Determiners are noun-modifiers that convey the reference of a noun without delineating its characteristics [as adjectives do].
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Is “May I have some drink?” incorrect?
This weekend, I took my family to Arby's to eat. My wife ordered us all some food, and filled the cups with some ice and some soda, then I got some sauce for my sandwich as well as some sauces for ...
21
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5answers
5k views
Are there any simple rules for choosing the definite vs. indefinite (vs. none) article?
I can’t for the life of me figure out where to use a and where to use the — and where there is no article at all. Is there a simple rule of thumb to memorize?
The standard rule you always hear:
...
17
votes
6answers
23k views
Which is correct, “neither is” or “neither are”?
Bob: "Can I set the font color? Can I customize the text?"
Frank: "Neither of these options is available. Sorry!"
Is "neither is" always correct or should one use "neither are" in some cases and ...
17
votes
3answers
27k views
“Which” vs. “what” — what's the difference and when should you use one or the other?
Most of the time one or the other feels better, but every so often, "which" vs. "what" trips me up.
So, what's the exact difference and when should you use one or the other?
16
votes
5answers
2k views
“A few” vs. “few”
I have few friends.
I have a few friends.
I thought "few" means just one, two or even none. "A few" typically means more than two. However it seems to me some people say "few" when they ...
13
votes
3answers
574 views
Is “How and why child is become criminal” proper English?
My friend is writing a paper for his Criminal Justice class and has asked me to take a look the the rough draft and point out any grammatical errors that I can spot.
The first thing that jumped at ...
11
votes
1answer
2k views
What are the rules about using 'half of' with plural nouns?
Here are some sentences with 'half of' and plural nouns that I consider to be well-formed:
Half of all films are a waste of celluloid.
Half of users surveyed said they preferred the old product.
...
10
votes
5answers
204 views
What is the radical difference between ‘this’ and ‘a’ when telling a story?
The following quotation is a line from Ron to Harry after the first stage of the Triwizard Tournament. (p359, Harry Potter 4, US edition)
“You were the best, you know, no competition. Cedric did ...
9
votes
2answers
122 views
Can you use “many, many” in this way?
Suppose I want to use the phrase "many, many" to compound the "maniness" of the thing I'm describing.
There are many, many people.
The people (of which there are many, many)
The first one ...
8
votes
2answers
317 views
Can I precede a noun with more than one determiner?
Is there a rule that a noun would take only one determiner at most?
For example, according to “Determiner” at EnglishLanguageGuide.com, both both and the are determiners. Can I write an expression ...
8
votes
2answers
469 views
“Any” with countable nouns in questions
I have seen "is “any” also used with plurals", which explains that any can be used with singular, plural, and uncountable nouns.
However, I want to ask specifically about questions. ...
7
votes
2answers
411 views
Is there a clear delineation between the usages of 'this' and 'that' in American English?
One of my linguistics professors speaks English as a second language, and remarked that she never knows which of the two is appropriate. Given a list of examples, all native speakers in the classroom ...
6
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7answers
6k views
Do “in future” and “in the future” imply different meanings?
Do in future and in the future imply different meanings? If so, using which one is grammatically correct?
6
votes
1answer
742 views
“Alternative to” vs “Alternative for”
I'm wondering whether there is a difference between these two expressions. I never know which one to use. Google seems to return the same amount of results for both, so I suppose there might be a ...
6
votes
7answers
746 views
Is the phrase “Like many another” correct in standard English?
I've come across "like many another" in a GMAT question. Its use is similar to "Like many other" e.g. "Like many another in his class, John is thirteen years old."
It has 1M hits in google (compare ...
5
votes
4answers
851 views
Use of determiners as adjectives
In a grammar book that I'm reading, an adjective is defined as:
A word that modifies a noun or a pronoun. (To modify is to limit or
point out or describe: that book; another chance; the blue
...
5
votes
2answers
195 views
What are “a” and “certain” adding in meaning to the phrase “a certain Mr. Ripley”?
Consider the following sentences:
I had my identity stolen by Mr. Ripley.
and
I had my identity stolen by a Mr. Ripley.
and
I had my identity stolen by a certain Mr. Ripley.
In what ...
5
votes
2answers
340 views
Can anyone explain the use of determiners in this passage?
Can someone explain the use of determiners (words like some or the) for the word beans in the following dialogue:
Aki: Lisa, here're some beans.
Lisa: Why are you giving me beans?
Aki: ...
5
votes
3answers
2k views
What's the difference between “another” and “other”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“My another account” vs. “my other account”
Sometime it's vague for me when to use other vs another. For example,
You need to buy other ...
5
votes
2answers
91 views
How to analyze lightly varying senses of adjective *very*
Use of very as an adjective is (in my experience) most frequently attested in phrases like
...the very person I was looking for.
To use adjective very with the indefinite article sounds quite ...
4
votes
3answers
161 views
“A different one” when we have 3 objects - other/another? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Can “another” be used with plural nouns provided periods or measurements don’t count?
Here is the context (found in a forum for learners of English)
WAITRESS: Do you ...
4
votes
3answers
338 views
Can “another” be used with plural nouns provided periods or measurements don’t count?
Merriam-Webster says about another the following:
being one more in addition to one or more of the same kind
—http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/another
However, I come across such ...
4
votes
4answers
1k views
“Both which” or “both of which”
"This can be done using the technique of Peters, and using the technique of Matthews, both which involve mathematics"
Having searched both which and both of which in Google, it appears both of which ...
4
votes
3answers
222 views
When is it appropriate to use 'the' instead of a possessive determiner?
I was with someone today and we were talking about a woman, and she said:
"Wow, the husband must be so proud."
I was confused as to which was correct or more appropriate as opposed to:
"Wow, ...
3
votes
3answers
159 views
“Which” or “where”?
A question of mine on another SE site was corrected from:
I am trying to determine where on Earth has the lowest gravity.
To:
I am trying to determine which on Earth's surface has the lowest ...
3
votes
1answer
159 views
Is “any” also used with plurals?
I found on a research paper the following statement:
Is any particular images satisfying the requirements ?
I thought any can only be used with singular terms. So I was surprised when I've seen ...
3
votes
1answer
434 views
“At the time” versus “at that time”
If I want to say that during the accident there were no passengers, how do I phrase it?
There were no passengers at the time.
There were no passengers at that time.
3
votes
1answer
69 views
“That” vs “It” as Anaphoric Determiners
What are the specific uses and differences of "it" and "that" in anaphoric reference? Sometimes they can be used interchangeably and sometimes they can't.
I am teaching back referencing as a ...
3
votes
2answers
644 views
“… things like this.” vs. “… things like that.”
Yesterday on talk radio an interviewee speaking about Sudanese Northerner's being forced into the mountains and away from their farmlands by the Sudanese Army said the result was:
The men would ...
2
votes
3answers
205 views
“Mostest” vs. “most” [closed]
What is the difference between mostest and most?
Can they be used interchangeably?
2
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2answers
140 views
Is it correct to say “which is Jay”?
I've been watching the movie "King Arthur", and I heard Arthur asking "Which is X?"
Is it correct to say "Which is Jay?" instead of "Who is Jay?"?
2
votes
3answers
3k views
“At this time” vs “At that time”
Is it acceptable to use "at this time" when referring to a specific point in time in the past? While in the process of telling a story, for example, that happens completely in the past?
To me it just ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
“For both X and Y” or “both for X and Y” or …?
Which of these forms is correct?
X will be used both for Y and Z
X will be used for both Y and Z
X will be used both for Y and for Z
Other...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
Missing articles?
Aren't some articles missing in the following sentence?
... when traditional pattern of landscape became established.
Or is it something else that is wrong with this sentence?
Context.
2
votes
1answer
58 views
Is “the many” grammatical? [closed]
The homework is as following
As it stands, our rule allows just one determiner in an NP.
NP → (D) (AdjP+) N (PP+) (CP) (PP+)
How can we revise this rule to account for the following data:
...
2
votes
1answer
87 views
Parse tree of “several more successful books”
Let us consider the following sentence:
After that first attempt, she wrote several more successful books.
Does this mean she wrote several additional books that were also successful? Or that ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views
“Any” or “some” in various questions?
I'm wondering why I always hear "some" in questions, although according to English grammar there should always be "any". At least the one I'm looking at uses "some". For example:
Why are some ...
2
votes
1answer
2k views
“An other” vs “another”
I just edited this answer on unix.sx. The original sentence was
But it won't transform it to an other format.
I changed this to
But it won't transform it to another format.
The second form ...
2
votes
2answers
2k views
“They all are fine” vs. “they are all fine” [closed]
The situation is that someone asks me how my family are; I then want to answer that they all are fine.
I want to know whether the sentences "They all are fine." and "They are all fine." have the ...
1
vote
3answers
264 views
“Much feces” vs. “many feces”
I want to know which word I should use in the following sentence:
How many/much feces does a human produce in one year?
I found that both versions exist on the Internet.
Any help would be ...
1
vote
3answers
358 views
Why not concatenate two frequently used words into a new one?
I will probably get a lot of flak about this, but why not combine the often used together words "with the" into "withe" which is pronounced similarly, and it much shorter and easier to write?
I am ...
1
vote
3answers
142 views
I don't know which boy?
Is it correct to say:
I don't know which boy you meet.
For me which here makes sense but grammatically I think there is something wrong by using which to refer to the boy.
1
vote
1answer
63 views
Is this construct correct? “This one something…”
After criticizing some whole category of blog posts as fake news, biased or undercover advertising, I was about to add:
That being said, I must admit that this one article is quite interesting.
...
1
vote
2answers
127 views
Is “for all who” grammatical? [closed]
The context is:
The blog for all who want to learn German.
I feel like this is not correct, but the only alternative I can think of is:
The blog for all those who want to learn German.
...
1
vote
0answers
40 views
Help sheet for determiners and prepositions [closed]
I'm trying to produce a simple help sheet for foriegn speakers on English determiners and prepositions.
Specifically, a basic description of when to use each type of determiner, and then the list of ...
1
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0answers
58 views
Difference between “a few minutes” and “few minutes” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“A few” vs. “few”
What is the difference between "a few minutes" and "few minutes"?
For instance, how do these statements differ?
She has ...
0
votes
3answers
499 views
Correct usage of determiners and prepositions
I am confused between two sentences:
The houses in the cities are more beautiful than that of villages.
The houses in the cities are more beautiful than those in the villages.
Which one ...
0
votes
1answer
98 views
“Any English I have learned” vs. “All the English I have learned” [closed]
Is it correct to say: Any English I have learned has been from movies and the Internet or is it better: All the English I have learned has been from movies and the internet?
0
votes
4answers
702 views
Central determiners “some” and “any” used with singular count nouns
I couldn't comment on Irene's post here, so I decided to make a topic.
I'd like to know whether this phrase: "I can give you any book that's left" is grammatically right since "some" and "any" are ...
0
votes
3answers
262 views
Use of “yet another” in the middle of a sentence
Is the usage of yet another correct in the following sentence?
This sentence might need yet another piece of work for you!
Where can I place yet another in a sentence?
