Grammar 101

Determiners - Possessives and Interrogatives

Learning Objectives

To understand why determiners are used. To learn two types of determiners – possessives

and interrogatives – to refer to nouns correctly when showing ownership and asking questions.

Introduction

Since Nouns appear in almost all sentences, it is important to learn how to refer to them correctly.

A sentence can mean differently when a different determiner is placed in front of it.

Therefore, using the right determiners for the meaning we want in our sentence is important.

Determiners Take these sentences as examples:“His dog, not mine, ran across the road.”“My dog would not do such a thing.”“Whose dog is that?”“Which dog belongs to you?”“What kind of dog is it?” The nouns in these sentences all have a

determiner in front of them. Can you explain the meaning of each sentence?

PossessivesPossessives show possessions or ownership.1) His dog likes bones. 2) Look at my car. 3) You should write with your pencil.The meaning changes when the possessive changes: 1) Her dog likes bones. 2) Look at our car. 3) She should write with her pencil.

InterrogativesInterrogatives are used to ask questions about a noun.Different types of interrogatives are used for different

kinds of questions: What – the kind of thing something is Which – the choice of something over another Whose – the owner of something.What movies do you watch?Which type of film do you like – fantasy or romance?Whose music CD is this?

Interrogatives As with possessives and all other determiners,

the meaning of a sentence changes when the interrogative is changed:

Whose pencil is this? (asking about the owner)What kind of pencil is it? (the type of pencil)Which pencil is really yours? (choice of pencil) Though the noun – pencil – remains

unchanged, the different interrogatives used change the meanings of the questions totally.

Determiners in a storyTwo friends discuss about a red pen. James: Whose pen is this? It is definitely not

mine. It is red. Mary: My pen is blue. So is David’s. James: What kind of person will carry a red pen? Mary: It could belong to Miss Lee, she carries a

red pen wherever she goes. James: I think you are right. Mary: Let’s go and ask if it is hers.

How many determiners can you find?

In summary

Determiners help to refer to nouns correctly in a sentence to covey the intended meaning.

Possessives and interrogatives are two types of determiners that show ownership and help to ask questions about something respectively.

It is important to use the correct determiner in referring to a noun as changing a determiner changes the meaning of the entire sentence.