CHAPTER-5
DETERMINERS
Determiners
are words that appear before nouns to help define their meaning more clearly.
v Noun
phrase is a group of words with noun acting as the main part.
Types of Determiners
There are mainly four types of determiners:
1. Articles
(a, an, the)
2. Demonstrative
(This, These, That, Those)
3. Possessives
(My, Our, Your, His, Her, Its, Their)
4. Quantifiers
( Much, Both, Some, Several, Etc)
Articles
An Article is a word placed
before a noun to indicate its significance or reference in a sentence.
Types of Articles:
- Definite Article
- Indefinite Article
Definite Article : A Definite Article refers to a
specific or particular person or thing.
v ‘The’ is known as the Definite
Article.
Examples:
He is the boy who stole my bicycle.
This is the book which I wanted to buy.
Indefinite Article: An Indefinite Article refers to a
non-specific or general person or thing.
v ‘A’ and ‘An’ are known as Indefinite Articles.
Examples:
It is a school.
I have an urgent piece of work.
Position of Articles in a
Sentence
1.
Generally, an Article is placed just before the Noun.
👉 I am a student.
👉 You are an idiot.
👉 She reads the Ramayan.
2.
If there is an Adjective before the noun, the Article comes before
the adjective.
👉 She is a beautiful girl.
👉 I am a good singer.
3.
If an Adverb + Adjective comes before the noun, the Article comes
before the Adverb.
👉 She is a very beautiful
girl.
👉 I am a very good singer.
Use of ‘The’
1.
Before Superlative Degree
👉 Ram is the most handsome
boy in the class.
👉 He is the youngest of all.
2.
Before Ordinal Numbers
👉 Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the
first president of India.
👉 You are the second.
3.
Before names of Planes, Ships, and Trains
👉 I am going by the Rajdhani
Express.
👉 The Vikrant is the pride of the Navy.
4.
Before names of Rivers
👉 The Ganga is a holy river.
👉 The Nile is the longest river.
5.
Before Gulfs, Bays, Oceans
👉 The Bay of Bengal
👉 The Arabian Gulf
👉 The Indian Ocean
6.
Before names of Island Groups
👉 The Andaman Nicobar Islands
👉 The West Indies
7.
Before Deserts
👉 The Sahara
👉 The Thar Desert
8.
Before Newspapers and Magazines
👉 He reads The Times of
India.
👉 He is the editor of The
India Today.
9.
Before names of Political Parties
👉 The Indian National Congress
👉 The Bharatiya Janata Party
10. Before names of Nationalities
👉 The Indians are hardworking.
👉 The French are brave.
11. Before Religious Books
👉 I read the Quran.
👉 Do you have the Ramayan?
12. Before names of Large Public
Buildings
👉 You must have seen the Taj
Mahal.
👉 The Qutub Minar is ancient.
13. Before names of Planets,
Stars, Satellites
👉 The Earth is round.
👉 The Moon is cool.
👉 The Sun is the source of energy.
14. Before names of Religious
Communities
👉 The Christians are intelligent.
👉 The Muslims are monotheistic.
👉 The Jews are brilliant.
15. Before names of Musical
Instruments
👉 She plays the harmonium.
👉 Do you know how to play the
guitar?
16. Before names of Directions
👉 The sun sets in the west.
👉 He is coming from the
south.
17. Before names of Some Countries
👉 The United Kingdom
👉 The Netherlands
👉 The United States
18. Before Titles
👉 Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is known
as the Ironman of India.
👉 Mahatma Gandhi is called the
Bapu of India.
19. Before names of Seasons
👉 The summer season
👉 The winter season
20. Before Official Positions,
when referring to the person holding the position
👉 The Headmaster is waiting.
👉 The Principal persuaded me.
👉 The Chief Minister has arrived.
21. Before names of Armed Forces
and Police
👉 The Army, The Navy, The Air Force
👉 The Police caught the thief.
22. Before Constitutional &
Judicial Bodies
👉 The Supreme Court
👉 The Lok Sabha
👉 The White House
23. Before Inventions
👉 Colt invented the
revolver.
👉 Fleming discovered the
penicillin.
👉 Bell invented the
telephone.
24. Before names of Museums and
Libraries
👉 The British Museum
👉 The Khuda Bakhsh Library
25. Before names of Empires,
Dynasties, Historical Events
👉 The Mughal Empire
👉 The Slave Dynasty
26. For Units of Buying/Selling
👉 Eggs are sold by the
dozen.
👉 Rice is sold by the bag.
👉 Milk is sold by the litre.
27. Before Body Parts
👉 He was shot in the leg.
👉 He hit me on the head.
28. To refer to an entire class
using common nouns
👉 The dog is a faithful animal.
👉 A dog is a faithful animal.
29. In Comparative Degree when
used for selection
👉 He is the wiser of the
two.
👉 She is the more beautiful
of the two sisters.
30. When Adjectives are used as
plural nouns
👉 The poor are honest.
👉 The rich are proud.
31. After phrases like each of,
all of, one of, most of, either of, neither of, somebody of, etc.
👉 Each of the boys came.
👉 One of the girls has
played.
32. In Comparison of Proper Nouns,
use “the” before the second noun.
👉 Kalidas is the Shakespeare
of India.
👉 Mandela is the Mahatma
Gandhi of South Africa.
33. Before common nouns that are
followed by who, whom, which, that, etc.
👉 He is the boy whom I
teach.
👉 This is the cow which you
feed.
34. In the structure Noun + of + Noun,
use “the” before the first noun.
👉 The people of our country
👉 The capital of Bihar
Use of ‘A’
1.
Before singular countable nouns that begin with consonant sounds
o I have a cow.
o He is a boy.
2.
Before the vowel ‘u’ when pronounced as ‘yu’
o A university
o A unique case
o A European
3.
Before the vowel ‘o’ when pronounced as ‘w’
o A one-rupee note
o A one-eyed man
Use of ‘An’
1.
Before singular countable nouns beginning with vowel sounds (a, e, i, o,
u)
👉 An orange
👉 An apple
👉 An umbrella
2.
Before words beginning with silent ‘h’
👉 An honest man
👉 An hour
👉 An honourable teacher
3.
Before consonant letters pronounced as vowels
👉 An M.L.A.
👉 An M.P.
👉 An S.D.M.
Omission of Articles (No Article Used)
1.
Before Proper Nouns, Abstract Nouns, and Material Nouns
👉Sohan lives in Mumbai.
👉 Love is blind.
👉 Gold is yellow.
2.
Before Plural Nouns, when used in a general sense
👉 Dogs bark.
👉 I like books.
(But: Use “the” if you refer to a specific group.)
3.
Before Names of Languages
👉 I speak English.
👉 She writes Hindi.
4.
Before Festivals
👉 We celebrate Eid.
👉 Diwali is a festival of lights.
5.
Before Names of Games
👉 I play cricket.
👉 She plays tennis.
6.
Before Names of Diseases
👉 Cholera has broken out.
👉 He suffers from cancer.
7.
Before Relations
👉 Father has gone.
👉 Sister is coming.
8.
Before Institutions, when used for their primary purpose
👉 He goes to school.
👉 She is in hospital.
👉 They pray at church.
9.
Before nouns after each, every, my, our, your, his, her, this, that,
these, those, the same, the other, another, any
👉 Each boy got a prize.
👉 That boy is lazy.
👉 Your servant is honest.
10. After expressions like type
of, kind of, sort of, variety of
👉 I like this type of book.
👉 He has a variety of cows.
Demonstrative Determiners
Demonstrative Determiners are the
words "this," "that," "these," and
"those".
They are used before a noun to point out specific people, animals, or things.
1.
This – used for one thing/person that is
near the speaker (singular + near)
Example:
This book a new house.
(Only one book, and it is near me.)
This car is very expensive.
This chair is broken.
This problem is difficult.
This girl is very smart.
2.
These – used for more than one
thing/person that are near the speaker (plural + near)
Example:
These pens are new.
(More than one pen, and they are near me.)
These books are interesting.
These children are playing in the garden.
These mangoes are ripe.
These shoes are dirty.
3.
That – used for one thing/person that is
far from the speaker (singular + far)
Example:
That house is very big.
(Only one house, but it is far away.)
That man is my uncle.
That house is very old.
That chair looks comfortable.
That girl is dancing.
4.
Those – used for more than one
thing/person that are far from the speaker (plural + far)
Example:
Those stars are shining brightly.
(Many stars, and they are far from us.)
Those houses are very big.
Those cars are expensive.
Those students are not in the class.
Those birds are singing.
Possessives Determiners
Possessive Determiners are words
used before a noun to show ownership or relationship.
👉 They answer the question: "Whose?"
List of Possessive Determiners:
|
Possessive |
Used for |
|
My |
when "I" own
something |
|
Our |
when "we" own something |
|
Your |
when "you" own
something |
|
His |
when "he" owns something |
|
Her |
when "she" owns
something |
|
Its |
when "it" owns something |
|
Their |
when "they" own
something |
Use with Examples
1.
My – (Belongs to me)
Examples:
This is my book.
My bag is on the table.
I love my family.
My phone is very old.
My school is near my house.
2.
Our – (Belongs to us)
Examples:
This is our house.
We love our country.
Our teacher is very kind.
Our team won the match.
Our school is famous.
3.
Your – (Belongs to you)
Examples:
Is this your pen?
Your dress is beautiful.
I like your idea.
Where is your brother?
Take care of your health.
4.
His – (Belongs to him)
Examples:
This is his car.
His father is a doctor.
I saw his notebook.
That is his room.
His bag is black.
5.
Her – (Belongs to her)
Examples:
This is her purse.
Her mother is a teacher.
I found her book.
Her smile is sweet.
Her dress is red.
6.
Its – (Belongs to a thing/animal): Used when talking about a thing, animal, or baby whose gender is not
known.
Examples:
The dog is wagging its tail.
This tree has lost its leaves.
The company changed its policy.
The baby cried for its toy.
The bird spread its wings.
7.
Their – (Belongs to them)
Examples:
Their house is very big.
Their car is new.
The students are in their class.
I met their parents.
Their school is near the station.
Quantifiers
Quantifiers are words that show how much or
how many of something we are talking about.
They come before nouns and help in showing quantity (not exact numbers).
Quantifiers for Countable Nouns
|
Quantifier |
Use |
Example |
|
many |
large number |
I have many books. |
|
a few |
small number (positive) |
She has a few friends. |
|
few |
small number (negative) |
Few students
understood it. |
|
several |
more than a few |
We saw several birds. |
|
each / every |
individually (see below) |
Each boy got a
gift. |
Quantifiers for Uncountable
Nouns
|
Quantifier |
Use |
Example |
|
much |
large amount |
I don’t have much time. |
|
a little |
small amount (positive) |
We have a little milk left. |
|
little |
small amount (negative) |
There is little hope. |
|
a bit of |
informal small amount |
Can I have a bit of sugar? |
Quantifiers for Both Countable & Uncountable Nouns
|
Quantifier |
Use |
Example with
Countable |
Example with Uncountable |
|
some |
positive, uncertain amount |
Some students are
late. |
I need some water. |
|
Any |
negative or questions |
Are there any apples? |
Do you have any rice? |
|
No |
zero quantity |
No cars are
allowed here. |
There is no milk. |
|
a lot of |
large amount/number |
A lot of people came. |
She drank a lot of juice. |
|
plenty of |
more than enough |
We have plenty of ideas. |
There is plenty of butter. |
|
enough |
sufficient quantity |
We have enough chairs. |
Is there enough oil? |
|
all |
100% of something |
All students
passed. |
All water was
clean. |
|
most |
more than half |
Most people like
pizza. |
Most information
is useful. |
EXERCISE-1
Choose
the most appropriate determiner from the given options.
1
_______
Ganga is considered a holy river.
(A) A (B) An
(C) The (D) No
article
2
_______ honesty
is the best policy.
(A) A (B) An
(C) The (D) No
article
3
_______ of my friends live in Delhi.
(A) Each (B) Every
(C) Most (D) Much
4
There are
only _______ students in the class today.
(A) little (B) a
few
(C) every (D) much
5
I saw
_______ elephant in the zoo yesterday.
a) a b) an
c) the d)
some
6
There’s
never _______ petrol left after Rahul uses the car.
a) much b) little
c) many d) a
little
7
A copy of
the plan is enclosed and __________ (that/ then/ this) may be communicated to
all Team Leaders for compliance.
a)that b)this
c)then d)these
8
Attention
all prefects,
Please be informed that the deadline for submitting your registrations for
participation in the Art Exhibition has been extended;_______ (that/ these/
this) should be communicated to all students of classes IX-X.
a)that b)these
c)this those
9
Identify
and correct the error in the given line taken from an online news report:
Nearly most shop was closed for the public holiday.
|
Option |
Error |
Correction |
|
A |
most |
Every |
|
B |
shop |
shops |
|
C |
was |
were |
|
D |
the |
That |
10
I looked
inside the bucket and saw there was ______water in it, so they had to add more
to use.
a) little b) any
c) few d)
least
11
_____
student in the class submitted their assignment on time.
a) All b) One
c) Every d) A
12
Kasmir is
__________ Switzerland of India.
a)a b) an
c) the d) No
Article
13
_______
girl in the class was given a chance to speak.
a) Each b) Every
c) Both d) Some
14
I don’t
have _______ money left with me.
a) some b) any
c) many d) every
15
He has
bought _______ new car.
a) a b) an
c) the d) no
article
16
_______
children love chocolates.
a) Much b) Little
c) Most d) More
17
__________
Himalayas lie to __________ north of India.
a) A, an b)An, a
c) The, the d) No Article
18
She
doesn't have _______ patience.
a) many b) much
c) few d) a
few
19
I have
_______ hope that he will succeed.
a) few b)
little
c) a little d) many
20
_______
of my friends came to the party.
a) All b)
Every
c) Each d) Much
EXERCISE-1
1.c 2.c 3.c 4.b 5.b 6.a 7.b 8.c 9.a
10.a 11.c 12.c 13.b 14.b 15.a 16.c 17.c 18.b 19.c 20.a
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