DETERMINERS

ARTICLES
 articles (a/an, the) precede nouns
and some other words in a noun
phrase, e. g. few, little, adjectives
 the article is usually the first
word in a noun phrase, but note:
all/both/half + the : all the
information, both the twins
quite/rather/such/what/half +
a/an : quite a difficult problem
 ARTICLES
 the indefinite article (a/an) with
singular countable nouns: a garage, an
idea
 the definite article (the):
 with singular countable (the garage)
 with plural nouns (the latest
computers)
 with uncountable nouns (the purest
water)
 the definite article (the) can be
omitted with uncountable and plural
nouns
 Naming, describing and classifying
 a/an → to name or describe something:
That’s a cockroach. ‘What’s that?’ ‘It’s a kitchen
bug.’
 a/an → to refer to one example of a class or a
species:
An Indian elephant has smaller ears than an
African elephant.
 the → to refer to the whole class or species:
The Indian elephant has smaller ears than the
African elephant.
 it is more common to refer to the whole class with
the plural:
Indian elephants have smaller ears than African
elephants.
 Naming, describing and classifying
 do not use a/an to refer to a whole class
rather than individual examples:
Ruthless poachers hunt an elephant for
the valuable ivory of its tusks.
Ruthless poachers hunt the elephant
for the valuable ivory of its tusks.
Ruthless poachers hunt elephants for
the valuable ivory of their tusks.
 the can be used with an adjective to
refer to a class of people:
The homeless will be removed from the
streets and placed in hostels.
 Known or unknown topics
 a/an → the topic (noun) is not known to
our listener/reader
 the →the topic is known
 a/an → for the first reference to a
topic in a text
 the → for subsequent references:
A new travel guide has advised
would-be tourists to Congo that it is a
place to avoid. ….. The guide paints a
dreary third-world picture.
 Known topics
situation example
something is unique We are in danger of permanently
damaging the Earth.
superlatives Muhammad Ali is the greatest
heavyweight boxer ever.
the context makes ‘Has John arrived yet?’ ‘Yes, he’s in the
it ‘known’ dining-room.’ (= the dining-room of the
house we are in)
a defining phrase Oasis is the Manchester band that
makes it ‘known’ shot to fame in the early 1990s.

a prepositional Meet me in the café next to the

phrase makes it underground station near my house.
‘known’
 General and specific
 either the or no article → with plural
nouns
 no article → to refer to a group or class
in general
Tourists are often blamed for changing
the character of a place. (= all tourists)
Did they notice what the tourists in
the cathedral were doing? (= specific
tourists)
It is commonly accepted today that
brown bread is good for you.
Did you remember to get the bread out
of the freezer?
 General and specific
 use an article before an abstract noun
→ only to make an abstract noun more
specific, e. g. to talk about a particular
type of hope:
It is impossible to live in a world
without the hope.
It is impossible to live in a world
without hope. (hope in general)
The hope of finding a cure for
cancer drives a lot of medical
research.
 General and specific
 church, hospital, school → no article if we think of
their purpose, i. e. church as a place of worship,
school as a place of learning:
Fewer people attend church regularly now than
twenty years ago.
Can children leave school at fourteen in your
country?
 if we think of the physical place or building, we
use an article:
The collection for restoring the church has
almost reached its target.
Is there a school in the village or do the
children have to go to the town?
 Other common uses of articles

a/an  jobs, nationalities and beliefs:

I’m a civil engineer.
Vic’s an Australian.
Paul became a Muslim.1
 numbers: a hundred thousand
 prices, speeds, etc.: two
dollars a kilo, 20 km an hour
1We can use these without an article if we put the
noun before the person’s name:
Irishman Eddie Jordan has put together a
team of great quality and spirit.
 Other common uses of articles
the  some geographical names:
plurals (the United States,
the US) areas (the West)
mountain ranges (the Alps)
oceans or seas (the Pacific
Ocean, the Black Sea)
rivers (the Thames)
 Other common uses of articles
the  musical instruments: He plays
the flute.
 the media: All our family work
in the film industry.2
 in some comparative phrases:
the more the merrier, all the
better
 in measurements: You can buy
saffron by the gram.
 Observation
 2use television, cinema, etc. without
an article to refer to the art or
entertainment form:
She works in television.
I’m studying film in my final year.
 if we refer to a specific item we
use the article:
Don’t put the cup of coffee on
the computer.
Have you seen the new film
directed by Martin Scorsese?
 Other common uses of articles
the  in front of superlatives and
first, last, next, only, same,
right, wrong: the most
dangerous profession, the last
time, the only one, the right
thing
 newspapers: the Times, the
Sun, the Observer
 dates when spoken: the seventh
of September
 Other common uses of articles
no  proper names: Mr Smith, Neil
Roberts, Jane3
article  names of most countries,
mountains, lakes: China, Mount
Everest, Lake Victoria
 substances, liquids and gases:
Cooking oil is simply liquid fat.
 materials: This blouse is made of
silk.
 political or business roles: Obama
became President of USA in 2008.
 Other common uses of articles
no  transport: We’re going by rail
to London, then by plane.
article
 times and seasons: at night, in
spring, at noon, at dusk 4
 meal(time)s: Have you had lunch
yet?
 sports: They play both volleyball
and basketball.
 illnesses: He has got
rheumatism. I had mumps when
I was a child.
 Observations
 3 a/an → to make a name less specific:
A Mrs Collins phoned you this morning. (I don’t
know which Mrs Collins)
 the → to make a name more specific:
The Mr Stuart with a limp in his right leg came
to talk to you. (The limp identifies Mr Stuart)
 4 although we don’t usually use an article with
seasons, it is possible to use the: in the spring/
the summer and note that we use the with parts
of the day: in the morning/in the afternoon/ in
the evening.
 ! use a possessive adjective (not the) to refer to
parts of the body:
 Put your hands up if you want to ask
something!
 DEMONSTRATIVES used as adjectives
 this/that (singular) + these/those (plural) =
adjectives before nouns → to refer to someone
or something known to both speaker and
listener:
‘I’m sure not which blouse to buy.’ ‘Well, I
think that blue blouse is lovely.’
 use them to distinguish between close and
distant things (in both space and time)
 in very informal speech use this or these instead
of a/an or some, often to introduce a topic or
start telling a story:
This woman came up to me in the bank and
asked if she could borrow….
 DEMONSTRATIVES used as adjectives
close distant
space Do you remember I haven’t met that
this woman? boy before.
These birds can liveCan you see those
up to 40. berries in the
bush?
time What are you doing Do you recognize
this weekend? that person?
There’s so much People didn’t use
crime these days. drugs in those
days.
 DEMONSTRATIVES used as pronouns or intensifiers

 demonstratives as pronouns → to
refer to a noun, a thing or idea:
This is a really tender piece of meat.
What kind is it?
Oliver says he’s thinking of giving up
his job. I think that’s foolish.
 this → to talk about a situation that
we are experiencing:
This is the worst recession we have
seen for more than ten years.
 DEMONSTRATIVES used as pronouns or intensifiers

 demonstratives → a more formal

alternative to the one(s):
Hundreds of Brixton residents turned
out to welcome Tyson to their borough.
Those who had bothered were rewarded
by a 40-minute walkabout.
 in certain expressions, use this or that
instead of so to intensify an adjective:
He’s never known a summer this
droughty before.
So you think you’re that smart, do you?
 QUANTIFIERS
quantifier + singular + plural noun +uncountable
noun noun
no I’ve got no coins. I’ve got no
money.
none of none of the details none of the
the information
neither neither neither of the cats
cat
either either either of the twins
twin
any any any (of the) any (of the)
document documents information 1
both both (of the) awards2
 Observations
 1use quantifiers (except none and a lot) directly
before a noun:
It is impossible to appoint both officers for
the assignment abroad.
 the before a plural or uncountable noun → from
general to specific:
I’d like some jewellery. (general, we don’t know
which jewellery)
I’d like some of the jewellery. (specific, a
particular set of jewellery)
 2 with both we can omit of before the:
Both (of) the applicants believed they had
obtained the job.
 QUANTIFIERS
quantifier + singular + plural noun +uncountable
noun noun
few/little (a) few(of the) (a) little(of
sweets3 the) water3
half half (of) half (of ) the half (of) the
the task tasks work
some some(of the) some (of
jobs the) cutlery
several several(of the)
things
a lot of a lot of a lot of(the) a lot of
the speech ideas (the) time
 Observations
 3 for the difference between
little/few and a little/a few, compare:
Water the fruit frequently as little
rain falls at this time of year.
(=almost none)
You’d better take an umbrella with
you; there’s always a little rain at
this time of year. (= a small amount)
 the meaning of few and little is
restrictive only without a/an.
 QUANTIFIERS
quantifier + singular + plural noun +uncountable
noun noun
much/many much many (of the) much(of
interest chairs the) advice
most most of most(of the) most (of
the evening recipes the) food

each each each of the

worker workers
every every item4 every one of
(one of) the items
all all(of) the all of the all (of) the
problem problems trouble
 Observations
4 each and every → ‘more than
one’
each( not every) → two things
She was wearing a fine gold
chain on every ankle.
She was wearing a fine gold
chain on each ankle.
But: She was wearing a ring on
every finger.
 QUANTIFIERS
 some →positive sentences
 any → questions and negatives
I’ve got some interesting ideas,
but I haven’t got any money to
apply them.
 any → positive sentences with the
meaning ‘it doesn’t matter which’:
Any reporter can give you that
information.
 QUANTIFIERS
some → questions where we
have some expectation that
the answer will be positive:
Is some of the advice
useful? (I expect that a part
of it is.)
Is any of the advice useful?
(I have no idea if it is useful
or not.)
 Quantifiers as subjects
 quantifiers (except no and every) without
a noun → subject of the clause:
The board was split: half were in favour
of selling the shares, half were against
it.
 when used as subjects, some quantifiers
take a singular verb and some take a plural
verb
 others are used with a singular or plural
verb, depending on the noun they
substitute or modify
 Quantifiers as subjects
always each, either, much
singular1 Much of the research has
already been done.

always both, several, a few, many

plural Some visitors to the new
gallery are enthusiastic but
many have expressed their
disappointment.
 Observation
1 neither and none take a
singular verb with plural
nouns
 a plural verb is now accepted
in speech and informal
writing:
None of the workers
is/are willing to accept the
decrease in payment.
 Quantifiers as subjects
singular any, half, some, a lot, all
or Some of the information
plural is considered top secret.
Some of us are hiring a
minibus to go to the match.
Any result is better than
none.