Determiners
You learn to find the determiner: the small word before a noun that says which one, whose or how many.
How to do the test
- Find the noun.
- Look at the small word just before it.
- If it tells you which one, whose or how many, it is a determiner.
A worked example
Tap the determiner. The dog barked loudly.
- A determiner comes before a noun and tells you which one.
- Look at "the dog": the introduces the noun dog.
- The is the determiner.
More examples
Tap the determiner. My brother snores loudly.
- A determiner comes before a noun and tells you whose brother.
- Look at "my brother": my introduces the noun brother.
- My is the determiner.
Tap the determiner. Some children painted happily.
- A determiner comes before a noun and tells you how many.
- Look at "some children": some introduces the noun children.
- Some is the determiner.
Watch out
You tap my or our and call it a pronoun, because it stands for a person.
My comes before a noun (my brother) and tells you whose it is, so it is a determiner. A pronoun stands on its own.
Tips
- A, an and the are determiners too. Use an before a vowel sound, as in an apple.
Why it works
The, a, my, this, some and every all introduce a noun. They tell you which one, whose or how many. When you find the noun first, the determiner is the small word before it.