Determiner

Question 0

What is a determiner?

Answer 0

Determines the grammatical reality of the noun to which it is attached. They modify nouns. They look like pronoun. However, determiners cannot exist outside a noun phrase; pronouns can.

Ex: that cat

Question 1

What are the major categories of determiners?

Answer 1

1) definite and indefinite articles
2) possessives (nouns and possessive pronouns)
3) demonstrative
4) quantifiers
5) wh- words

Question 2

Articles (determiner)

Answer 2

• Indefinite articles (a, an) refer to nonspecific entities

- Definite article (the) refers to a specific entity

Question 3

Possessives (determiner)

Answer 3

• Possessive nouns
  
  • can be common nouns and proper nouns
• Possessive pronouns
  
  • my, your, his, her, its, our, their
  • mine, yours, hers, ours, theirs are not determiners because they are pronouns

Question 4

Demonstratives (determiner)

Answer 4

• this, that

- these, those

Question 5

quantifiers (determiner)

Answer 5

• denote quantity

Question 6

Wh- words (determine)

Answer 6

what, which, whose, whatever, whichever

Question 7

developmental notes (determiner)

Answer 7

• Determiners elaborate nouns to create noun phrases
• Children usually acquire the pronoun my and article a and the in Brown Stage II (27-30 months).
  
  • Indefinite a is used more than definite the.
• School- age children use determiners to help make their oral and written language more specific when referring to events that are out of context.