DETERMINERS

articles (a/an,
ARTICLES

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’
either the or
no article → with plural nouns
General and specific

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
1
We can use these without an article if we put the
noun before the person’s name:
Irishman Eddie Jordan has put together a team
 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
 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
 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
 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
 Observations

3a/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 live Can 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
 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

quantifiers (except none and a lot) directly

 1use

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 withboth 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.