The role of determiners and articles in English grammar are used to provide details of noun they modify in terms of quantity, identity or ownership. They usually answers the questions like “whose?”, ” how many/much?”, etc. In terms of “Articles”, all articles are called determiners but not all determiners are called articles. Pronouns, adjectives and articles are major types of determiners’ and they function to determine specificity of the noun in sentence. Considering the role in bringing clarity in communication, understanding the role of determiners and articles in English grammar is much necessary to explore.
Category of determiners
1. Demonstrative adjectives
Demonstrative adjectives: This, That These,Those etc. used to indicate which one noun is being refered. For example, this pen, that house, etc.
2. Universal determiners
Universal determiners: all, both are used to express a universal quantity.
3. Distributive determiners
Distributive determiners each, every are used to express how people or things are distributed, divided, or shared.
4. Possessive determiners
Possessive determiners my, our, his, her, their, your are used to indicate the ownership of something. For example, his bike, his house, ours dog, etc.
5. Existential determiners
Existential determiners like some, away are used to presence of something. For example, there is some butter in cake.
6. Quantifying determiners
Quantifying determiners cardinal and ordinal like : one, two, three and first, second and third, etc. are used to answer “how much/many?”
Other major determiners are like:
- Disjunctive determiners — either, neither.
- Degree determiners — many, much, few, little.
- Pre-determiners — those determiners come before another determiners. — double, half of, one fourth, such, both
- Sufficiency determiners — enough, sufficient, adequate.
- Interrogative and relative determiners — which, what, that etc.
Role and importance of determiners
Determiner is a type of grammatical unit used to introduce noun or noun phrase. Besides, it is used to give information about the things mentioned. It clarifies the whereabouts of noun used in the phrase or sentence. But, determiners aren’t used after the noun or head.
- A book
- That player
- Either option
- Three solutions
- Every attempt
- These people etc.
These are some examples showing the position and types of determiners in the noun phrase.
Difference between adjective and determiners
Determiners looks like adjectives and often replace adjectives in the english sentences. But actually, there are some key differences which makes viable grounds to seperate them from adjectives.
- Adjectives are describing words which qualify nouns in sentences. Whereas, determiners provide mere information of ownership, quantity.
- Adjectives alone can be used as subject complement but determiners can’t.
- We can modify the degree of adjectives but not determiners.
- We can remove adjectives from sentences without disturbing sense of sentences. In case of determiners, it will loose natural sense of sentences.
These are some grounds by which determiners differ from adjectives.
Position of determiners in sentence
It is important to note that determines cannot be placed after noun (head) in the phrasal structure. It is used before noun or head of the noun phrase. But, in a single noun phrase, more than one determiners are possible. Here are possibilities of more than one determines in a single phrase.
Pre, post, and central position
In tthe english grammar, “determiners” are placed before, in the central or after the noun. Here are some useful structure of the position of the determiners.
- Pre – determiners + noun — a book.
- Post determiners + noun.
- Pre + post + noun — all the people.
- Pre + central + noun.
- Central + post + noun.
- Pre + central + post + noun — all these little children
Understanding “Articles” -A, An, The
“Articles” belong to the class of determiners. These group of words do the same role as determiners do but with slight difference. In English grammar, “articles” are used to determine whether the given noun is “specific” or “general.”
Some scholars call articles the certain form of adjectives that identify whether the given noun is definite or not. Definite article means a word used to point out specific or definite things.
Meaning and examples of articles: “A, an, the”
In english grammar, “Article” is a demonstrative word that points out any definite or indefinite nouns including person, animals or things.
- Mobile is an electronic gadget. (Indefinite)
- Tiger is a carnivorous animal.
- Alps is a folded mountain.
- The batsman hit century. (Definite)
- Or, the accident was too difficult to forget.
In the above examples, “A, an, and the” articles are used to indicate or show the state of nouns. Articles, “A, and an” are showing some indefinite or general nouns but article, “The” points out something special or definite.
Hence, “A and an” used to refer general or indefinite things or persons but “The” article has special role to express definiteness about things.
- “A and an” articles are used before singular nouns.
- Article “a” is used before a noun or word having consonant sound.
- Whereas “an” is used for vowel sound
Examples of articles “a and an”
Article “a”
- Williams is a hearder.
- He rears a big heard of cattles and sheeps.
- He made a hut at the fringe of jungle.
- Let him felicitate with a bouquet of flowers.
- Please make a note of important points of his lecture.
- Our Company is having a new CFO.
Article “an”
- To protect them from wild animals he keeps an old riffle always with himself.
- Here is Mr. Kevin, an economist.
- He has developed an option strategy that made many Millionaires.
Where and how to use definite article “The”
‘The’ is used either to whole class or already mentioned things or persons.
- Call the person who damaged my bike.
- Who damaged my bike — the person. It means that the incident has already happened.
- I think she was the girl who helped me last week.
- Who helped me — the girl. Now, I am meeting her second time on the same place.
- The lion is the king of forest.
- Or, the common are born to struggle.
- Both Examples highlighting the class of something as whole.
The” definite for geographical features
Geographical features like, mountain, oceans, rivers, group of islands, deserts, winds etc. are pointed out by definite article “The”
- The Nile river
- The Himalayas
- The Sahara desert
- The Pacific Ocean
- The gulf of Mexico
- The Suez canal etc.
In the superlative degrees
In the comparative as well as superlative degree, before most, and best ‘the’ definite is used.
- For example, The Himalaya is one of the loftiest mountains in the world.
- Like, she is the best student that I ever noticed.
Before unique names and directions
Before unique names of person or thing, and directions “The” is placed.
- The earth,
- The sun,
- The moon,
- The west,
- The east,
- The north,
- The south, etc.
These some are the examples of unique names and directions.
After prepositions — in, on, at, to, showing directions, “The” Article
- Tim is running on the running track.
- On the table..
- In the garden…
- At the margin…
- At the school…
- To the station..etc.
To address the names of body parts like,
- On the head,
- On the back,
- Around the neck etc.
Apart from these, like important historical events, books, titles monuments are shown by the definite article.
Understanding basic research method
For reference:
https://opentextbooks.library.arizona.edu/languageawareness/chapter/adjectives-determiners/