A noun phrase commonly has three components, i.e., determinatives, pre & post modifiers and complements. In this post, the first two components will be discussed specially with reference to their capacity to specify definiteness, quantity, and possession of a noun. The learning writers’ knowledge and competence to use these components for the construction of noun phrases is highly significant in advanced writing.
1. Determinatives
A determinative is a word that specifies the definiteness, quantity, or possession of a noun. When determinatives perform their role, they fix, settle or define something that is in focus. In other words, determinatives provide additional information about the head noun to show whether it is specific or general. In addition, they number, or show by whom the head noun is owned. Besides, determinatives occur in a noun phrase before the adjective that mark some sort of attribution of the head noun.
1.1 Determiners
A determiner is a word that describes, modifies or introduces a noun. This it does by indicating qualities such as possession, relative position, and quantity of a noun. The role of determiners is to indicate whether the noun is definite or indefinite. For example, the president of Pakistan, the knife, that car, both the books, the cow’s sale are definite noun phrases. Similarly, a scientist, some utensils, any important book, enough paper, four horses, green tea, students are indefinite noun phrases. However, the decision of the definiteness of a noun is based on its context.
When with the help of the context we are able to identify the referent, we use a definite noun phrase. For example, if we talk of the president of Pakistan, the definiteness in this example is clear because there is only one president in Pakistan. However, in other examples, we need heavily to rely on context to determine the referents. When we use the in a noun phrase, on account of its presence a which question does not arise. If one person says Where is the book?, the listener will be very clear about the book which is being referred to in the question. Likewise, genitive determiner provides the noun phrase with definiteness. For example, the cow’s sale means the sale of the cow. However, noun phrases like green tea and students whose heads are common nouns and do not have determiner are indefinite noun phrases.
At times, determiners are classified as adjective. However, adjectives and determiners differ significantly from each other in terms of their function. As far as their position in noun phrase is concerned, they both can be placed before a noun with the purpose to modify the noun.
1.2 Types of determiners
There are nine types of determiners.
- Articles: a, an, the
- Possessives: my, our, your, his, her, their
- Demonstratives: this, these, that, those
- Quantifiers: any, many, some, all, few, no, much, little
- Numerals: one, two, three, four, etc.
- Ordinal numbers: first, second, third, fourth, etc.
- Interrogative words: which, what, whose
- Distributive determiners, also called distributive adjective: all, each, every, both, half, either, and neither
- Determiners of difference: other and another
1.3 Function of determiners
Identity, possession, quantity and the determiners enlisted above appear before head noun in a specific order. Only one or several determiners can occur before a head noun.
The function of a determiner (a pre-modifier) is to supply information about the identity, possession, or quantity of the head noun. Identity is indicated by articles (a(n), the), and demonstratives (this, that, these, those). Possession is highlighted by possessives (my, our, your, his, her, their), or by genitives, e.g. the singer’s voice, some students’ behavior, etc. As far as quantity is concerned, it is indicated by quantifiers (any, many, some, number, all). These determiners appear before head noun in a specific order. Only one or several determiners can occur before a head noun. For example:
- My friend helped me in my hardship.
- All these plants are growing well.
In example (a), my is a possessive and in (b), all is a quantifier and these is demonstrative. These determiners along with their respective head nouns form noun phrases.
1.4 Use of determiners
Determiners are used in a noun phrase to clarify or specify the type of reference the head noun has. This they do by indicating whether the head noun is definite or indefinite, possessive or demonstrative. Besides, determiners can quantify the head noun. For example:
- The dog barked at the strangers. (definite reference, as the specifies a particular dog)
- A cat crossed the road swiftly. (indefinite reference, a refers to any cat)
- This car can fly on the road. (demonstrative reference, this points to a specific car)
- My house is a big house. (possessive reference, my indicates ownership)
- Some questions are nobler than answers. (quantified reference, some specifies quantity)
1.5 Functions of determinatives
Determinatives are a word class that can do two functions, i.e. they can stay as determiners or modifiers. For example:
| Determiner | Modifier |
| i. a [The aero-plane] had flown away. | i. b He felt [all the stronger] for having survived this blast |
| ii. a Who’s [that black person] on the gate. | ii. b You shouldn’t have climbed [that high]. |
| iii. a [Many players] were happy. | iii. b We had witnessed [his many failings]. |
1.6 Determiners vs Adjectives
There are significant differences in how determiners and adjectives actually function whereas only an adjective can modify a pronoun (e.g., he’s gracious). Further, determiners are commonly essential in sentences of which they are a part. However, this is not the case with adjectives, i.e. they can be removed. For example:
- Naseer took his rich dinner.
- Naseer took his dinner.
- Naseer took dinner.
If a determiner and an adjective both precede a noun, the determiner always occurs first as can be seen in the examples given above.
2. Determinative Phrases
Determinative phrases (DPs) are composed of the quantificational determinatives and their dependents. For example, almost all employees, too few customers, not many soldiers, etc. In these constructions, the determinative stays as the head of the phrase. Commonly, the dependents are modifiers that stay before the head of the DP. For example:
| NPs (DP +N) as Subject | DPs (DP +N) as Predicative Nominative |
| i. a [Not many customers] were found loyal. | i. b There were [at most twenty holes] in the bag. |
| ii. a [Almost every penny] was spent. | ii. b They had [hardly any energy] left. |
| iii. a [Some twenty apples] were damaged. | iii.b They hadn’t [very much money] on them. |
In the examples given above, brackets enclose the NPs and the words in bold case indicate the DPs inside the NPs.
This post provides details regarding determinatives, determiners and determinative phrases. These grammatical resources help writers compose noun phrases with the elements that help specify, define, quantify and show possession of the head noun. Determiners are particularly used to clarify or specify the type of reference the head noun has. This they do by providing context (generic and specific) for the noun and thus enable readers to identify the noun referent. For this purpose, they indicate whether the head noun is definite or indefinite, possessive or demonstrative. Besides, determiners supply additional information about the head noun to show whether it is specific or general. In addition to determiners, other determinatives occur in a noun phrase before the adjective. These (one or several) appear before the head noun in a specific order. The function of determinatives is to stay as determiners or modifiers. As far as determinative phrases (DPs) are concerned, they are composed of the quantificational determinatives and their dependents. In a determinative phrase, the determinative stays as the head of the phrase.
Sources Consulted
- https://dictionary.cambridge.org
- Huddleston and Pullum (2007)
- Payne, T. E (2010)
