Determiners and quantifiers

-

Determiners and quantifiers

 

General and specific determiners

Determiners are words which come at the beginning of the noun phrase.
They tell us whether the noun phrase is specific or general.
Determiners are either specific or general

Specific determiners:

The specific determiners are:
  • the definite article: the
  • possessives: my, your, his, her, its; our, their, whose
  • demonstratives: this, that, these, those
  • interrogatives: which
We use a specific determiner when we believe the listener/reader knows exactly what we are referring to:
Can you pass me the salt please?
Look at those lovely flowers.
Thank you very much for your letter.
Whose coat is this?

General determiners:

The general determiners are:
  • a; an; any; another; other; what
When we are talking about things in general and the listener/reader does not know exactly what we are referring to, we can use an uncounted noun or a plural noun with no determiner:
Milk is very good for you. (= uncounted noun)
Health and education are very important. (= 2 uncounted nouns)
Girls normally do better in school than boys. (= plural nouns with no determiner)
… or you can use a singular noun with the indefinite article a or an:
A woman was lifted to safety by a helicopter.
A man climbing nearby saw the accident.
We use the general determiner any with a singular noun or an uncounted noun when we are talking about all of those people or things:
It’s very easy. Any child can do it. (= All children can do it)
With a full license you are allowed to drive any car.
I like beef, lamb, pork - any meat.
We use the general determiner another to talk about an additional person or thing:
Would you like another glass of wine?
The plural form of another is other:
I spoke to John, Helen and a few other friends.

Quantifiers

We use quantifiers when we want to give someone information about the number of something: how much or how many.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Talking about the present

-
Talking about the present 1. We use the present simple: to talk about something happening regularly in the present: The children come home from school at about four. We often see your brother at work.  to talk about something happening continually in the present: They live next door to us. He works for the Post Office.  to talk about things which are generally true : Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. 2. We use the present continuous: to show that something in the present is temporary : We are living in a rented flat at present. My wife usually goes in to the office, but she is working at home today. for something happening regularly in the present before and after a given time : I ’m usually getting ready for work at eight o’clock. When I see George he’s always reading his newspaper. for something happening before and after the moment of speaking : I can’t hear you. I ’m lis...
Read more

Delexical verbs like have, take, make and give

-
Delexical verbs like have, take, make and give   Patterns with common verbs and nouns? We often use common verbs like have and take with nouns like a shower , a drink : I took a shower = I showered. She had a drink = She drank something. We call these delexical verbs because the important part of the meaning is taken out of the verb and put into the noun . We often put adjectives in front of the noun: I took a cold shower. She had a nice, refreshing drink. The verbs used most frequently in this way are: have take make give We also use go and do as delexical verbs, but they have different patterns: Shall we go swimming this afternoon? Or shall we go for a walk ? It’s your turn to do the cooking . I’ll have to do my hair before the party. • We use have with: Food and drink: a meal; breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack, a cup of tea Talking: a chat, a conversation, a discussion, a talk, Washing: a bath, a shower, a wash, a scrub Resting: ...
Read more

Clause structure

-
Clause structure   All clauses in English have at least two parts: a noun phrase and a verb phrase :  Noun phrase (subject) Verb phrase The children All the people in the bus laughed were watching But most clauses have more than two parts: Noun phrase (subject) Verb phrase The children John All of the girls This soup Mary and the family She laughed wanted are learning tastes were driving put a new bicycle English awful to Madrid the flowers   in a vase The first noun phrase is the subject of the sentence: The children laughed. John wanted a new bicycle. All the girls are learning English. She put the flowers in the vase. English clauses always have a subject: His father has just retired. Was a teacher . He was a teacher. I’m waiting for my wife. Is late . She i...
Read more