Level: beginner
Determiners are words which come at the beginning of noun phrases. They tell us whether a noun phrase is specific or general.
Specific determiners
The specific determiners are:
- the definite article: the
- possessives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose
- demonstratives: this, that, these, those
We use a specific determiner when we believe the listener/reader knows exactly what we are referring to:
Can you pass me the salt, please?
Thank you very much for your letter.
Whose coat is this?
Look at those lovely flowers.
- Specific determiners 1
- Specific determiners 2
- Specific determiners 3
- Specific determiners 4
General determiners
We use a general determiner when we are talking about things in general and the listener/reader does not know exactly what we are referring to.
The general determiners are:
| a/an | 0 (no determiner) | any | another | other |
The most frequent general determiner is the indefinite article a/an used with singular nouns:
A man came this morning and left a parcel.
He was wearing a big coat and a cap.
We use no determiner with plural nouns and uncount nouns:
Girls normally do better in school than boys. (plural nouns)
Milk is very good for you. (uncount noun)
Health and education are very important. (uncount nouns)
We use the general determiner any with a singular noun or an uncount noun when we are talking about all of those people or things:
It's very easy. Any child can do it. = All children can do it.
With a full licence you are allowed to drive any car. = all cars
I like bananas, oranges, apples – any fruit. = all kinds of fruit
(Note that any is also used as a quantifier in negative and interrogative sentences.)
We use the general determiner another to talk about an additional person or thing:
Would you like another glass of wine?
The plural form of another is other:
I spoke to John, Helen and a few other friends.
- General determiners 1
- General determiners 2
- Specific and general determiners 1
- Specific and general determiners 2
Hello,
I'd like to know if "the" could be used before "girls" and "boys" in the example of no determiners with plural and uncountable nouns, "Girls normally do better in school than boys".
Any help would be much appreciated.
Hello M.Anas.Ali,
Yes, it is possible to use 'the' here. However, it changes the meaning of the phrase:
Girls normally do better in school than boys - this is a general statement about all (or the majority of) girls and boys.
The girls normally do better in school than the boys - this would be used when talking about particular subsets of girls and boys, such as the girls and boys in a particular school, at a particular age, in a particular country etc. The particular group being referred to would have to be identified in the text somewhere or else be implicit in the context.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello TheLearnEnglish Team, I would like to learn more about "the other". In my grammar book, it's said that "the other" can also be used with uncountable nouns, but I can't find many examples. In most examples I've found, "the other" is used with singular or plural nouns. I wonder if "the other" can actually be used with uncountable noun, and what is the purpose of that usage (like what does "the other" + uncountable mean?)
Thank you so much for your help!
Hello Nhi Le,
Yes, you can use the other with uncountable nouns. You need to have two different examples of the thing being discussed. For example, happiness is an uncountable noun:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Respected team,
Hello,
Above IELTS Band 6 or over IELTS Band 6?
Below IELTS Band 6 or under IELTS Band 6?
Thank you
Hello Hosseinpour,
Both words would be understood but I think above is better here. Over is more common with numbers, while above is more common in ranking systems, bands, levels and categories.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello and thank you sir for the help.
Hello!
Can you please help me with the following:
Could you please explain which (if any) is correct:
1. Have you been to Mario (the name of a restaurant)? Have you been to other ones? (restaurants = plural = other)
2. Have you been to Mario? Have you been to others? (others=plural)
3. Have you been to Mario? Have you been to the other restaurants? (the other restaurants = the remaining restaurants in the city, apart from Mario)?
Thank you very much for you constant help and I'm very grateful for your help with this questions beforehand!!!
Hello howtosay_,
A lot of restaurant names are based on the name of the owner with a possessive 's, so I suspect Mario's is a more likely name. Anyway, to address your examples in order:
1. These sentences are correct. 'Other ones' here means 'any other restaurants'.
2. Also correct. The meaning is the same as above.
3. Also correct. The meaning is as you say.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sir,
As it's mentioned above, other is the plural form of another.I have a question,though.How about "any other" or "others" ?
We have to solve this problem, more than any other, today.
I'll attach two photos to this email and I'll send others tomorrow.
Hello Sajatadib,
This page explains 'another' and 'other' when they are used as determiners; they go before a noun and tell us something about it.
In the two sentences you ask about, 'any other' and 'others' are pronouns, which replace nouns and behave in a different way.
Does that make sense?
All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish Team
In exercise: General determiners 1
We used an with ice cream but ice cream is uncountable.
Is this sentence correct ?
Hello Hesham3bbas,
That's a good question. In general, 'ice cream' is indeed an uncount noun, but it can also be used as a count noun. In this case, for example, 'an ice cream' means 'an ice cream cone' or 'a bowl of ice cream' or 'a serving of ice cream' (or something like that).
The same often happens with other uncount nouns like 'water' ('a bottle of water' is often referred to as 'a water'), 'coffee' ('a coffee' means 'a cup of coffee'), 'a sugar' ('a packet of sugar'). You can read more about this on our Common problems with count and uncount nouns page.
I hope this helps you make sense of it.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team