Parts of speech Determiners
Focus
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• Verbs used after each, every, either and neither are singular as are any related possessive determiners. Example: Each of the boys eats his dinner. Every person has worn his or her hat. Either sports car appeals to its drivers. Neither woman wants to drive her car. • ‘Which’, ‘what’ and ‘whose’ are also known as ‘question words’. These words are placed before the noun they relate to and are used to elicit more precise information about that noun.
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Determiners: Distributives: either, neither, each, every Interrogatives: which, what, whose
Definitions
• A determiner is a word usually used before a noun that determines how definite it is. Example: Her dog was tied to that pole with a chain each time she went into the shop. • A distributive is a type of determiner which tells how something is distributed, shared or divided. Example: I think every person is special. • An interrogative is a type of determiner used before nouns to form a question. Example: Whose book is that? Note: In traditional grammar some words used as what are now called determiners in functional grammar, are referred to as adjectives, e.g. first, seven or possessive pronouns, e.g. my, your.
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• Discuss Question 1 with students and explain that some of these distributives have similar meanings. • Discuss question type words and point out that in these sentences the interrogatives are used directly before the noun they relate to. After discussing this aspect, students can then use the interrogatives in their own sentences.
Ideas for further practice
• Search newspaper or magazines and highlight the words, each, every, either and neither. Circle the verbs and decide if they are singular or plural.
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• Determiners are useful for making information more precise for the reader or listener. • Distributive determiners are usually used before the noun. • Each and every have similar meanings and it’s often possible to use either of them. Each often but not always means everyone separately or one by one and can be used for one of two things. It can be followed by ‘of’ and can be used in front of a verb. Every can mean each and sometimes all. Every cannot be used for two things or after ‘of’. It can be used to say ‘how often’ • Either and neither refer to one or none of two things. Primary grammar and word study
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Explanation
Worksheet information
Answers
(c) Neither (d) either
2. (a) Neither: not either; (b) either: one of the two; (c) each: every, of two or more considered individually or one by one; (d) every: each, referring one by one to all members of a group (e) each; referring one by one to each individual in the pair (f) neither: not either
3. (a) Whose (b) Which (c) What
30
1. (a) every (b) each
(d) Which
Teacher check student sentences. Ensure the interrogative is before the noun.
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