neither, each or every. In some cases more than one
choice is possible.
1. It was an unexciting match. … … … … … … … … .. team played well.
2. All citizens should exercise their right to vote. … … … … … … … … .. vote is important.
3. … … … … … … … … .. passenger has to get their baggage X-rayed.
4. … … … … … … … … .. angle of a pentagon measures 108 degrees.
5. You can take … … … … … … … … .. half of this cake.
6. … … … … … … … … .. bus going in this direction will take you to the university.
7. There were coconut trees on … … … … … … … … .. side of the road.
8. The police searched … … … … … … … … .. vehicle passing that way.
9. Take this medicine … … … … … … … … .. six hours.
10. The country will progress only if … … … … … … … … .. citizen realises their responsibility.
 Exercise - B
 Fill in the blanks with the much, many , little, the little, few, a few or the few.
1. I put … … … … … … … … .. drops of oil in the lock and left it of a while. After that, I had
… … … … … … … … .. difficulty in opening it.
2. He does not earn … … … … … … … … .. money. But with … … … … … … … … .. money he
earns, his family is able to lead a comfortable life.
3. I am not sure how … … … … … … … … .. people will attend the concert nor how… … … … … … … … .. money we will be
able to raise.
4. I had to give up the project for want of support. If I had received … … … … … … … … .. help
from my friends, I could have continued. But … … … … … … … … .. friends I approached had … … … … … … … … ..
encouragement for me.
5. The credit for … … … … … … … … .. of my success should go to my parents. There were
… … … … … … … … .. occasions when I was inclined to give up in despair. But the moment
I received … … … … … … … … .. inspiring words from my parents, I regained my confidence.
6. There isn’t … … … … … … … … .. traffic on this road during the day. But quite
… … … … … … … … .. office – goers take this route on their way back and the road really
come alive.
7. I have … … … … … … … … .. liking for car toon movies. I hardly ever watch
… … … … … … … … .. DVD ‘s of cartoon movies I have at home.
8. There hasn’t been … … … … … … … … .. rain so far. Quite … … … … … … … … .. districts
experienced drought last year and … … … … … … … … .. people fear that the same story
may be repeated this year too.

9. We were a lowly rated team in the beginning. We had received … … … … … … … … .. quality

coaching and had played … … … … … … … … .. competitive matches. So
… … … … … … … … .. people had hoped that we would win the tournament.

10. India has … … … … … … … … .. all rounders to match the talent and dedication of Kapil
Dev. … … … … … … … … .. players who have shown some promise have developed fitness
problems. But there cannot be … … … … … … … … .. hope of India doing well until we produce
… … … … … … … … .. genuine all rounders.