Determiners

Kinds of determiners

• Articles ( a, an , the)

• Distributors (either , neither , each , every )

• Quantifiers ( some , any , much , many , several )

• Demonstratives ( this , that , these , those )

• Possessives ( my , our , your , his , her )

• Interrogatives ( what , which , whose)

Difference between adjectives and determiners

Adjectives Determiners

An adjective qualifies a. Noun

A determiner specifies the noun and points to it

She is a pretty girl This girl has stood first in class

The form of an adjective can change; weak weaker

weakest

Determiners remain the same

Position is before the noun or as a complement

The position is always before the noun

An interesting book ; the book is interesting

This pen , that book, some ideas

Articles

• Articles a , an and the are determiners that indicate the coming of nouns.

• ex. The flowers in the garden look beautiful

• Ex. Give me a book to read.

• A, an are indefinite articles. They are called so because they do not indicate any particular person, place or thing, such articles are used only with singular countable nouns denoting one.

• Ex. A dog is barking; an apple fell from the tree.

• The is a definite article. It is so called because it points to a particular person , thing or place . It can be used with both singular and plural nouns and even with uncountable nouns.

Indefinite articles

• A is used before nouns beginning with consonants and consonant sounds

• Ex. A boy ( boy begins with a consonant b)

• An is used before nouns beginning with vowels and vowel sounds

• Ex. An apple ; an hour ; ( h remains silent ) an MBA ( which begins with vowel sound em )

Uses of indefinite article a/ an

• To indicate a single entity ; a bag , a car

• To express a certain quantity ; a dozen eggs , a cup of sugar

• To show rank , profession or community ; A muslim ; a doctor

• To indicate ‘ any ‘ for identifying an individual as the representative of a class ; a child should obey his parents

• Before a proper noun to point out an unfamiliar person; A Sonali Sharma wants to meet you

• Or if you want to express a special meaning ; he thinks he is a Sonu Nigam,

• In the expressions like ; a mess ; a pity ; a lot of work

Solve

• Apple day keeps the doctor away

• He is doctor by profession

• Beggars cannot be choosers

• Please give me cup of tea

• I did lot of work today

• Harsha considers himself Einstein.

• What mess have you created !

• He is MP from Barrackpore.

Definite Article

• The is used before

• A definite noun when we want to make it particular; The butterfly which flew in to the room was pink.

• The can be used with countable ( cars, books ) and with uncountable ( information ) also. It can also be used with singular countable nouns and plural countable nouns.

• An adjective when it represents a ‘ class ‘ or is used as a noun.

• Ex. The rich , the poor , the lucky

• The rich should help the poor.

• A common noun to represent a whole class.

• The tiger is cruel animal

• The fox is a cunning animal.

• An adjective when it shows a quality ; the beauty of the flowers is amazing.

• Superlative adjectives ; it is the smallest bird in the zoo.

• A noun to show a unit of measure ; Eggs are sold by the dozen ; Milk is sold by the litre.

• Directions and common nouns that are unique; The east ; the west ; th earth ; the moon; the planets

• Certain common nouns ; the cinema ; the temple ; the theatre ;

• With a noun that has already been mentioned; I bought a vase from the shop. The vase is beautiful.

• With such phrases that specify a person or object ; the first house ; the only baby ; the same pen.

• The is also used with the names of

• 1. Seas and oceans ; the pacific ocean

• 2 holy books; the Quran ; the Bible

• 3. Trains ships , aeroplanes ; the Rajdhani ; the Emirates

• Rivers; the Ganga ; the Yamuna

• Mountain ranges; the Himalayas

• Newspapers ; the times of India

• Countries if the name has a common noun ; the united kingdom ; the united states of America

• Important buildings ; the pentagon ; the taj mahal

• The whole family ; the Guptas ; the kapoors.

solve( choose the appropriate articles in the bracket )

• Harsha was ( a, an , the ) just king

• He found ( a, an , the ) umbrella on the road.

• This is ( a , an , the ) pen I bought yesterday.

• I want to be ( a, an , the ) pilot

• The egg cost rupee 50 ( a , an , the ) dozen.

• I met Harish ( a, an , the ) other day and he showed me his new pen

• We will be going to ( a, an, the ) Alps this vacation.

• (A, an , the ) earth is ( a, an , the ) only planet where human beings live.

• They appear to be in ( a, an, the ) hurry.

• She is ( a, an the ) liar , there is not ( a, an , the ) ounce of truth in her words

Omission of articles ( a, an , the )

• The articles is usually omitted before

• Proper nouns ( Mahendra Singh Dhoni leads the Indian cricket team.

• Plural nouns ; when such nouns denote a class; children love ice cream ; birds eat worms.

• Family relations ; when nouns depict family relations with respect to the speaker ( because they are used like proper nouns in such situations )

• Father loves to play cricket

• Mother is planning to go to the market;

• Abstract nouns ; honesty is great quality

• Names of games ; we love to play cricket ; chess is my favourite game

• Languages or branches of knowledge; I have learned French in new delhi ; I like to study science

• Names of meals ; we would like Mohave lunch

• Names of diseases ; she was suffering from malaria ;

• Names of days months seasons ; Monday is a working day ; January is the coldest month of the year

• In headlines , messages , emails ; new bridge inaugurated by chief minister; unidentified bag found at the bus stop.

• Common nouns when they denote institutions in general ; when I was in school, my mother used to be my teacher

• However most of the nouns mentioned can have “ the “ before them if we use them ti indicate something on particular or definite

• Eg. shlok is the Mahendra Singh Dhoni of the class.

• Similarly we can add the before

• Plural nouns ; the children love ice cream

• Abstract nouns ; the honesty of the poor boy helped him to Get a job .

• Names of games ; the cricket that they played was flawless

• We do not use articles with these phrases

• To take to heart ; to take interest in ; to make use of ; from head to foot ; at first sight ; to be at fault ; to take part in ; to set aside ; to take place

• We donot use articles with the phrases here either ; by plane ; by train ; in trouble ; at times ; all day; all night ; by air ; at hand ; by hand ;on foot ; in duty ; by sea

• Insert articles and rewrite

• Have you told him about accident ?

• Children of village enjoyed game

• Honesty is best policy

• Intelligence of captain helped team to come out victorious

• Mother is waiting for you in library

Repetition of articles

• When articles are repeated in a particular sentence it indicates something

• I have a red and pink dress

• I have a red and a pink dress

• Shakespeare was a great poet and dramatist

• The board comprises of a great poet and a great dramatist

Correct the sentences and rewrite

• 1. French is the easy language

• How blue a sky looks!

• You are the wise to say that.

• Jane had two dresses red and green one

• My favourite flower is an rose

• The committee has two members doctor and engineer

• We have a hour left to complete our work

• An sincerity is always appreciated.

• I am the Indian at heart

• I want to enroll in an university in US.

• The honesty is a great virtue

• She has the interest in singing

• Lion is ferocious animal which lives in dense forests

• Rohan is most intelligent boy in class and he plans to go to united states if America for higher studies

• Harder we work , luckier we get

• Early breakfast will be served because all have to leave for the work.

Demonstratives

• We use words like this , that , these , those as demonstratives . They are also determiners

• This refers to singular nouns that are close by . These to plural that are close by

• Eg. this glass has to be washed . These glasses have to be washed .

• That is used before singular nouns that are farther away (at a distance)

• Those is used to point at plural nouns that are at a distance

• That painting is very colourful; those paintings are colourful

• This and that may reused before uncountable nouns also.

• This water is clean ; that cloud is floating away

Fill in the blanks

• —————- bouquet is lovely as ————- flowers are fresh . I was not in favour of selecting ——— roses at the next shop because ————shopkeeper does not bring. Fresh flowers every day. I am sure my mother will be happy to get ———- bouquet because she loves flowers .

Possessives

• My , our , their , your , his , her and its are possessives .

• Read the following sentences carefully .

• Sachin Tendulkar is a great cricketer. His coach started training him at an early age. He has played against many teams to win trophies for his country. All the players of his team practise regularly and their schedule is well planned. He often tells other players “ our victory is possible because we always play as a team “. One of his fans once told him “ your matches are always watched with great enthusiasm “.

• Possessives can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns

• The car is big I think ———— colour is too bright

• ——— books are not new.

• ————- school is closed now.

With possessives

Fill in the blanks

• ——— school bus was late and so we waited under a tree. We kept ————— bags under the tree and we played in ————— shade . Some monkeys were sitting on the trees with ———- tails hanging above our heads. One of the boys pulled a monkey’s tail. The monkey slipped ————- cheek and took away a few of ———- bags . We were frightened and the naughty boy shouted for help at the top of ———— voice.

Distributives

• Either , neither , each , every are distributives .

• We use either to indicate any of the two people or things

• Eg you can use wither pencil.

• Either calendar can be kept on the table.

• We use either to refer to both things or both people ; there are tall trees on either side of the street.

• We use neither to mean just the opposite of either. It means not the one , nor the other.

• Eg. Neither team was well prepared for the match.

• Each is used to indicate things separately , one by one . We use each when we refer to a small number or when the group is limited and definite .

• Each child was in a proper uniform ; each member of the team was given a prize.

Fill in the blanks with either , neither , each every

• ——————- member of the team was given a prize

• ———————- seat was occupied

• ————————of the boys from the hostel came for the magic show.

• You may buy —————- pencil.

• —————- of the glasses is Clean and you will have to wash them.

• Both the singers are good, ———- of them will definitely win.

• Hoardings have been put up on —————— side of the road.

Any , some , much , several and a lot of are quantifiers

Quantifiers

• 1. Any , some ; these determiners can refer to both quantity and number

• Some is used in affirmative and interrogative sentences .

• Eg. there is some money in my pocket

• Some children have come to meet you.

• Do you have some money to spare?

• Any is used in negative and interrogative sentences

• Eg. I don’t have any money to spare.

• There isn’t any milk left in the pan.

• Don’t you have any money in your pocket.

• Many buses ply on this road.

• She had to face a lot of problems at a young age.

• Soem vendors have started selling goods near my house.

• I don’t take much interest in tv serials

• The words many , a lot of , some , much are quantifiers as they indicate something about number or quantity

• Few , a few , the few;

• Few is used in negative sense and with countable nouns; few people were invited ( hardly any )

• A few means some though not many. It is used in positive sense ; I have read a few books on the topic.

• The few means all of them , though very few in number; I have read the few books that you gave me .

• Little , a little , the little

• Little is used in the negative sense and means not much

• He has little knowledge on the subject

• A little is used in the positive sense ; there is a little chance of success

• The little means not much but all that is there; I spent the little money I earned

• Much , many

• Much refers to quantity and is uncountable ; the news gave my mother much relief

• Many is used with countable

• Many supporters were celebrating the teams victory

Fill in the blanks

• Since she is an extrovert she has ———— friends

• There are ————— buses that ply on that route

• I have ———- savings to build a house

• Our boss is going on a holiday for ——- weeks

• ——— project was much appreciated

• There is so ———- work left to be done.

• Is there ——— pen with you?

• Please pass me ——- sugar.

• ————visitor parked his car carefully.

What , which , whose

Interrogatives

• Determiners used to ask questions ate interrogatives

• Which basket will you carry?

• —————- car is parked at the gate ( what ,whose, how much)

• —————— bag is not packed ( which , how much , when )

• ————— pickle is really hot ? ( which , how much , what )

• ————— pencil box is lost ( what , whose . How many )

Thank you !!