1. Grammar 101
Determiners -
Possessives and Interrogatives

2. Learning Objectives

To understand what are determiners.

To learn two types of determiners – possessives
and interrogatives – to refer to nouns correctly
when showing ownership and asking questions.

3. Introduction

Since Nouns appear in all sentences, we must
learn how to refer to them correctly.

A sentence can mean differently when a different
marker is placed in front of it.
1) The National Anthem and a National Anthem

The first one refers to Singapore's national anthem
while the second, just any country's.

These markers are called determiners.

They tell you more about the nouns such as
Quantity(more, a lot of) or Ownership(His, Her).

4. Determiners
Take these sentences as examples:
1) “His dog, not mine, ran across the road.”
2) “My dog would not do such a thing.”
3) “Whose dog is that?”
4) “Which dog belongs to you?”
5) “What kind of dog is it?”

The nouns in these sentences all have determiners
about ownership and questioning.

Q: Can you explain the meaning of each?

5. Determiners to show ownership
Possessives 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.

6. Determiners to show questioning
Interrogatives ask questions about a noun.
Different types of interrogatives are used for different
kinds of questions:

What – what kind of thing is this?

Which – which choice do you want?

Whose – who's the owner?
1) What movies do you watch?
2) Which type of film do you like - horror or sci-fi?
3) Whose music CD is this?

7. Interrogatives

As with possessives and all other determiners,
the meaning of a sentence changes when the
interrogative is changed:
1) Whose pencil is this? (asking about the owner)
2) What kind of pencil is it? (the type of pencil)
3) 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.

8. Learning Activity
Spot the determiners in this story.

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 job will need 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?

9. Learning Activity Answers
Spot the determiners in this story.

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 job will need 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.

10. Discussion
What do Determiners do?
What do Possessives show?
What do Interrogatives show?
What happens when the wrong determiners are
used?

11. 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.