6 Determiners
Determiners are words such as this, those, my, their,
which. They are special adjectives that are used before
nouns.
The Articles
The words a, an and the belong to this group of words
called determiners.
The words a and an are called indefinite articles. You
can use them with singular nouns to talk about any
single person or thing.
Can you hear a
bird singing ?
This is a picture of an elephant.
Rudy is reading a book.
Mom bought me a new dress today.
Do you wear a You will need an umbrella when you go out.
uniform to school? She eats an apple a day.
m ar H
am
Gr
elp
The article an is usually used before words
beginning with vowels. The article a is used
before words beginning with consonants.
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The word the is called the definite article. Use the
before a noun when you are talking about a certain
person or thing.
The telephone is ringing.
Where’s the cat?
I think she is under the bed.
Tom has won the race.
Granny is sitting in the garden.
The street is very busy today.
The sky is getting dark. The ice is melting.
m ar H
am
Gr
elp
You also use the before a noun when there
is only one. For example:
the sun
the moon
the sky
the front door of my house
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Demonstrative Determiners
The words this, that, these and those are determiners.
They are used to tell which thing or person you mean.
These words are called demonstrative determiners, or
demonstrative adjectives.
I am keeping these books.
I am selling those books.
This ice cream is delicious.
How much is that racket?
What is that animal?
James lives in this house. Bring me that ball.
Would you like these apples?
m ar H
am
Gr
elp
You use this and these to point to people or
things near you.
You use that and those to point to people or things that are
farther from you.
You use this and that before singular nouns.
You use these and those before plural nouns.
Here’s a table to help you remember the rules:
Singular Plural
this these
that those
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Interrogative Determiners
Use the words what, which and whose before nouns
to ask about people or things. These words are called
interrogative determiners or interrrogative adjectives.
What size do you wear? What kind of bird is that?
What time is it?
What color is her hair?
What kind of clothes do you like to wear?
Which school do you go to?
Which doll is your favorite?
Which road leads to the zoo?
Which runner is the winner?
Do you know which girl won the prize?
what
Whose footprints are these? which
Whose baby is this? whose
Whose dog was barking in the middle of the night?
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Possessive Determiners
The words my, your, his, her, its, our, their are called
possessive determiners or posessive adjectives. Use
these words before nouns to say who something
belongs to.
I lent Margaret my guitar.
Is this your house?
Robert, your handwriting is difficult to read. The dentist asked
Michael is showing his tortoise to his friends. his patient to open
My sister lost her way in the city.
her mouth.
The lion is chasing its prey.
m m ar H
a
Gr
elp
Here is a table to help you remember the
possessive determiners.
Singular Plural
First person my our
Second person your your
Third person his their
her their
its their
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Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks with a, an or the.
1 __________ owl 7 __________ moon
2 __________ rocket 8 __________ Missouri River
3 __________ apron 9 __________ mango
4 __________ sun 10 __________ animal
5 __________ page 11 __________ eagle
6 __________ computer 12 __________ baby
Exercise 2
Write a, an or the in the blanks to complete the
sentences.
1 There is ________ rainbow in ________ sky.
2 Who is ________ man outside ______ gate?
3 ________ doctor gave Jane ________ injection.
4 Paul opened ________ door to let ________ dog in.
5 Mark is ________ only child in _______ family.
6 What’s ______ largest animal in ________ world?
7 There’s ________ nest in ________ tree.
8 Sue is writing ________ letter to her grandfather.
9 Jack has ________ brother and ________ sister.
10 We reached ________ top of ______ hill in two hours.
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Exercise 3
Fill in the blanks with the correct demonstrative
adjectives.
1 Come and look at ________ insects.
2 Stop ________ man!
3 I was in fifth grade last year. I am in sixth grade
________ year.
4 Bring ________ chairs here.
5 ________ ice cream is delicious.
6 Can you see ________ stars in the sky?
Exercise 4
Are the underlined words demonstrative adjectives or
demonstrative pronouns? Write DA (for demonstrative
adjectives) or DP (for demonstrative pronouns) in the
blanks.
1 This house has five bedrooms. _______
2 Who is that man? _______
3 This is our school. _______
4 These are wild animals. _______
5 That is right. _______
6 What’s that noise? _______
7 These books are Jane’s. _______
8 Those books belong to me. _______
9 These are donkeys. _______
10 Those are horses. _______
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Exercise 5
Choose the correct possessive adjectives from the
box to fill in the blanks.
my his your her
its our their
1 Is this Jane’s dog? Yes, this is ______ dog.
2 The dog is chasing ________ own tail.
3 Peter, is ________ father at home?
4 Rudy is showing ________ stamps to Ali.
5 I am going to ________ aunt’s house this evening.
6 We always keep ________ classroom clean.
7 Children, have you all finished ________ homework?
8 The children are proud of ________ school.
Exercise 6
Choose the correct interrogative adjectives from the box
to fill in the blanks.
what which whose
1 ________ kind of animal is that?
2 ________ runner is the winner?
3 ________ is the matter?
4 ________ desk is this?
5 ________ handphone is ringing?
6 ________ is your name?
7 ________ twin is taller?
8 ________ hand is holding the pebble?
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