Noun Determiners

 

Today we discuss an important grammatical term: Noun Determiners.   

You can read our prior lesson, Adjectives in Noun Phrases ,before you begin today with the exercises.

What Is a Noun Determiner?

 

A descriptive adjective is an adjective such as beautiful, dangerous, and new.

Where do we find descriptive adjectives?   You can find a descriptive adjective in a noun phrase.

  • I gave birth to a beautiful daughter.

You can also find a descriptive adjective in the predicate of a sentence.

  • My daughter is beautiful.


Word Order

 

In English, when the adjective describing a noun is in a noun phrase, the word order is:

  The Noun Determiner (if one is required) The Adjective The Noun
     
We had a good time.
That was a dangerous situation.
I gave birth to a beautiful daughter.
   

 

Descriptive Adjective When the Noun Is Plural

 

In many languages, when a noun is plural, the adjective describing it also takes on a plural form.  This is not the case in English. This fact makes this a troublespot for many learners of English.

Is your first language like this?

Be careful because in English, descriptive adjectives do not have a plural form.

  The Noun Determiner
or
Quantifier
(if one is required) 		The Adjective The Noun
     
We had many good times.
We had   twin daughters.
This love of life has helped me in many dangerous situations.
They set up discussions in   high schools.
There are Alcoholics Anonymous meetings in my neighborhood.
There are so many different types of counseling available for different purposes and problems.

 

Grammar Helper

 

Exercise 1

Beneath each bolded noun phrase, identify 1) the noun determiner position, 2) the adjective, and 3) the noun.

Write N.D. for each noun determiner (if there is one), adj for each possessive, descriptive or demonstrative adjective, and N for each noun.

1.  We had a good time.
                 n.d.  adj     N

1.  They organized interesting meetings in the high school.

3.  This love of life has helped me in many dangerous situations.

4.  That counseling program helps people with a different type of problem.

5.  They gave out the telephone number of the office.

6.  Gregory preferred to live with his foster parents.

When you are ready to check your answers, click here for our Answer Key.

Next...

Please continue with our next lesson, "Nouns that Function as Adjectives".

All material is copyrighted, Software for Students.  Copying for PERSONAL USE ONLY. All others must contact Software for Students for permission to use in schools or other educational institutions.

 Music by Grover Washington, Sassy Stew