Questions tagged [determiners]
A 'determiner' is one of a fixed class of words placed before a noun phrase to indicate its definiteness, quantity, or degree.
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Which one is better?: Do you need a/any/some help?
How is the nuance of each one?
Do you need help?
Do you need a help?
Do you need any help?
Do you need some help?
May I help you?
And which one should I use to offer some strangers ...
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into near darkness
This sentence is from a medieval fantasy book, Cold Iron by Miles Cameron:
He rode down a farm lane and well around the soldiers, and emerged on the turnpike into near darkness.
I was ...
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Use of 'less' with countable nouns
Supposing that, a player is supposed to spend 60 minutes in a training session. He spends 57 minutes. We say:
You have spent less minutes.
Is it right? I feel it is not, since 'less' modifies 'an ...
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Why is "Don't do such stupid things" unnatural? [closed]
I talked to two native speakers of English, and they did not say anything was wrong with the following sentence:
Don't do stupid shit.
But they said that the following sentence is not ...
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Is snow a countable noun
I was reading news on Yahoo and got confused. I read this – a snow – on Yahoo; as per my opinion snow is not a countable noun. So, we should not use the article (a) before snow.
This is from Yahoo:
...
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Speed (countable / uncountable)
Based on dictionaries' definitions, the noun "speed" sounds to be either countable or uncountable. So please let me know if in the sentence bellow using the determiner "a" sounds natural to you or ...
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Does it feel natural to use 'several' to mean starting from 'two'? Can 'several' be 'two'?
My question is based on this post: Using 'several' and 'some'
Anyway, my question is this:
Does it feel natural for native speakers to use several to mean starting from two? Do you ...
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Every single day and every few days
I have come across the following two sentences from Michael Swan's practical English usage
1 I meet my mother every single day
2 I meet my friends every few days
what is the use of single in the ...
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Difference between "hardly someone" and "hardly anyone"
The following construction is considered nonstandard in English
Nowadays, hardly someone studies ancient Greek.
It should be
Nowadays, hardly anyone studies ancient Greek.
And although the ...
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Particular question about "of which"
Do you have the forms of which I speak in order to make this renewal official?
In this sentence , why "of which" is used and why?
This sentence appears in Smosh video.
The link is https://www....
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Move "across town" or "across the town"
He moved across town to stay with his father.
Why don't we use "a" or "the" in these situations. As:
He moved across the town to stay with his father.
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The Meaning and the structure of grammar of a sentence which includes Whatever
They cannot make a man wise or foolish; they achieve whatever luck would have it.
I understand the former but don't the latter which is italic. I think whatever can be replaced with any or what but ...
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Usage of 'any' and its omission
I have a question regarding usage of any. My question is, can I omit any in cases like the following? I have a grammar book named 'Practical English Usage' written by Michael Swan that says "With an ...
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Is "more of such examples" correct? [closed]
Let us assume that in a text we bring an example.
And we want to bring more similar examples.
Is this statement grammatically correct?
There are more of such examples
How about the following:
...
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"Whose three interior angles each measure" or "measures"?
I get stuck by this sentence:
Equilateral triangle: A triangle whose three sides are all equal in length and whose three interior angles each measure 60°.
Is measure in this sentence a verb or a ...
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should I use a determiner before this nominalised adjective?
Is it preferable to say referring to Gulliver "You're a giant in the land of small" or "you're a giant in the land of the small" or "you're a giant in the land of (the) small people"?
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Using "the" before a nominalised adjective "small"
Instead of putting:
You're a giant in the land of small people
could I say:
You're a giant in the land of small
(referring to the Lilliputians in Gulliver's travels?)
Or should I use “the” ...
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All used before
In the following sentence
I am vexed at him for what all he has done for
him till date.
I think the above sentence is wrong because all(determiner) is placed before numbers, my, your etc
And ...
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Can I try this on in size 5 vs in a size 5
Supposing you were in a shoe shop and wanted to try a pair of shoes, would you say
Can I try them on in size 5?
Can I try them on in the size 5?
Can I try them on in a size 5?
Or maybe.. can I try ...
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How to determine whether I need to use an article before a noun? Can I skip using a, an or the altogether?
How to determine whether I need to use an article before a noun? Can I skip using a, an or the altogether?
This doubt has arisen because grammarly points out many a times to me to use determiner ...
Prince Kadyan
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"A music" -> how should I fix it?
This is the book I used.
This is a book I used.
This is the music I listened to.
This is a music I listened to.
1 and 2 are implying that the book and the music were mentioned before at ...
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Is there a rule that prohibits us from using 2 possessives in a row?
An English teacher made a comment on my usage of the phrase, "Our last week's meeting", saying that it should be, "last week's meeting", is there a rule for this?
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Can "a" be removed in the follow case (noun + adjective + adjective)?
Grammaly told me that the "a" in the following sentence is unnecessary and it suggested I remove it:
The surface of the guitar was (a) gleaming white.
Is Grammaly correct? Why or why not?
Note: ...
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"a great many processes"
Yet a great many processes depending on such research are sought for with complete secrecy until the stage at which patents can be taken out. (J.D. Bernal "Secrecy in Industry," in L.G. Alexander, New ...
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Correct place for determiner both
What is the difference among the following three sentences?
Both Apple and Google must remove the app.Apple and Google both
must remove the app. Apple and Google must both remove the
app.
To ...
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Which noun does a DETERMINER follow in cases like "this/these"+"year's crops"?
Which of the following are correct and why are they and others aren't?
This year's crops are much better.
These year's crops are much better.
This employees' boss is much better.
These employees' ...
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much - very much, many - very many?
In case of uncountables, the large amount expressed by much like in
much water, much money, much sand
can be increased by prepending very like in
very much water, very much money, very much ...
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You are a failure of (a) human. -> why 'a'?
You are a failure of human.
You are a failure of a human.
Well, first, is putting 'a' in there grammatical? If so, what's the difference from when there's no 'a' there?
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Once you become a father, playing [ a / the ] super dad comes naturally
Is there any difference in between those? I feel sometimes there's a hard thing to catch when people say somethings like
Don't play [ a / the ] fool.
also. Is it just you use 'the' when you ...
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The whole vs all
Does the whole summer and all summer have the same meanings?
I spent the whole/all summer in the village.
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"Such plea" "such waiver": ungrammatical legal jargon?
I have encountered the noun phrase "such plea" in a lot of legal texts. Examples:
In federal courts, such plea may be accepted as long as there is evidence that the defendant is actually guilty. ...
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Usage of ‘very’ before ‘many’?
I came across the following sentence in which ‘very’ is used before ‘many’. When do we use ‘very’ before ‘many’?
Very many people have complained about the situation.
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Usage and omission of "any"
Can I omit any in the following sentences with uncountable nouns? Do they still sound natural without it?
If philosophers were made presidents instead of politicians, there would not be (any) war.
If ...
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Can "few" be used as a subject? If so, what is the rule?
I took a test with the following question:
__________has changed at work since the last employee survey was carried out.
a. Little
b. Some
c. Few.
Now, I know that the correct answer is ...
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How to describe a definite one of Picasso's paintings as well as an indefinite one of them?
I'm sure there are many, many paintings drawn by Pablo Picasso.
How do you refer to one of those paintings?
First, here's what I know is a correct way of doing so:
a. I saw a Picasso at a museum.
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A problem regarding determiners as the object
In an editorial I found a sentence.
It notes that East and South Asia have the highest number of deaths due to air pollution; by one estimate, it killed about 1.24 million in India in 2017.
Here ...
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The difference between 'lots of' and 'a lot of'
I have a lot of pens
I have lots of pens
What is the difference? I do not see any difference but as per my teacher there is a difference which till date I am unable to understand
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When to use determiners after a preposition?
As far as I know, while using a countable noun you should put a determiner before the countable noun. But some examples confused me.
A type of metal button ("button" is a countable noun)
A ...
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What part of speech are "answer" and "enough" in this sentence?
Sirius suggested once, without any real conviction, that they all go to bed, but the Weasleys' looks of disgust were answer enough.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
I don't understand ...
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Between "the" and "firefighter" which one do you native speakers think of firstly when you say "the firefighter"?
"The firefighter saved a kid from the fire."
I've just learnt a sort of curious notion. Generally, it is said that 'the firefighter' is a noun phrase "NP". But, somaone said that's a determinative ...
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Articles: "as leader" -- why not "as the leader"?
Source: AP Exclusive: Afghan Taliban leader claims 'victory' in city
Example:
The dramatic Taliban assault on Kunduz, a city of some 300,000 — and the boasts of Mullah Akhtar Mansoor — appeared ...
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Why was "the room" not used in "Prices vary according to the type of room you require"?
The sentence below is an example sentence from Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary for the entry for the verb "vary".
I wonder why the room was not used and why just room was used here.
As "room" ...
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Can 'singer' be used as an uncount noun?
Singer Mizuki Nana and her sister took viewers by surprise with
their voracious eating of roasted duck.
Macmillan learner's dictionary says 'singer' is a count noun. Might I trouble you to tell me ...
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"I want four more" or "I want more four"?
What's the natural order in the following sentence? Where should I put the word "more" in the following sentences?
My friend told me that we have already 4 oranges. I want to tell him that:
Okay,...
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In "Carl's brother" is "Carl's" an adjective?
I'm looking at an elementary school grammar book for my daughter which says:
A word that tells which about a noun is an adjective. A word that
tells whose about a noun is also an adjective. ...
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little hope means no hope? [closed]
I know little or few means almost none or not as much as may be expected.
What is the meaning of the following sentence:
I have little hope.
Does it mean no hope?
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Is it "a historical account" or "an historical account"?
I saw both of them on various books, so are both valid? Or is it just that 50% of the people are wrong?
I know it's "a universe", but I still have trouble with it. Is there a website that tells you ...
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'Do you have books' vs 'Do you have any books' [duplicate]
Is it mandatory to use any in questions and negative sentences when using plural nouns? I have found a site that says it is not necessary. If I omit any will that be grammatical?
Here are some ...
user332660
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When can the determiner 'any' be omitted?
Can I omit any in the following sentence? If I do so, Do they sound natural and grammatical?
Yesterday I had my camera with me, but I did not take any photos.
Many grammar books say it is not ...
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