2. Determiners
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Determiners
A determiner is a word that usually comes before
a noun phrase.
It shows whether you are referring to a noun in
general or in particular.
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An article is a word that is used for indicating
whether a noun is specific or non-specific.
An article is present before a noun, it shows
whether that noun is some general noun or some
particular noun.
5. Determiners
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Use a or an (the indefinite article) with singular
count nouns to express a general meaning.
Use a or an when the thing you are referring to is
not specific, and the reader does not know what
you are referring to.
I bought a book last night.
(We don’t know which book.)
You should carry an umbrella.
(It doesn’t matter which umbrella you carry.)
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6. Determiners
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The (the definite article) is used to express specific meaning
with all three kinds of nouns—
singular, plural, and uncountable.
In this case, the reader knows which thing you are referring
to
a) The assignment in history is interesting.
b) The door was locked.
c) The trains are often crowded at this time of day.
d) He gave us the information that we needed.
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7. Determiners
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Use the definite article the in the following cases:
with superlatives (the best, the cheapest, the most,
the least, etc.)
a) The fastest runner finished in 10 minutes.
with ordinal numbers (the first, the second, etc.)
b) I didn’t understand the second question.
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8. Determiners
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They are used before nouns to say how much or
how many of something we are talking about.
a) We bought two books written and several
magazines.
b) My neighbours have enough land behind the
house to grow vegetables.
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Quantity
words
Their uses Examples
Some In offers & to show
small quantity
Would you like some
coffee?
Any With questions &
with hard, barely
I haven’t got any money
Much Uncountable noun Much work is to be done
Many Plural noun Many things are left.
Little scarcity There is little money left
Few A small number A few members were
absent
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Quantity
words
Uses Examples
All Plural verb and
pronoun
All the boys were absent.
Every Pronoun and
adjective
Every man knows his duties
Both For two nouns Both of them won the prize
Neither Not one and not the
other
Neither of them knows the
answer
Another Singular countable
noun
I have another cup of coffee.
most Nearly all of a group Most farmers are still waiting
for a loan.
Other Plural nouns Other people must have waited
at the gate.
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“This” (These – plural) and “That” (those – plural) are
called Demonstratives.
They point to somebody or something. They tell us
‘which one’.
They can be used both as adjectives and pronouns.
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Possessive Adjectives, also known as possessive
determiners, modify a noun and act as adjective or quality
words.
Examples-
a) My parents live in Cairo.
b) We need to include their information in the report.
The words mine, yours, ours ,hers, his and theirs are called
possessive pronouns.
Examples-
a) This book is mine.
b) This house is yours.
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