DETERMINERS

EXPLANATION BY – RGS SIR

Demonstrative Determiners

-The demonstrative determiners in the

English language are this, that, these, those.

-The demonstrative determiner ‘That’

(Plural- Those) is used to avoid repetition of
a preceding noun.
THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE
-The rule can be understood with the
help of the following example
sentences -

1. My shorts are better than those of

my brother.
2. Our defence academies are better
than those of Afghanistan.
-The demonstrative determiner ‘This (Plural- These)’
is used to refer to a person/ persons or thing/ things
near to the speaker.

-This, that, these and those are used before nouns and
point to the objects denoted by the nouns; as—

1. This car is very beautiful.

2. Aditi lives in that house.
3. These books are yours.
4. Distribute these mangoes among those children.
 NOTE
--> ‘This’ and ‘These’ point to the
objects which are near while ‘that’ and
‘those’ point to the ‘distant’ objects.
--> ‘This’, and ‘that’ are used before
singular nouns while ‘these’ and
‘those’ are used before plural nouns.
1. This is the best coffee I have had.
2. These magazines are very good.

-The demonstrative determiner ‘That

(Plural- Those)’ refers to a person/ persons
or thing/ things far from the speaker.
-The rule can be understood with the help of
the following example sentences –

1. Get that dog out of the house.

2. Throw away those shoes in the garbage.
Possessive Determiners

-The possessive
determiners in the English
language are my, your,
our, his, her, its, their.
-These are Possessive forms of Pronouns.
They are used before Singular and Plural
Nouns to indicate relationship/possession; as
—

1. My mother is a teacher.
2. Our school has fifty rooms.
3. Your father is calling you.
4. His bag contains many objects.
5. Her books lie scattered in the room.
6. Their house is double-storeyed.
7. One must do one’s duty.
One, Two, Three, etc.
[Definite Numeral
Determiners]
-These indicate a definite number
of objects/persons; as—

1. The beggar is blind of one eye.

2. She has two daughters
3. Five boys are sitting on that
bench.
 NOTE
-‘Ordinal numbers’ like ‘first’,
‘second’, “third’, … etc. refer to
the position of something in a
series; as—

1. The girl in the third row is my

cousin.
2. The man in the first room is
our warden.
Some, Any and No
[Indefinite Numeral
Determiners]
 Some

-The indefinite adjective ‘Some’ is generally

used in affirmative sentences with
uncountable and plural countable nouns.
-The rule can be understood with the help of
the following example sentences –

1. There is some proof that he is guilty.

2. I have some good ideas on the project.

-It can also be used in question where ‘Yes’ is

expected as an answer.
Some is generally used in affirmative
sentences.
No and Any are used in negative and
interrogative sentences; as—

1. There is no post office in this colony.

2. I have no friends in our class.
3. We have invited some T.V. anchors to the
show.
4. There is still some milk in the jug.
5. There isn’t any sugar in the pot.
6. Have you any books on western music?
 Any
-It is used in questions when you want to ask
whether something exists or not.
It is also used in negative sentences where we
want to say that something does not exist.
E.g. –

1. I don’t need any help.

2. Do you have any advice on the matter?

-It is also used in affirmative sentences

before plural nouns and uncountable nouns
when it refers to a quantity of something
which may or may not exist.
‘Some’ may be used in questions
indicating request or invitation; as—

1. Will you have some tea?

2. Will you spend some days with us?
3. Won’t you spare some time for me?
4. Didn’t I lend you some money
yesterday?
‘Any’ is used in interrogative sentences
to make an inquiry, as—

1. Is there any news?

2. Has the postman brought any letters
for me?
3. Didn’t you buy anything from the
general store?
 NOTE
A. We use ‘any’ after ‘hardly’, ‘barely’ and
‘scarcely’ (adverbs with negative meanings);
as—

1. He has hardly any money on him.

2. There is hardly any sugar in the house.
3. She has barely any beautiful dress.
4. He has scarcely any friend in this new city.
 NOTE
B. In case there is Some doubt, we use
‘any’ after ‘ if ’; as—

If you need any help, press this button.

If you face any difficulty, don’t
hesitate to seek my help.
 NOTE
‘Some’ with a countable plural noun indicates an
unknown or indefinite number while with an
uncountable noun, some means an indefinite quantity;
as—

1. Some boys were hurt in the bus accident

(number)
2. Some persons always speak ill of others. (number)
3. I bought a note-book and some paper. (quantity)
4. He wants a pen and some ink. (quantity)
All and Both
[Indefinite Numeral Determiners]
 All
All is mostly used with a plural verb when
followed by a countable plural noun.
It includes all the persons or things of a
particular kind.
Another rule for it is that it requires a
singular verb when it is followed by an
uncountable noun. E.g. –

1. All children cannot be treated in the same

manner.
All and Both
[Indefinite Numeral Determiners]

-‘All’ denotes the total of many units together

while ‘Both’ shows the total of two units
together; as—

1. She gave me all the apples.

2. All the boys are playing now.
3. Both Ajay and Vijay are fine cricketers.
4. Both father and mother are at home.
 Both

-This determiner is mostly used to talk about

two things of the same kind. It is used to
show that two persons or things are involved
rather than one and is often followed by
‘and’.

-The rule can be understood with the help of

the following example sentences-

1. Both Ram and Rahim went out for a

movie.
2. He held oranges in both his hands.
 NOTE
1. ‘The’ is used after ‘All’ and ‘Both’ but
‘before’ ‘whole’
1. All the girls are present in the class.
2. Both the friends refused to part.
3. The whole village was ruined in the fire.

2. ‘All’ is used with both countable and

uncountable nouns; as—
1. All my books have been tom.
2. All the milk turned sour.
Much and Many
[Indefinite Numeral
Determiners]
‘Much’ is used for emphasizing
on large quantities.
Many refer to more numbers:

A. In interrogative and negative

sentences:
1. Did you see many persons at the
dinner?
2. She has not solved many sums.
B. As the subject or part of the
subject:

1. Many have been respected and

admired.
2. Many of us went to see the famous
actor.
C. In the expressions—a good many, a great
many, so many, too many, how many, as
many, many a; as—

1. I have known her for a great many years.

2. Even if one person is hurt that is one too
many.
3. Many a good man has been destroyed by
drink.
-In all other cases, replace many by ‘a lot of ‘a great
number’, ‘ plenty of ’; as—

1. Have you read many books ?

2. Yes, I have read a lot of books.
3. No, I haven’t read a great number of books.

-Much’ shows quantity and is used in the same way as

‘many’. ‘Much’ can be replaced by ‘a lot of’ ‘a great
deal of and ‘plenty of’; as—

1. Does your cow give much milk ?

2. Yes, she gives a lot of milk.
3. No, she doesn’t give a great deal of milk.
 NOTE
-Many is followed by plural number while,
many a takes singular number after it.

-The verb agrees with the noun placed before

it; as—

1. Many Problems have come up suddenly.

2. Many a flower is born to blush unseen.
Few, Less and Several
[Indefinite Numeral Determiners]

#Few emphasizes a smaller number.

#Less is used to refer to an amount
that is less than another amount.
#Several is usually used to indicate an
imprecise number that is not very
large but more than two.
“Few’ is the opposite of ‘Many’ and ‘Less’ is
the opposite of ‘Much’.
Few denotes number, while ‘Less’ denotes
quantity. ‘Several’ means ‘more than two but
not many.’ E.g. –

1. We have few holidays during this term.

2. A few persons attended the meeting.
3. She pays less attention to her children.
4. Several letters arrived this morning.
5. They said goodbye and went their several
ways. (different)
Little and Few
[Indefinite Numeral Determiners]

#Little is used to emphasize that there

is a small amount of something 
#Few emphasizes a smaller number
‘Little’ means not much,
hardly any.
‘Few’ means not many, hardly
any.
A. In other words ‘Little’ and ‘Few’ mean
practically nothing. ‘Little’ is used with
singular countable nouns while ‘Few’ is used
with plural countable nouns; as—

1. There is little water in the pot. (hardly

any)
2. There are few buses running.
3. He had little money.
4. I have few friends.
5. There was little hope of her recovery.
6. Few women can keep a secret.
B. ‘A little’ and ‘A few’ make a positive sense,
A little means some quantity though not
much, while ‘A few’ indicates a certain
number, though not many; as—

1. I shall return the money in a few days.

(some)
2. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
(some but not much)
3. She has a little money left. (some, but
small amount)
4. He has a few books of his own. (some,
but not many)
‘The little’ and ‘The few’ imply two
statements—One negative and the
other affirmative.

1. She wasted the little money she had.

2. We lost the little hope of her
recovery.
3. I have read the few books I had.
4. She spent the few rupees her mother
gave her.
Each, Every, Either and Neither
[Distributive Numerals]

These determiners are used to refer to all

members of a group, persons or things.
When we talk about members as individuals,
we use ‘each’ and when we make a statement
about all of them we use ‘every’.
They are to be prefixed before a singular
countable noun and the verb attached with
them should be singular.
Either and Neither

These determiners usually refer to two

persons or things but show that one
out of the two is or is not involved in a
situation.
Neither is used mostly with singular
nouns and by either, it can mean both
of two things especially when it is used
with ‘end’ or ’side’.
Each’ is used for two or more
persons (definite) while
‘every’ is used for more than
two persons or things,
(indefinite).
‘Either’ means ‘any one of the two’, ‘Neither’
means ‘not any one of the two’; as—

1. Each student has a book of his own.

2. Each person must take his turn.
3. I play hockey every day.
4. India expects every man to do his best.
5. Either book will do.
6. I have two pens. You may have either.
7. Take either road whichever you prefer.
8. Neither statement is true.
9. Neither party was willing to quit.
THANK YOU FOLKS!!