Study Resource: What is a determiner in English?

In English, determiners are a special type of word that can be used before a nounNo definition set for nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. They help you pick out which noun or which nouns you are talking about in the context of a conversation.

Here are some types of words that are or can be determiners in English:

Determiners are special for four reasons:

• You can only use one determiner per noun:

  ✅ the cat	✅my cat	❌ the my cat
  ✅some toys	✅these toys	❌ some these toys
  ✅ the toy	✅one toy	❌ a one toy

• A singularNo definition set for singularLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. count nounNo definition set for count nounLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. in English will almost always have a determiner

  • ❌ I saw cow.

  • ✅I saw a / that / some / my / one / which cow

• The determiner always comes before all the descriptive adjectives:

  ✅the big black bug	❌ big black the bug
  ✅my big black bug	❌ big my black bug

• Determiners always come before the noun. They cannot follow a linking verb like adjectives do:

  Adjective	Determiner
  ✅That is a blue bug.	✅That is my bug.
  ✅That bug is blue.	❌ That bug is my.

Determiners are usually the way that we show whether a noun in English is definite or indefinite. (Check out the post on articles in English for a review of these terms!)

• Definite determiners → These pick out one specific noun or group that is familiar to your audience. These include:

  • The definite article (the)

  • Demonstrative adjectives (this, that, these, those)

  • Possessive adjectives (my, your, her,...)

  • Possessive nouns (e.g. John’s)

  • The interrogative adjectives whose and which

• Indefinite determiners → These introduce a new noun into the discussion or refer to a noun in general. They include:

  • The indefinite article (a / an)

  • Quantifying adjectives (some, every, each, many,...)

  • Cardinal numbers (one, seven, 56,...)

  • The interrogative adjective what