Practice
Determiners: types and examples
In the phrase those reports, the word those tells you which reports the speaker means. That small word is a determiner.
Recognize the determiner before a noun, then choose a form that matches meaning, reference, possession, or amount.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
Which route goes downtown? /wɪtʃ ruːt ɡoʊz ˈdaʊnˌtaʊn/
The short answer
Look at the word before the noun. If it helps identify the noun by reference, possession, amount, or question, it is probably a determiner.
Those reports are on my desk.
Why it works: Those points to particular reports, and my shows who owns the desk. Both words come before nouns.
5 more examples
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That train leaves at six.
That points to one particular train.
Not this:
Atrain leaves at six. What changes: A introduces one train, but it does not identify which train. -
Our manager sent an email.
Our shows that the manager belongs to the speaker's group.
Not this:
Themanager sent an email. What changes: The identifies a manager that the listener can identify, without naming the owner. -
Several students stayed after class.
Several gives an approximate number of students.
Not this:
Thestudents stayed after class. What changes: The points to known students but does not tell us an amount. -
Each receipt has a number.
Each considers the receipts one at a time.
Not this:
Allreceipts have numbers. What changes: All treats the receipts as a whole group instead of one at a time. -
Which route goes downtown?
Which asks the listener to identify one route from a known set of choices.
Not this:
Thisroute goes downtown. What changes: This points to a route instead of asking the listener to choose one.
Read the full guide
Start with the noun. Then ask what the word before it tells you. Does it point to a particular noun, name the owner, show an amount, or turn the noun phrase into a question? That job helps you recognize a determiner.
Find the noun first
A determiner belongs with a noun. Find the noun, then look immediately before it for a word that helps identify it.
Those folders are for the new team.
Those tells the listener which folders the speaker means.
Which word is the determiner in those folders?
Those is the determiner. Folders is the noun.
Choose an article for reference
Articles are determiners. Use a or an when you introduce one non-specific singular countable noun. Use the for a particular noun that the listener can identify.
I borrowed a calculator, but the calculator did not work.
A introduces one calculator. The refers back to the calculator already mentioned.
Complete the sentence: Please close ___ window near you.
Use the if both people can identify the window.
Point to a person or thing
This and these usually point to something near the speaker. That and those often point to something farther away or less immediate in the conversation.
These notes are useful, but those notes are outdated.
These and those both point to particular notes. The speaker uses them to separate two groups.
Choose a word for one book in your hand: this or these?
Use this because book is singular.
Show possession or amount
Possessive determiners show who a noun belongs to. Quantity determiners show an amount, a number, or how a group is considered.
Her report includes several useful charts.
Her shows whose report it is. Several tells us that the report has more than a few charts, without giving an exact number.
Which word shows ownership in our schedule?
Our is the possessive determiner.
Ask which noun you mean
Question words can be determiners when they come directly before a noun. Which asks someone to choose from a set. What asks for information about a noun. Whose asks about ownership.
Whose coat is hanging by the door?
Whose comes before coat and asks who owns it.
Which question word asks about ownership?
Use whose before the noun.
Before you go
Remember this
Find the noun first. The word before it may be a determiner if it identifies the noun, shows possession, gives an amount, or asks which noun you mean. Choose the determiner from the meaning you need.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Determiners: types and examples"
What is a determiner in English grammar?
A determiner is a word that comes before a noun and helps identify that noun. It can tell the listener whether you mean a particular noun, who owns it, how much of it there is, or which one you mean. Common examples include the, my, this, some, and each.
That train leaves at six.
Are a, an, and the determiners?
Yes. A, an, and the are articles, and articles are a common type of determiner. Use a or an when you introduce one non-specific singular countable noun. Use the when the listener can identify the noun from the situation or earlier information.
A train leaves at six.
What are possessive determiners?
Possessive determiners show who a noun belongs to. The common forms are my, your, his, her, its, our, and their. In our manager, our identifies the manager as part of the speaker's group. Use a possessive determiner directly before the noun it identifies.
Our manager sent an email.
Can more than one determiner come before a noun?
Usually, English uses one main determiner before a noun phrase, such as the report, my report, or several reports. Some combinations are possible, including all the reports or both my parents. Learn common groups as phrases instead of adding two unrelated determiners together.
The manager sent an email.
Is an adjective the same as a determiner?
No. A determiner helps identify a noun, while an adjective describes a quality of the noun. In that old train, that identifies the train and old describes it. Both can appear before a noun, but they do different jobs in the noun phrase.
Several students stayed after class.