Determiner

what is determiner?

In the midst of all the nouns, pronouns, adjectives and articles a student is expected to learn, the determiner is often left by the wayside, untaught or taught incorrectly. The determiner is an important noun modifier which contextualizes a noun, often in terms of quantity and possession. Determiners in English precede a noun phrase and include demonstratives, possessives, and quantifiers.

Determiners in English

There are many different determiners in the English language.

• Articles are among the most common of the determiners. A, an, and the all express the definiteness and specificity of a noun. For example, “the” is a definite article, meaning the person using the word is referring to a specific one. On the other hand, “a” or “an” are indefinite.
• Demonstratives, such as this, that, these and those, require a frame of reference in which an individual can point out the entities referred to by a speaker or a writer.
• Quantifiers, such as all, few, and many, point out how much or how little of something is being indicated.
• When referring to an entity that belongs to another, you can use possessives. My, your, their, and its are a few examples.

There are many other types of determiners. For instance, cardinal numbers, the numbers that are written out in English, are also included in the class of determiners. Determiners are generally split into two groups—definite determiners and indefinite determiners.

Function of a Determiners

A determiner can take on a number of different meanings and roles in a sentence. The determiner is used in every case to clarify the noun.

• They may be used to demonstrate or define something or someone.

Quantifiers state how many of a thing, in number or expression. A determiner is used to show that the noun indicated is a specific one (that one), not an unspecific one (any).

• They may also state the differences between nouns.

While determiners may have a number of other functions, most of them are related to these two key areas. The list of determiners only numbers about 50 words, and all of these words are commonly used by most individuals. Determiners are not difficult to get the grasp of when contrasted with adjectives, and do not take too long for native English speakers to grasp. After all, how many times have you had trouble deciding whether to say “the” or “a”?

You use "general determiners" to talk about people or things without saying exactly who or what they are.

The general determiners are:

the indefinite articles : a, an
a few a little all another any	both each either enough every	few fewer less little many more most much	neither no other several some

For example:

• A man sat under an umbrella.
• Have you got any English books that I could have?
• There is enough food to feed everyone.

General and specific determiners

Determiners are words which come at the beginning of the noun phrase.
They tell us whether the noun phrase is specific or general.
Determiners are either 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
• interrogatives: which

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?
Look at those lovely flowers.
Thank you very much for your letter. Whose coat is this?

General determiners:

The general determiners are:

• a; an; any; another; other; what

When we are talking about things in general and the listener/reader does not know exactly what we are referring to, we can use a uncount noun or a plural noun with no determiner:

Milk is very good for you. (= uncount noun) Health and education are very important. (= 2 uncount nouns) Girls normally do better in school than boys. (= plural nouns with no determiner)

… or you can use a singular noun with the indefinite article a or an:

A woman was lifted to safety by a helicopter. A man climbing nearby saw the accident.

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.
I like beef, lamb, pork - any meat.

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.

Quantifiers

We use quantifiers when we want to give someone information about the number of something: how much or how many.

 

interrogative determiners: which and what

 

We use "which" as a determiner to ask a question about a specific group of people or things:

Which restaurant did you go to?
Which countries in South America have you visited?

When we are asking a general question we use "what" as a determiner:

What films do you like?
What university did you go to?

Definition: When words have a grammatical relationship which affects the form of one or more of the elements then they agree. We can also say that Agreement is a form of cross-reference among all parts of a sentence.

Note: Agreement is also known in some texts as Concord

Some of the most types of grammatical agreements are:

• Grammatical person: Example: You are VS she is.
• Grammatical number: Example: One cat VS Ten cats.
• Grammatical gender: Example: Jose loves his girlfriend VS Maria loves her dog.
• Grammatical case: Example: I played with you VS She played with me.

The following example will teach us to understand in a better way this important topic.

Example:

Five Cows
Five Cows shows agreement because the Noun has the Plural Inflection, which is required by the Number. It is another way of saying Concord.
 
Twenty cats
In this example, twenty cats shows agreement because the Noun has the Plural Inflection, which is required by the number. 

source:
http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/nouns/what/what-is-a-determiner.html
http://aderikardo.blogspot.com/2012/09/determiner-quantifier.html