I'm Determined to Get it Right

Last week I learned there was a word class called determiners. I hadn’t heard of this kind of word before, and wanted to know more about them and how they are used.

Turns out, there are as few as four, or as many as seven, types of determiners. It depends on which grammar site you check.

The Oxford International English website lists four:? articles, demonstrators, quantifiers, and possessive determiners.

The Cambridge online dictionary has five: ?the same four as the Oxford, and adds numbers to their list.

Grammarly has seven. They also have the same four as the Oxford, and include Cambridge’s numbers, but put it with quantifiers. Which makes sense, as numbers do quantify something. Then they add distributive, interrogative, and relative.

As a class of words, use a determiner to modify, introduce, or describe a noun or noun equivalent (a phrase that stands in the place of a noun). It clarifies what the noun is referring to.

Use an article (a/an, the) to introduce. Sherry used the chainsaw.

All the others modify or describe.

Demonstrators (this, that, these, those) are used when the noun is present and can be specified. He wants that hat.

Quantifiers specify how much of the noun is referred to. They can be general (many, all, some, none) or precise (one, five, two billion). Carol wants many mangos. Her child wants one banana.

Possessives are pronouns that describe ownership (yours, mine, their, our, his, her). His new hat is on the table.

Distributives (all, both, each, every) indicate groups or individuals within a group. All the forks are here. Each one needs to be polished.

Interrogatives (what, which, whose) ask a question intended to get more information about the noun they’re referring to. Whose socks are on the table?

Relatives (what, whatever, which, whichever) introduce relative dependent clauses and indicate something specific about the noun. Paul told them what day he left.

As you can see, there is a lot to know about determiners and how best to use them. If there’s any interest, I’ll go into more detail in a later newsletter.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next Tuesday.