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Wecannotuseallthedeterminerswithalltypesofnoun.Wecanusesomedeterminerswith
anytypeofnoun,butothersmustbefollowedbycertaintypesofnoun.
Determinersandsingularcountablenouns
Somedeterminerscanonlybeusedwithasingularcountablenoun.Theseare:
a/ananothereacheithereveryneitherone
Wouldyoulikeanotherglassofwater?
Lifegetsmoreexpensiveeveryday.
A: Canwemeetonthe15thor16th?
B: Sorry.Neitherdateisgoodforme.Whataboutthe18th?
Seealso:
Each
Every
Other
Determinersandsingularuncountablenouns
Much,(a)little,lessandleastcanonlybeusedwithasingularuncountablenoun:
Wedidntgetmuchsnowlastwinter.
ThereislittleinformationIcangiveyou,Imafraid.
Wesometimesuselesswithpluralnouns,butthisisnotalwaysconsideredcorrect:
Therewerelesschildrentheretodaythanlastyear.(Therewerefewerchildrenis
consideredcorrect.)
Seealso:
Much
Little,alittle,few,afew
Lessorfewer?
Determinersandsingularcountableoruncountablenouns
Weusethisandthatwithsingularcountableoruncountablenouns,butnotwithplural
nouns.Thisreferstosomethingnearthespeakerthatreferstosomethingfurtheraway:
Thatfilmwasfantastic.(countable)
Thisfurnitureissougly!(uncountable)
Forpluralnouns,weusetheseandthose.
Seealso:
This,that,these,those
Determinersandpluralcountablenouns
Both,many,(a)few,thenumberstwo,three,four,etc.,several,theseandthoseareonly
usedwithpluralnouns:
Itallhappenedmanyyearsago.
Ijusthaveafewphotosofmygrandparents.
Severalitemsweremissingwhenweopenedtheboxtounpackeverything.
Seealso:
Both
Little,alittle,few,afew
Many
Number
Determinersanduncountablenounsorpluralcountablenouns
Somedeterminerscanonlybeusedwithanuncountablenounorwithapluralnoun:
all
some/sm/(weakform)
any(weak
form)
zerodeterminer(i.e.no
determiner)
enough
Wouldyoulikesomejuice,ormilk?(uncountablenoun)
Dowehaveenoughcupsforeverybody?(pluralnoun)
Weneedtobuypaperfortheprinter.(zerodeterminer,uncountablenoun)
Seealso:
All
Enough
Someandany
Such
Determinersandanytypeofnoun
Somedeterminerscanbeusedwithanytypeofnoun,singularorplural,countableor
uncountable.
Determinerswhichcanbeusedinthisway:
1.any(strongformmeaningitdoesntmatterwhich)
2.some(strongformmeaningcertain/particularstressedandpronounced/sm/)
3.which(asaquestionword)
what(asaquestionword)
4.my,your,his,Annas,etc.
5.such
6.the
7.what
8.whose
9.no
countable
uncountable
A: Where
would
youlike
tosit?
B: Any
seatin
Singular
Any
informationyou
thefront
rowwill
cangiveme
aboutthetrains
befine.(I
dont
wouldbevery
useful.
mind
which
Whose
advicedoyou
seat/Its
not
listentomost,
yourparentsor
important
which
seat)
yourteachers?
Whosejacketis
this?
Some
Plural
studentsalways
turnuplatefor
Some
processedmeat
class.(certain
students)
containsahigh
levelofsalt.
Therewereno
childrenatthe
Ihaveno
newsforyou.
hotel.
Seealso:
Someandany
Determinersfollowedbypronouns
Wecanusethesedeterminers+ofbeforepronouns:
(a)few,
fewer
each
many
one,
two,three,etc.
(a)little
either
more
several
another
all
enough
every
one
any
half
both
less
most
some
much
those
neither
which
Wehadtwentyticketstosellandwesoldalloftheminlessthananhour.
A: Whichboxdoyouwant?
B: Eitherofthemwillbefine,thanks.
Wevegotloadsofumbrellasyoucanborrowoneofours.
Seealso:
Both
All
("Determinersandtypesofnoun"deEnglishGrammarTodayCambridgeUniversityPress.)