A determiner is a noun-modifier that expresses the reference of a noun or noun-phrase in the context, rather than attributes expressed by adjectives. This function is usually performed by articles, demonstratives, possessive determiners, or quantifiers.
| Examples |
|---|
|
Contents |
In most Indo-European languages, determiners are either independent words or clitics that precede the rest of the noun phrase (NP). In other languages, determiners are prefixed or suffixed to the noun, or even change the noun's form. For example, in Swedish bok "book", when definite, becomes boken "the book" (suffixed definite articles are common in Scandinavian languages), while in Romanian caiet "notebook" becomes caietul "the notebook".
Some constructions, such as those that use names of school subjects ("Physics uses mathematics"), don't use a determiner. This condition is called the "zero determiner" instance.
X-bar theory contends that every noun has a corresponding determiner. In a case where a noun does not have a pronounced determiner, X-bar theory hypothesizes the presence of a zero article.
The determiner function is usually performed by the determiner class of words, but can also be filled by words from other entities:
A determiner establishes the reference of a noun or noun-phrase, including quantity, rather than its attributes as expressed by adjectives. Despite this tendency, determiners have a variety of functions including, in English, modifiers in adjective phrases and determiner phrases, and even markers of coordination.
This word class, or part of speech, exists in many languages, including English, though most English dictionaries still classify determiners under other parts of speech. Determiners usually include articles, and may include items like demonstratives, possessive determiners, quantifiers, and cardinal numbers, depending on the language.
Determiners, in English, form a closed class of words that number about 50 (not counting the cardinal numerals) and include[1]:
Each of these determiners can be classified as:
Many of these can also be either or, thus allowing such pairs as (1)the (2)other one, or (1)an(2)other one. (alternatives, articles, partitives, distributives, quantifiers)
While many words belong to this lexical category exclusively, others belong to a number of categories, for example, the pronoun what in What is good as opposed to the determiner what in what one is good. While numerals exist as nouns, it is debated whether numerals are determiners or not[2]. For instance, while the English numbers below 100 generally can't take a determiner, for example *"a ninety men", numerals for 100 and higher may optionally behave like nouns and take a determiner of their own, such as "a hundred men." Similarly, while pronouns like my, your, etc. function as determiners in a noun phrase, many grammars do not make the distinction between class and function and so lump these in with determiners.
For a mostly complete list, see Wiktionary.
Traditional English grammar does not include determiners and calls most determiners adjectives. There are, however, a number of key differences between determiners and adjectives. (The [*] indicates intentionally incorrect grammar.)
Determiners such as this, all, and some can often occur without a noun. In traditional grammar, these are called pronouns. There are, however, a number of key differences between such determiners and pronouns.
In English, and in many other Indo-European languages, determiners are either independent words or clitics that precede the rest of the noun phrase. Not all languages, however, have a lexically distinct class of determiners. Determiner functions are sometimes realized morphologically as affixes on the noun, or by changing the noun's form. For example, Swedish bok ("book"), when definite, becomes boken ("the book"). Definite-article suffixes are also found in the other North Germanic languages, in Romanian, Macedonian and in Bulgarian.