Determiners in English Grammar: Your Essential Student Guide
Tap to flip · Swipe to navigate
54 cards
Question: What is the key characteristic of central determiners (D)?
Answer: They are mutually exclusive: only one central determiner can be present at a time (e.g., 'my book' or 'the book', not 'my the book').
Question: List the main classes of central determiners.
Answer: Articles (a, the, 0); possessive D (my, your, his, her...); demonstrative D (this, that, these, those); assertive/nonassertive D (some, any); negative
Question: How do possessive determiners affect the noun's scope?
Answer: They show the scope of the noun is limited by being the property of someone or something (e.g., 'my book').
Question: What do demonstrative determiners indicate about a noun?
Answer: They limit the noun's scope by indicating location near or away from the speaker in space or time (this, that, these, those).
Question: When are 'some' and 'any' used (assertive vs nonassertive)?
Answer: 'Some' occurs in positive environments; 'any' occurs in negative or interrogative environments.
Question: What does the negative determiner 'no' do to the noun's scope?
Answer: It limits the noun's scope so completely that nothing remains (e.g., 'no students').
Question: Contrast 'each' and 'every' as universal determiners.
Answer: 'Each' describes individuals in a limited group (Each participant was selected by a committee). 'Every' describes individuals in an unlimited group (E
Question: What are dual determiners and how are they used?
Answer: Dual determiners refer to members of a pair. Nonassertive dual 'either' limits the set to two without asserting one over the other; negative dual 'nei
Question: Which words are WH-determiners and how are they different from pronouns?
Answer: WH-determiners: what, which, whose. Unlike pronouns, determiners must attach to a noun (they are part of an NP); pronouns can stand alone as full NPs.
Question: When is the indefinite article 'a/an' used with nouns?
Answer: A/an is used with singular count nouns for non-specific reference, in complement position after verbs like be/seem/become, when something is mentioned