Category: Grammar Expansion
Determiners
Determiners
Determiners are words placed before nouns to clarify what the noun refers to. They indicate whether the noun is specific or general, known or unknown, and how much or how many.
Types of Determiners
1. Articles
- a/an (indefinite) - a book, an apple
- the (definite) - the sun, the book on the table
2. Demonstratives
- this - this book (singular, near)
- that - that car (singular, far)
- these - these apples (plural, near)
- those - those houses (plural, far)
3. Possessives
- my, your, his, her, its - my book, her bag
- our, their - our house, their car
4. Quantifiers
With countable nouns:
- many - many students
- few / a few - few people (almost none) / a few people (some)
- several - several books
With uncountable nouns:
- much - much water
- little / a little - little time (almost none) / a little time (some)
With both:
- some - some books, some water
- any - any questions, any milk
- all - all students, all water
- no - no books, no money
5. Numbers
- Cardinal: one, two, three... - one book, five apples
- Ordinal: first, second, third... - the first day
6. Distributives
- each - Each student got a book.
- every - Every child needs love.
- either - Either option is fine.
- neither - Neither answer is correct.
7. Interrogatives
- which - Which book do you want?
- what - What color is it?
- whose - Whose pen is this?
Some vs Any
| Some | Any |
|---|---|
| Positive sentences | Negative sentences & questions |
| I have some money. | I don't have any money. |
| Would you like some tea? (offering) | Do you have any questions? |