Determiner (linguistics)

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
The girl is a student. I've lost my keys. Some folks get all the luck. Which book is that? I only had two drinks. I'll take that one. Both windows were open.

Function

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.

English determiners

The determiner function is usually performed by the determiner class of words, but can also be filled by words from other entities:

1. Basic determiners are words from the determiner class (e.g. the girl, those pencils) or determiner phrases (e.g. almost all people, more than two problems).
2. Subject determiners are possessive noun phrases (e.g. his daughter, the boy's friend).
3. Minor determiners are plain NPs (e.g. what colour carpet, this size shoes) and prepositional phrases (under twenty meters, up to twelve people).

Determiner Class

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.

English determiners

Determiners, in English, form a closed class of words that number about 50 (not counting the cardinal numerals) and include^[1]:

• Alternative determiners: another, other, somebody else, different
• Articles: a, an, the
• Cardinal numbers: zero, one, two, fifty, infinite, etc.
• Degree determiners/Partitive determiners: many, much, few, little, couple, several, most
• Demonstratives: this, that, these, those, which
• Disjunctive determiners: either, neither
• Distributive determiners: each, every
• Elective determiners: any, either, whichever
• Equative determiners: the same
• Evaluative determiners: such, that, so
• Exclamative determiners: what eyes!
• Existential determiners: some, any
• Interrogative and relative determiners: which, what, whichever, whatever
• Multal determiners: a lot of, many, several, much
• Negative determiners: no, neither
• Paucal determiners: a few, a little, some
• Personal determiners: we teachers, you guys
• Possessive determiners: my, your, our, his, her, etc.
• Quantifiers: all, few, many, several, some, every, each, any, no, etc.
• Sufficiency determiners: enough, sufficient, plenty
• Uniquitive determiners: the only, the, this, that, these, those
• Universal determiners: all, both

Each of these determiners can be classified as:

• Definite determiners, which limit their reference back to a specific already-established entity, or one whose identity can universally be taken for granted. (cardinals, demonstratives, equatives, evaluatives, exclamatives, relatives, personals, possessives, uniquitives)
• Indefinite determiners, which broaden their referent to one not previously specified, or otherwise newly introduced into discourse. (disjunctives, electives, existentials, interrogatives, negatives, universals)

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.

Differences from adjectives

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.)

1. In English, articles, demonstratives, and possessive determiners cannot co-occur in the same phrase, while any number of adjectives are typically allowed.
   1. A big green English book
   2. * The his book
2. Most determiners cannot occur alone in predicative complement position; most adjectives can.
   1. He is happy.
   2. * He is the.
3. Most determiners are not gradable, while adjectives typically are.
   1. happy, happier, happiest
   2. (However in colloquial usage an English speaker might say [eg] "This is very much my house" for emphasis)
4. Some determiners have corresponding pronouns, while adjectives don't.
   1. Each likes something different.
   2. * Big likes something different.
5. Adjectives can modify singular or plural nouns, while some determiners can only modify one or the other.
   1. a big person / big people
   2. many people / * many person
6. Adjectives are never obligatory, while determiners often are.

Differences from pronouns

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.

1. Pronouns may occur in tag questions. Determiners cannot.
   1. This is delicious, isn't it?
   2. *This is delicious, isn't this?
2. In phrasal verbs, pronouns must appear between the verb and particle. Determiners may occur after the particle.
   1. pick it up
   2. *pick up it
   3. pick this up
   4. pick up this

Other realisations

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.

See also

• Noun phrase
• Determiner phrase
• Specifier
• Classifier (linguistics)

References

1. ^ The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language
2. ^ Zweig, Eytan (2005), "Nouns and Adjectives in Numeral NPs", Proceedings of NELS 33, http://homepages.nyu.edu/~ez255/downloads/NELS35_numeral_phrases_proceedings.pdf 

External links

• SIL Glossary of linguistic terms – What is a determiner?