Determiners
Markers to nouns (noun phrases)
Determined vs. Bare Nouns
| SINGULAR NOUNS | PLURAL & MASS NOUNS |
|---|---|
Singular nouns require some kind of marker. A noun phrase with a marker is called a "determined noun phrase". bird – noun (N) ; a bird – noun phrase (NP) |
Plural count nouns do not require but can take a determinative marker. A noun phrase without a marker is called a "bare noun phrase". Noncount (mass) nouns |
DETERMINED (marked) A friend called. / *Friend called. (determined NP) |
BARE (unmarked) Friends called. (bare count noun) |
A hair is on your sweater. (determined count noun) |
Hair makes a guy look young. (bare noncount noun) |
This / that friend called. These / those hairs on your sweater are blonde. |
DETERMINED (optionally marked) These / those / some / three friends called. (optional determinative markers) |
*Yellow highlighted words are examples of incorrect usage.
determiner – a function in the structure of a sentence
determinative – a category of words
Basic Markers – adding a specification of "definiteness"
| MARKER | NAME | FUNCTION | NOUN PHRASE |
|---|---|---|---|
IDENTIFIERS 1. the, a |
articles |
definite / indefinite |
I called a friend. We'll ask the friend (that you called). |
demonstratives |
definite; near / far; singular / plural |
Ask this friend. / Go and ask that friend. He was calling all night. This angered them. |
|
3. my, his, boy's… |
possessive subject determinatives |
definite |
My friend is here. My brother's friend is here. California's history... |
QUANTIFIERS 4. all, both |
universal determinatives |
definite; whole quantity |
All friends want loyalty. All your friends called back. |
5. each, every |
distributive determinatives |
definite / indefinite |
Each friend called back. (definite group) / Every friend wants loyalty. (indefinite) |
6. some, any |
existential determinatives |
indefinite; a quantity exists; quantity in part |
Some friends called back. / Did any friends called back? |
disjunctive determinatives |
indefinite; alternative (not sure) |
Either friend will call back. / Either of my friends will call back. |
|
8. no (none) |
negative determiner |
indefinite |
Not one friend called back./ None of my friends called back. |
9. another |
alternative-additive determiner |
indefinite |
Another friend called back./ Another of my friends called back. |
10. a few, a little, several… |
positive paucal / determinatives |
indefinite |
Few/ A few friends called back. / A few of my friends called back. |
11. many, much, few, little |
degree determinatives multal |
indefinite |
Did many friends called back? / Did many of your friends called back? |
sufficiency determinatives |
indefinite |
We have enough food. / We have sufficient food. |
|
OTHERS 13. one, two, three |
cardinal numerals |
indefinite; quantitative |
Two friends called back. / Two of my friends called back. |
14. which, what, whichever, whatever |
interrogative and relative determinatives |
indefinite |
You can have whatever color you want. You want which size? I'll tell you what time we're leaving. Take which umbrella you prefer. |
15. we, you (us) |
personal demonstrative |
definite; person |
We kids want to leave. / You people should leave. (BUT NOT: "They people should leave" or "He man should leave") |
16. such, what |
exclamations |
indefinite |
Such friends are hard to find. / What friends you have! |
Temporal (time) Markers
| LAST | THIS | NEXT |
|---|---|---|
Words for an earlier time (week) or calendar date (Tuesday, May) are commonly marked with "last" or "yesterday" for periods within the last day. |
Words for a current time (week) or calendar date (Tuesday, May) are commonly marked with "this". |
Words for a later time (week) or calendar date (Tuesday, May) are commonly marked with "next" or "tomorrow" for periods within the coming day. |
last week (month, year, decade, century) |
this week |
next week (month, year, decade, century) |
last Tuesday |
this Tuesday |
next Tuesday |
yesterday morning ("the other day") |
this morning |
tomorrow morning ("on the morrow") |
last night |
tonight |
tomorrow night |
tomorrow –
c.1275, to morewe, from O.E. to morgenne "on (the) morrow," from to "at, on" (see to) + morgenne, dative of morgen "morning." Written as two words until 16c., then as to-morrow until early 20c.
yesterday –
O.E. geostran dæg, from dæg "day" + geostran "yesterday," from P.Gmc. *gestra- (cf. O.H.G. gestaron, Ger. gestern "yesterday," O.N. gær "tomorrow, yesterday," Goth. gistradagis "tomorrow"), originally "the other day" (reckoned from "today," either backward or forward), from PIE *ghes
Exceptions
| NOUNS WITHOUT DETERMINERS | DETERMINERS WITHOUT NOUNS |
|---|---|
Some singular nouns do not occur with a kind of determiner. |
Other determiners can occur alone when the noun is understood from the context. |
He became president, treasurer, secretary, CEO. (a title) |
Do you want some cookies? I don't want any. I want a few. |
He went home, to school, to work. (a place) |
Which do you want? This is good. |
He ate breakfast, lunch, dinner. (He ate a snack.) (a meal) |
Many fought, but few survived. |
We'll have to manage day by day, minute by minute. (a rate) |
All are invited. All are welcome. |
Education is the key to success. (non-count nouns) |
None shall escape. (no + one) |
We went to Lake Victoria, Bryce Canyon, Mount Kiliimanjaro, Alcatraz Island. (some geographical features) |
We saw others that we liked. |
Practice 1
A Trip
Are the nouns marked with determiners correctly?
- Select the option: correct or incorrect.
- Read the feedback to check your response.
Practice 2
Saturday Postal Service
- Select the word that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button to the right.