Determiners and quantifiers

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Hello cbenglish,

Both 'a' and 'the' are possible.

If you use 'a' then we understand that there are a number of signs of a tender heart and this is one of them. If you use 'the' then you are suggesting that only one thing shows a tender heart.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

These are the sentences from a reputed financial daily : An SIP cannot give good or bad returns. Returns depend on the performance of the scheme you invest in. And in the next paragraph : “Investors should remember why they started a SIP in the first place. SIPs inculcate discipline that is crucial for investors to achieve long-term goals,” says Kunal Bajaj. Here SIP means systematic investment plan. In the first paragraph it says ' An SIP " and in the next paragraph it says " ... a SIP. " What do I undrestand from it ?

Hello dipakrgandhi

You have keen eyes! Good job spotting this inconsistency. To determine whether to use 'a' or 'an', you have to think how a word (in this case, an initialism) is pronounced -- as far as I know, 'SIP' is pronounced 'ess ai pee' and not 'sip'. In this case, as you can see from my transliteration of the pronunciation, the word begins with a vowel sound (the letter 'e' that is underlined). Therefore, 'an' would be the correct form.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Dear Sirs, I wrote the following very first sentence: "In a recent study, nearly half of Indians surveyed said they had experienced online abuse." My confusion is whether I have to use the definite article before Indians:...nearly half of the Indians surveyed..." I feel like once I have used "half of" a plural noun [Indians in the sentence]," I have to use the definite article the. Thanks.

Hello cbenglish,

Generally, the definite article is required when you are describing a selected group:

all of / some of / most of / none of / half of / a majority of / a minority of the Indians surveyed

However, sometimes the article is omitted with half of, a minority of and a majority of. So in this case, both options are possible.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello, I would like to ask you about the following example Technology ( I am referring to the Internet, computers, social media etc) helps people's lives OR The advanced technology of the Internet and computers helps people lives. Is it helps or help? Thank you in advance

" China on Friday dismissed as untrue a US media report that alleged that it has ... " If you could explain why an indefinite article has been used here even when it refers to a very particular report.

Hi dipakrgandhi,

I can't say for sure without knowing the context, but presumably it's because this is the first time the reporter has mentioned this particular report. Although we speak about 'general' and 'specific' determiners, remember the key issue in many cases is whether we think the person we are speaking to will know which particular thing we are speaking about. If this is a radio news report, for example, and the reporter is just beginning her segment on it, she could not reasonably assume that her audience knows about the media report being discussed at this point in time.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Dear sirs, I wrote the following sentence: "when love marriage takes place across caste groups in India, the intermarrying couple faces a complicated problem." But I am confused about using an article before the noun "love marriage." I have used love marriage without an article thinking that it is not a concrete marriage event (or it's an abstract noun). But I also feel like I have to use a or the or the plural form (love marriages). I really appreciate your comment on my reasoning.

Hello cbenglish,

The term love marriage is used in the same way as marriage in terms of the use of articles. For general use all articles are possible, but there are slight differences in meaning.

a + singular countable noun

we can use this with general meaning when we are talking about something which defines the group.

For example:

An elephant is an impressive sight.

In other words, being an impressive sight is one of the characteristics of an elephant; if we saw an animal and it was not impressive then we could be fairly sure that it was not an elephant. We are talking about any elephant here - it is true of them all.

the + singular noun

we can use this with general meaning when we are talking about our image or concept of the noun.

For example:

The elephant can live for over sixty years.

Here we are not talking about a real elephant, but rather the concept of 'elephant' in our heads.

no article + plural countable noun or uncountable noun

we use this to talk about what is normal or typical of a type. It may or may not be true of all individuals but it is typical of most.

For example:

Swedish people are tall.

Here we are talking about the average height of Swedes, not any particular person or concept.

The distinctions are subtle but sometimes can be important.

For example, we can say with general meaning:

Whales are in danger of becoming extinct.

The whale is in danger of becoming extinct.

However, we cannot say:

A whale is in danger of becoming extinct.

This is because being in danger of becoming extinct may be true but it does not define the whale.

I hope that helps to clarify it for you.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Very helpful explaination sir. Now, can we also say - without article- ' Elephant is an impressive sight. ' This is because what I understand is that when the case is general - we can opt for zero article. Abou your 'Whale's' example - can we also say ' The whales are in danger of becoming extinct ' - plural with definite article. Abou not using 'a' in ' Whale's ' example - this is for the first time I am learning that using 'a' would cause to define the noun . If you could enlighten me on this concept. Also, how would the meanings in ' Love marriage' example change with different articles with singular and plural cases? I am eager to know all these because I have never come across such a detailed explaination about changes in meanings with changes in articles . Thanking you

Hello dipakrgandhi,

In my explanation I said we can use no article + plural countable noun or uncountable noun. 'Elephant' is a countable noun, so we need to say

Elephants are an impressive sight.

'The whales' would refer to a particular group of whales, not whales in general. For example, you might talk about 'the whales of the Atlantic Ocean' or similar.

When we say

A whale is an impressive sight

we are talking about a characteristic that is typical or representative of whales: being impressive is one of the things that goes with being a whale.

The reason we can't say

A whale might become extinct

is because being extinct is not something that happens to a whale, and not something which defines what a whale is.

The changes in 'love marriage' would be the same as the examples I gave. The choice of noun does not affect this.

Peter

The LeanEnglish Team

Thank you !

Are words like "John's","Rahim's" determiners? Another one,Sir. Is the sentence"If I were a king!" correct? Thank you.

Hi Sheikh Salauddin,

Sometimes phrases like 'John's' are considered possessive forms of nouns and sometimes they are classed as a kind of possessive determiner. Since our grammar is a learner's grammar, we don't get into that kind of issue, but I expect you could find some discussion of it in the English Language and Usage StackExchange if you're interested.

'If I were a king!' is technically an incomplete sentence, but would probably be fine in most cases if the result clause were clear from the situation or context.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Dear sirs, I wrote the following sentence in an essay, which is the very first sentence: "When we wake up in the morning and listen to the news or read the newspaper, we see the same old old stories." On re-reading the sentence, I am confused about my use of definite articles in front of news and newspaper. Is it also correct to say? "When we wake up in the morning and listen to news or read newspapers, we see the same old old stories." My thinking is that since it's the very first sentence, I should not use definite articles before news and newspaper. Is my reasoning correct? I really appreciate your guidance on the issue. Thank you very much, as always.

Hi cbenglish,

When we speak about what is explained in radio, television, newspaper or new website reports, we also refer to this as 'the news' (with the definite article 'the' always used). So when you speak about 'listening to the news', it's correct to say 'the news' (and just 'news' is not correct).

You could say just 'read newspapers' instead of 'read the newspapers'. If you say 'the newspapers', there is some suggestion that the reader knows which newspapers you're talking about, but not necessarily. If it were my essay, I would most likely say 'the newspapers', as we often use 'the' here even when it's not completely clear which newspapers we're talking about.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Sir. Could u tell me the difference between determiner and quantifier? What are pre-, central, and post determiners? Thank you,

Hello Risa warysha,

A quantifier is a type of determiner. The relevant wikipedia page (here) contains a list of the most common kinds of determiners.

Pre-, post- and central describe the positions of different determiners.

Pre-determiners come first, central determiners come next and postdeterminers come last.

Example: all the thirty women

Here, 'all' is a pre-determiner, 'the' is a central determiner and 'thirty' is a postdeterminer.

There is some debate as to whether this terminology is helpful. Postdeterminers often have adjectival characteristics, for example, which other determiners do not, and are not only identified by their position.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

which of the following sentence is correct? 1) He worked as an insurance agent before he went to the US. OR 2) He had worked as an insurance agent before he went to the US.

Hello Mohd Zaffar,

Both forms are possible here. Without a wider context there is nothing to show which would be preferable.

Generally, we use past simple for sequences of actions (first... later...). We use past perfect when an earlier action has some relevance to or influence on a later action.

You can read more about the past perfect on these pages:

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/b1-b2-grammar/past-perfect

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/past-perfect

Please note that we are on a page on the topic of articles and determiners, not the past perfect. We ask users to post questions on relevant pages as it helps to keep the comments sections useful for other users who may have similar questions.

Peter
The LearnEnglish Team

hello sir which of the following sentence is correct? 1) We have never had any dispute with them. or 2) We never had any dispute with them.

Hello Mohd Zaffar,

Both sentences are grammatically correct. Which one you need will depend upon the context and what you are trying to say.

The first sentence describes an ongoing situation. It tells us that you still know 'them' and up to the present time have not had any disputes.

The second sentence describes finished time. It tells us that when you knew 'them' there were no disputes, but we understand that you no longer know them for some reason, so there cannot now be any disputes. You might use this sentence if the situation has changed:

They used to live in our time and we never had any disputes with them. They moved away last year.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

thank you sir

Hello sir Which of the following sentence is correct? 1) The man asked his son to go Agra by bike. Or 2) The man asked his son go Agra by bike 1) I suggest you (put) put on sun block immediately before you get a sun burn. why not sentence is like:-- 1) I suggest you (put) to put on sunblock immediately before you get a sun burn. similarly other sentences like ->The environmentalist leader felt it was extremely important that the people of the city be allowed to voice their concerns over the new hotel being built on the bay. Why ‘to be allowed’ is not used Sir I read subjunctive topic in English grammar. i understood the use of bare infinitive verbs but have problem in using 'to' in such types of sentences. Sometimes use of 'to' is corrected and sometimes not please explain with examples in this regard Thanking You

Hello Mohd Zaffar,

That's a lot of questions! I'll answer a few and then if you have any others, please ask us again, though please limit yourself to one or two per comment.

The first sentence is correct, though the preposition 'to' is needed before 'Agra'.

As for your questions about verbs like 'suggest' and 'feel' and the patterns that follow them, this really depends on the specific verb being used. In other words, each verb is followed by different patterns. You can find information about these patterns in a good dictionary -- for example, see this page on the verb 'suggest'.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hello sir Which of the following sentence is correct? 1) The man asked his son to go Agra by bike. Or 2) The man asked his son go Agra by bike.

Hello Mohd Zaffar,

You need to use 'to' here so the first sentence is correct and the second one is incorrect.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

thank you sir but what about following sentences like 1) I suggest you (put) put on sun block immediately before you get a sun burn. why not sentence is like:-- 1) I suggest you (put) to put on sunblock immediately before you get a sun burn. similarly other sentences like ->The environmentalist leader felt it was extremely important that the people of the city be allowed to voice their concerns over the new hotel being built on the bay. Why ‘to be allowed’ is not used Sir I read subjunctive topic in English grammar. i understood the use of bare infinitive verbs but have problem in using 'to' in such types of sentences. Sometimes use of 'to' is corrected and sometimes not please explain with examples in this regard Thanking You

Hello Mohd Zaffar,

This is really just a question of verb patterns. Certain verbs are used with a to-infinitive and others are not. It is a simply a question of learning which are which; there is nothing about the verb which tells you what kind of pattern it follows, I'm afraid.

suggest someone + subjunctive (I suggest you go)

feel it important that someone + subjunctive (I feel it important that he go)

You can read more about different verb patterns in the relevant section (here) – us the links on the right to move to specific areas.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

thank you sir

I want to know where and how to use 'would' (in past sense) and where to use 'did' ?

Hello chandersheel,

These are both auxiliary verbs. We use 'did' to form questions and negative in the past tense:

She went to the shop.

Question: Did she go to the shop? / Where did she go?

Negative: She didn't go to the shop.

'Would' is a modal verb and we use it in a number of ways. You can see those ways on this page.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Some times first letter of every word in a heading or title of an article is capitalized, except for article 'the'. e.g. this headline : 'Sinking Deeper Into the MSP Mire' Hear MSP means Minimum support price for agriculture commodities. I would like to know the different conventions in beginning every word in heading with capital letter , and why 'the' starts with lowercase letter in above heading.

Hello dipakrgandhi,

The convention for titles is to capitalise each word other than what are considered 'grammar words' (articles, prepositions etc). However, a specific style will be set by each publication and some prefer to use normal capitalisation, for example. The best way to familiarise yourself with these styles is to look at a range of newspapers and other media sources and pay attention to how they do it.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you!

Sir, I wrote the following first sentence while forwarding an application to the higher authorities . " The application for the revival of the account no 3857DF received from the depositor ,Mr. John is sent herewith." Here , I am introducing an application of which the higher authorities have no prior knowledge . So I must have used ' an application '. But when a noun is post modified by a prepositional phrase { ' for revival ----} , definite article should be used as I did . Which is correct ? Similarly can I use 'application for revival ' instead of 'application for the revival ' ? Kindly explain .

Hello p t balagopal,

The definite article is required here as the sentence contains its own clarification of which application is being referred to. You can use either 'the revival' or 'revival'. However, we would not use any article before 'account'. When a noun is numbered in this way we use the zero article. Thus, we would say 'go to house number 3' not 'the house'.

The setence would therefore be as follows:

The application for revival of account no 3857DF received from the depositor, Mr. John, is sent herewith.

This is a very formal phrasing, however, and not the normal way we would normally phrase it. I think we would use 'enclosed' (if the application is part of a letter) or 'attached' (if sent electronically):

Please find enclosed the application for revival of account no 3857DF, received from the depositor, Mr. John.

Please find attached the application for revival of account no 3857DF, received from the depositor, Mr. John.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Sir, Thanks for your reply. I never expected it to be so detailed. Thanks for your effort. Balagopal

Sir A friend asked: is the statement "what did James is wrong" correct or grammatically wrong?

Hello Akong,

The sentence is wrong. The correct sentence would be as follows:

What James did is wrong.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Sir Which of these sentences is correct 1 "What John did is wrong" 2 "What John did was wrong" Then sir, in the correct sentence, does "what" serve as DEMONSTRATIVE or INTEROGATIVE determiner?

Hi Akong,

Both are correct and the structure of both is that of a wh-cleft sentence. 'what' acts as a kind of pronoun here.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Sir, I am confused with the use of nouns in the following sentence: 1. The German or The Germans are patriot. Which one is correct? Thanks in advance.

Hello amol,

The Germans are patriots is the correct option.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Dear Sirs, Please have a look at these two sentences: 1. The girls sitting over there are my cousins. 2. Girls sitting over there are my cousins. I know the first sentence is grammatically correct but I can't explain why sentence 2 is incorrect. Let's say, my listener (say my friend) is hearing it from me for the first time. In this situation, he does not know the specific or definite girls. I tend to believe that this situation calls for a zero article (I am confused if I have to say zero article or a zero article). How does the meaning change if I use sentence 2 or it would be patently wrong? I would be grateful if you could provide me with some clues about how to think about this issue. Reading grammar books is not helping me much in this matter! Thanks in advance!

Hello cbenglish,

We use the definite article (the) when the noun is known and/or identified; in other words, when a specific item is referred to and not just any item or all items in general.

In your sentence the item is specified. You are not just talking about any girls, but about the specific girls who are sitting over there. Therefore the definite article is needed and the sentence without 'the' is incorrect.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello sir, Why do you say "...referred to" and not just "...referred". Thanks so much!

Hello Ivánnn,

The verb 'refer' always occurs with the preposition 'to'. It is what we call a dependent preposition.

You can read more about these on this page.

Peter
The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Sirs, I am trying to compose a sentence: Imagine what it would be like to live without [a] language. I just can't figure out whether I should use an indefinite article before the noun language. To me use of an article in the sentence above appears optional. Am I right in my thinking? Thanks in advance!

Determiners and quantifiers

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