SEMINAR 4.

DETERMINATION and PRONOUNS

NOTA BENE

DETERMINERS HEAD
PREMODIFIERS POSTMODIFIERS
PREDET CENTRAL POSTDET NOUN

- a - - carpet -

both these - - students -

all the last fifty - pages to read

someofhis first leather jackets -

each of those - famous leaders who spoke yesterday

noneof your - mother’s blouses -

- a whole - mile to the store

- the - - flat next door

statemen
- the - above -
t
- my - biggest mistake -

- - - - court martial

Predeterminers: indefinite pronouns (some, any, each, both, either, neither, many, most),
Central determiners: articles (definite, indefinite, zero), possessive and demonstrative
pronouns, indefinite pronouns (any, some, each, every, either, neither, no)
Postdeterminers: numerals, indefinite pronouns (other, few), adjectives (same, only, certain,
whole, own)
Premodifiers: adjectives, synthetic genitive (’s), nouns, adverbial phrases
1.Identify the structure of the following NPs:
a. this new garage,
b. a word about the neighbours,
c. a fairly large house of yellow brick

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d. some of the bathrooms,
e.no response,
f.every spiritual line,
g. each of your favourite pupils
2. Premodifiers are units that are placed between the determiner and the noun head. They
can be nouns/ adjectives/ adverbs/ groups of words/ sentences and their role is to modify
the noun head.
e.g. my brother’s pictures;
a pen-and-ink drawing;
the above statement;
John’s ideas;
longer pencils;
a four-month-long winter;
a live-and let-live attitude
3. Postmodifiers are units that are placed after the noun head. They can be nouns/
adjectives/ adverbs/ prepositional phrases/ relative clauses and their role is to modify the
noun head.
A road fifty feet wide;
the only person reliable;
the house there;
Professor Jones;
the wings of this butterfly;
a man in a black suit;
the boy who found this.
4.Identify the pronouns and determiners and specify their type and features:

He has eaten his cream and our cheese.

Have you read this book?
Whose pen is this?
What papers do you read?
Which train will arrive first?
Take whichever Mum wants.

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Take whatever measures you consider best.
All(indefinite determiner) my(possessive determiner, 1st pers sg) money was gone.
All(indefinite pronoun) was new.
Every other second an incident happened.
Everybody waited for him.
Some boys like football.
There are some boys in the yard.
That’s some boy!
Some arrived in time.
Give me the other book.
Give me another book.
Where are the other children?
Where are the others?
See it yourself.
Wash yourselves!
The boy who was sick stayed at home.
The room that/which we entered was empty.

5. Insert IT or THERE:
1. ____________’s the 18th of October. 2. ____________‘s nothing to eat. 3. ____________
were two apples on the table. 4. ____________’s John at the door. 5. ____________ was a lot to
do. 6. ____________’s great to meet you. 7. ____________ might be some money in the drawer.
8. Hello, Mum! ____________’s me. 9. ____________’s fantastic working here. 10.
____________ were flowers all over the hills. 11. ____________’s warm outside. 12.
____________’s two o’clock. 13. ____________’s plenty of food for everyone. 14.
____________‘s thought that she left early. 15. ____________ are several coffee shops near the
station. 16. ____________’s a fly in my soup! 17. ____________ was a boy walking along the
road. 18. ____________ was horrible being stuck on the train. 19. ____________ was dreadful
that he was so late. 20. ____________ tends to be a problem when we come back from holiday.

6. Identify the functions of the personal pronouns:

He(cataphorical) has eaten the fruit, this lad!

We(royal) would like to inform you that the manager is away.
It(introductory) is late.
Mary and Jane have become librarians; they(anaphorical) live in the same city now.
He(generically) who is lazy will fail.
One cannot tell/ You(generically) cannot tell.
Chase them! (imperatively)
The king: ‘We have visited this country before’. (anaphorically)
We will introduce the three main it over us all summer.
It(cataphorically) is dimensions of this study in the initial chapter. (editorially)
It(anticipatory) is certain that he will succeed.
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He(referentially) lorded
comfortable, this armchair.
That’s it(idiomatic).