DETERMINERS (determiners.doc)

Nouns are often preceded by the words the, a, or an. These words are called DETERMINERS. They indicate the kind of reference which the noun has. The determiner the is known as the DEFINITE ARTICLE. It is used before both singular and plural nouns: 
 
 

The determiner a (or an, when the following noun begins with a vowel) is the INDEFINITE ARTICLE. It is used when the noun is singular: 
 

a taxi  a paper  an apple

The articles the and a/an are the most common determiners, but there are many others: 
 

any taxi  that question  those apples  this paper  some apple  whatever taxi  whichever taxi

Many determiners express quantity: 
 

all examples  both parents  many people  each person  every night  several computers  few excuses  enough water  no escape

Perhaps the most common way to express quantity is to use a numeral. We look at numerals as determiners in the next section. 

   Numerals and Determiners

Numerals are determiners when they appear before a noun. In this position, cardinal numerals express quantity: 
 

one book  two books  twenty books

In the same position, ordinal numerals express sequence: 
 

first impressions  second chance  third prize

The subclass of ordinals includes a set of words which are not directly related to numbers (as first is related to one, second is related to two, etc). These are called general ordinals, and they include last, latter, next, previous, and subsequent. These words also function as determiners: 
 

next week  last orders  previous engagement  subsequent developments

 When they do not come before a noun, as we've already seen, numerals are a subclass of nouns. And like nouns, they can take determiners: 
 

the two of us  the first of many

They can even have numerals as determiners before them: 
 

five twos are ten

In this example, twos is a plural noun and it has the determiner five before it.  

Pronouns and Determiners

There is considerable overlap between the determiner class and the subclass of pronouns. Many words can be both: 

As this table shows, determiners always come before a noun, but pronouns are more independent than this. They function in much the same way as nouns, and they can be replaced by nouns in the sentences above: 

On the other hand, when these words are determiners, they cannot be replaced by nouns: 

The personal pronouns (I, you, he, etc) cannot be determiners. This is also true of the possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his/hers, ours, and theirs). However, these pronouns do have corresponding forms which are determiners: 

The definite and the indefinite articles can never be pronouns. They are always determiners.    

The Ordering of Determiners

Determiners occur before nouns, and they indicate the kind of reference which the nouns have. Depending on their relative position before a noun, we distinguish three classes of determiners. 

A sentence like this is somewhat unusual, because it is rare for all three determiner slots to be filled in the same sentence. Generally, only one or two slots are filled. 

Predeterminers

Predeterminers specify quantity in the noun which follows them, and they are of three major types: 

1. "Multiplying" expressions, including expressions ending in times: 
 

twice my salary  double my salary  ten times my salary

2. Fractions 
 

half my salary  one-third my salary

3. The words all and both: 
 

all my salary  both my salaries

 Predeterminers do not normally co-occur: 
 

*all half my salary

Central Determiners

The definite article the and the indefinite article a/an are the most common central determiners: 
 

all the book  half a chapter

As many of our previous examples show, the word my can also occupy the central determiner slot. This is equally true of the other possessives: 
 

all your money  all his/her money  all our money  all their money

The demonstratives, too, are central determiners: 
 

all these problems  twice that size  four times this amount

Postdeterminers

Cardinal and ordinal numerals occupy the postdeterminer slot: 
 

the two children  his fourth birthday

 This applies also to general ordinals: 
 

my next project  our last meeting  your previous remark  her subsequent letter

Other quantifying expressions are also postdeterminers: 
 

my many friends  our several achievements  the few friends that I have

Unlike predeterminers, postdeterminers can co-occur: 
 

my next two projects  several other people