'A modifying word that determines the kind of reference a noun or noun group has'
The next addition to my word class series is determiners. Now, every single word in a sentence plays a role and is part of a word class and determiners seem to be the ones that are 'less obvious' to identify. As we get further into word classes, I think it's important to mention that a word isn't exclusively part of one word class, depending on the sentence it may change what word class it belongs to (I know, confusing). A word can also fall into more than word class as it's doing more than one job, for example, some determiners will also be pronouns.
Determiners come before a noun and identifies (or you could say determines...) whether the noun or phrase is general or specific. They can specify/ identify the following:
Quantity
Possession
Specificity
Definiteness
For example:
The car
A car
That car
These are all considered as determiners. Now, let's make things even more complicated... Determiners fall into these main categories:
Articles
Simply they identify whether a noun is general or specific.
(a, an, the) For example:
A dog
The table
Simple, right?
Demonstrative
Specifying a noun
(this, that, these, those) For example:
This dress
Those shoes
Possessive
Specify to whom something belongs to
(his, hers, theirs, Sophie's)
My work
My mum's house
Indefinite
Refer to a general quantity
(some, any, every, a few)
A few minutes
It rains most days
More specifically numbers are also considered as determiners too.
One hundred flowers
Two days left
All in all, I think it's important to remember that determiners are there to modify and add clarity to a sentence. Word classes can be confusing, but it's not essential to know each one and be able to identify where they are in a sentence. However, it's useful to understand them as it can help with your writing. As an editor, it's a good way to ensure that each sentence is correct and each part is doing its job properly.
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