CBSE Class 9 English Determiners Notes

Points to Remember:

1. Determiners are words that come before nouns. They show whether a noun refers to a general or specific person, place or object and which or how many things.
2. Determiners and nouns together make noun phrases; e.g. a pen, the pen, every pen, my pen, many pens.
3. Determiners limit the noun by giving some additional information about the noun, e.g. ‘The pen’ refers to a pen, which has been mentioned earlier.
4. A noun phrase may include both a determininer and an adjective. The determiner mayprecede numerals or adjectives : e.g. a young girl, a tall boy, all senior players, some responsible citizens.

MOST COMMONLY USED DETERMINERS:

Articles: a, an, the

Possessive: my, our, your, his, her, its, their

Demonstrative :this that, these, those

Adjectives and Pronouns of indefinite number or quantity: some, each, Ever,any,no,all,little,less,many,much,neither,either,enough,few,first,third,last,what,which, whose. E.g.

1. Mumbai is a costly city.
2. Some members abstained from voting.
3. Our neighbour is very friendly.
4. This language is very useful.
5. All the students were punished for negligence.

(a) Use of Articles :

A or An

1. ‘A’ and ‘An’ are used before a singular countable noun to show that it is not specific.
2. The use of ‘A’ and ‘An’ is governed by the initial sound of the noun before which it is used
3. ‘A’ is used before consonant sounds. E.g. girl, a man, a university, a unit etc.
4. ‘An’ is used before a vowel sounds. E..g. an egg. An honest man, an elephant etc.

The

1. The is used to show that the noun is specific. E.g. The first railway line in India was laid in Maharashtra.
2. ‘The’ is used when the noun is preceded by a superlative adjective. E.g. the tallest, the largest etc. U.S.A. is the richest country in the world.
3. ‘The’ is used for nouns that are common to all people. E.g. the sun, the moon, the sky, the earth etc. The earth is round.
4. ‘The” is used with uncountable nouns if indicating specifics. E.g. The milk has turned sour. The water is not clean. If unspecific meaning is indicated then ‘the’ is not used. E.g. Water is an important component of our food.
5. ‘The’ is used when we refer to whole group of people. E.g. the Americans, the evil, the good etc. The Americans are hard working and industrious.
6. ‘The’ is used before names of government departments, museums, newspapers etc. E.g. The Ministry of Health, The Prince of Wales Museum, The Indian Express
7. ‘The’ is used before names of oceans, river, mountain ranges, deserts, holy books, canals etc. The pacific Ocean, The Alps, The Sahara desert, The Ramayana, The Suez Canal.
8. ‘The’ is not used before names of persons, continents, cities, holidays of the week, subjects of studies etc.

Determiners of Quantity:

Much, many

1. Many is used only with plural nouns and to show a large number. E.g. There are many students in the class.
2. Much is used with uncountable nouns indicating a large quantity. E.g. There was much noise (i.e. a lot of noise)

Some, Any

1. Some and any show not a large quantity.
2. Some is used in affirmative sentences. E.g. There is some water in the glass.
3. Any is used in interrogative or negative sentences. E.g. is there any sugar in the house? There isn’t any sugar in the house.

Each, Every

Each and Every both indicate single units in a group.

1. Each refers to individual member of a small group. E.g. Each of her four sons has a new car.
2. Every refers to members of a large group. E.g. Every person above 18 years of age is eligible to vote.
3. Sometimes both ‘each’ and ‘every’ can be used. E.g. Each / Every victim was given financial support.

All

1. All is used to indicate the whole group rather than its components. E.g. All the students are preparing for their examinations.

Few, a few, the few denote numbers.

1. Few means very small number, not enough and below expectation. E.g. Few students are interest in learning languages.
2. A few indicates some number. E.g. Few students are good at English.
3. The few indicates very small specific numbers. E.g. The few students who are good at English always speak in English.

Little, a little, the little denote quantity.

1. Little means very small quantity, not enough and below expectation. E.g. He knows little about the matter.
2. A little indicates some quantity. E.g. A little water is left in the jug.
3. The little indicates very small specific quantity. E.g. He drank the little water that was left in the jug.

Question. A very close relative _____ has just arrived from a trip during which he experienced many interesting adventures.
A) to me
B) of me
C) of mine
D) to myself
E) for my own

Answer : C

Question. According to the schedule, the teachers have to come together _____ other week to discuss the problems of their students.
A) all
B) any
C) some
D) each
E) every

Answer : E

Question. Despite the huge budget deficit, ____ of local government spending is directed towards the private sector.
A) a great quantity
B) a good many
C) a large many
D) a considerable group
E) very few

Answer : A

Question. Astronomers suggest that there are two separate universes, one made out of matter, our own, and _____made out of antimatter.
A) the other
B) another
C) other
D) others
E) each

Answer : A

Question. The infection can spread easily in a school, where many young live in close proximity to _____.
A) one another
B) themselves
C) another
D) the other
E) others

Answer : A

Question. ____ which feels that the worm will help in securing the system while _____ is of the opinion that a worm is a worm after all and has to be eradicated.
A) Some / others
B) One / the other
C) Few / other
D) Many / another
E) One / other

Answer : B

Question. Some people with depression may have thoughts about hurting themselves or _____, and they may even think about killing _____.
A) the others / themselves
B) other / them
C) others / themselves
D) anothers / theirs
E) others / theirs

Answer : C

Question. There were Rangers fans throwing bottles and cans at _____ because the game was not on.
A) themselves
B) one another
C) other
D) each another
E) the others

Answer : B

Question. In neighbourhoods where residents are willing to help _____, children are less likely to be overweight.
A) another
B) one another
C) each other
D) the other
E) themselves

Answer : B

Question. Very few will have learnt of ____ before and he will not hang around long enough to make a name for ______.
A) us / ourselves
B) him / himself
C) themselves / ours
D) theirs / herself
E) him / its

Answer : B

Question. Before the gathering that night, there was _____ more clearing up in the house to do as usual.
A) a few
B) some
C) several
D) a great many
E) a number of

Answer : B

Question. Not only graduate but also undergraduate students find _____ in a troublesome position that can not be got rid of.
A) themselves
B) one another
C) them
D) the others
E) each other

Answer : A

Question. To ______ that are acquainted with them, they don’t appear to be an ideal couple.
A) nowhere
B) anybody
C) nobody
D) somebody
E) none

Answer : B

Question. American Indians often sold _____ land to white people or gave it away without realizing that it would no longer be _____.
A) theirs / them
B) its / them
C) its / its
D) their / theirs
E) their / themselves

Answer : D

Question. High cholesterol is one of the three major risk factors for heart disease. Cigarette smoking and high blood pressure are _____ two.
A) another
B) one another
C) others
D) the other
E) other

Answer : D

Question. With those scrutinising the election saying they found _____ widespread evidence of vote-rigging, there would seem to be _____ chance of the result being reversed.
A) a little / many
B) plenty / none
C) no / little
D) every/much
E) a lot of/none

Answer : C

Question. The experts use _____ different strategies to convince parents to send children back to school.
A) the number of
B) a number of
C) a great deal of
D) a great amount of
E) a good quantity of

Answer : B

Question. This year's whiteout of a winter has prompted _____ global-warming naysayer to crow about buying Al Gore a snow shovel.
A) some
B) a lot of
C) many a
D) none
E) little

Answer : C

Question. Discount retailers such as Aldi and Lidl have been charging for bags for ______ years.
A) a great amount of
B) a number of
C) many a
D) a lot
E) too much

Answer : B

Question. When an electron meets an antielectron, _____ particles vanish.
A) none
B) all
C) both
D) either
E) every

Answer : C

Question. It will be advisable to quit _____ alcohol and smoking during pregnancy.
A) each
B) every
C) all
D) a number of
E) some

Answer : C

Question. We have realized that _____ has brought _____ worths buying.
A) everybody / anything
B) somebody / nothing
C) anybody / everything
D) nobody / anything
E) anybody / something

Answer : D