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Linguistics & Grammar vocabulary · Parts of Speech

Determiner

Meaning in linguistics & grammar, with examples

/dɪˈtɜːmɪnə/nounCommon term

In linguistics & grammar, determiner means: A word that comes before a noun to show which one or how much is meant, such as the, a, this, my, some, every or two.

In Turkish: belirleyici, belirtici

How it is used

Modern grammars group articles, demonstratives (this, those), possessives (my, their), quantifiers (some, many) and numbers as determiners. Normally only one central determiner comes before a noun: we cannot say 'the my book'.

Example sentences

  1. A singular countable noun needs a determiner, so 'I bought car' is incorrect.

  2. In 'those three old books', 'those' and 'three' are determiners and 'old' is an adjective.

Common collocations

  • possessive determiner
  • demonstrative determiner
  • quantifier
  • zero determiner
  • articleOne of the words a, an and the, used before a noun to show whether it is general or specific, and whether it is new or already known to the listener.
  • noun phraseA group of words built around a noun or pronoun that works as one unit, often as subject or object, such as 'the tall man in the blue coat'.
  • countable nounA noun that has singular and plural forms and can be used with numbers and a/an, such as book, idea or student; uncountable nouns like water or advice cannot.
  • adjectiveA word that describes a noun or pronoun or gives more information about it, such as tall, interesting or Turkish.

More terms: Parts of Speech

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