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Study Resource: What is a determiner in English?

By: Isabel McKay Thu Sep 12 2024
English
Determiners

In English, determiners are a special type of word that can be used before a noun. They help you pick out which noun or which nouns you are talking about in the context of a conversation.

Here are some types of words that are or can be determiners in English:

the, a, anmy, your, his, her, its, our, their Janice’s, the purple house’s,...that, this, these, thoseevery, each, most, some,...which, whose, whatone, six, thirty-two,...
*These words are not always determiners

Determiners are special for four reasons:

  • You can only use one determiner per noun:

    the cat

    my cat

    the my cat

    some toys

    these toys

    some these toys

    the toy

    one toy

    a one toy

  • A singular count noun in English will almost always have a determiner

    • I saw cow.

    • I saw a / that / some / my / one / which cow

  • The determiner always comes before all the descriptive adjectives:

    the big black bug

    big black the bug

    my big black bug

    big my black bug

  • Determiners always come before the noun. They cannot follow a linking verb like adjectives do:

    Adjective
    Determiner

    That is a blue bug.

    That is my bug.

    That bug is blue.

    That bug is my.

Definite vs. indefinite determiners in English

Determiners are usually the way that we show whether a noun in English is definite or indefinite. (Check out the post on articles in English for a review of these terms!)

  • Definite determiners → These pick out one specific noun or group that is familiar to your audience. These include:

    • The definite article (the)

    • Demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those)

    • Possessive adjectives (my, your, her,...)

    • Possessive nouns (e.g. John’s)

    • The interrogative adjectives whose and which

  • Indefinite determiners → These introduce a new noun into the discussion or refer to a noun in general. They include:

    • The indefinite article (a / an)

    • Quantifying adjectives (some, every, each, many,...)

    • Cardinal numbers (one, seven, 56,...)

    • The interrogative adjective what

Exception!

You can use a definite determiner before a number or (rarely) a quantity adjective to make them definite instead:

  • I grabbed one shirt. → indefinite (any one shirt)

  • I grabbed the one shirt that she wanted. → definite (one specific shirt)

In this use, the number is no longer acting as a determiner, but is more like an adjective.

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