Determiners

DETERMINERS

Welcome to our grammar page about determiners! Determiners are words we use before nouns to show if we are talking about something specific or general. They help us understand more about the noun.

Examples of Determiners in Sentences
  • I have a pen.
  • The sun is bright today.
  • This is my house.
  • Those are my shoes.
  • Her cat is cute.
  • I have some cookies.
  • Do you have any questions?
  • He has many books.
  • She doesn’t have much time.
  • Two dogs are playing.
  • Each student has a pencil.
  • Every day is a new start.
  • You can choose either shirt.
  • Neither answer is correct.
  • Which book do you want?
  • What is your name?
  • Whose pencil is this?

 

ARTICLES

  1. Choose A or An 01
  2. Choose A or An 02
  3. Choose A or An 03
  4. Choose A, An or The 01
  5. Choose A, An or The 02
  6. Choose A, An or The 03
  7. Choose A, An or The 04

  • a/an: We use “a” before words that start with a consonant sound and “an” before words that start with a vowel sound.
    • Examples: a cat, an apple
  • the: We use “the” to talk about something specific.
    • Example: the book

 

DEMONSTRATIVES

  • this/that: We use “this” for something close to us and “that” for something far away.
    • Examples: this pencil, that car
  • these/those: We use “these” for things close to us and “those” for things far away.
    • Examples: these books, those houses

 

POSSESSIVES

my/your/his/her/its/our/their: We use possessives to show that something belongs to someone.

  • Examples: my bag, her dress, their school

 

QUANTIFIERS

Quantifiers are words that tell us how much or how many of something there is.

Grammar Rules for Quantifiers

Here are some basic rules and examples:

  1. Some
    • Use “some” with both countable and uncountable nouns when talking about an unspecified amount.
    • Examples:
      • Countable: I have some apples.
      • Uncountable: There is some water in the bottle.
  2. Any
    • Use “any” in questions and negative sentences. It can also be used in positive sentences to mean “at least one.”
    • Examples:
      • Question: Do you have any pencils?
      • Negative: I don’t have any money.
      • Positive: We have some books, but not any magazines.
  3. Many
    • Use “many” with countable nouns to talk about a large number of items.
    • Examples:
      • There are many cars in the parking lot.
  4. Much
    • Use “much” with uncountable nouns to talk about a large amount.
    • Examples:
      • She doesn’t have much time.
  5. A lot of / Lots of
    • Use “a lot of” or “lots of” with both countable and uncountable nouns to talk about a large quantity.
    • Examples:
      • Countable: There are lots of stars in the sky.
      • Uncountable: We have a lot of cheese.
  6. Few / A few
    • Use “few” to mean not many (often negative) and “a few” to mean some (positive).
    • Examples:
      • Few: Few students attended the class.
      • A few: I have a few friends.
  7. Little / A little
    • Use “little” to mean not much (often negative) and “a little” to mean some (positive).
    • Examples:
      • Little: There is little milk left.
      • A little: Can I have a little sugar?
You can use these for
uncountable nouns		 You can use these for
countable nouns		 You can use these
for both
a little, little a few, few no, none
a bit of a number of some
a great deal of numerous any
a large amount of several a lot
much many lots of
plenty of
enough

These rules help you describe amounts and quantities in English.

 

 

 

NUMBERS

We use numbers to show how many of something there are.

  • Examples: one dog, three pens

 

DISTRIBUTIVES

  • each/every: We use “each” to talk about individual things in a group and “every” to talk about all things in a group.
    • Examples: each student, every day
  • either/neither: We use “either” to talk about one of two things and “neither” to talk about none of two things.
    • Examples: either option, neither choice

 

INTERROGATIVES

which/what/whose: We use these to ask questions about nouns.

  • Examples: Which book is yours? What color is the car? Whose bag is this?