Lesson video

Hi, I'm Mr. Buckingham, and I'm so glad you've decided to join me for today's lesson.

We're going to learn lots of new vocabulary in this lesson, so I'm hoping you'll find it really useful, but also very interesting as well.

Let's make a start.

Today's lesson is called Determiners: Articles, Possessive Pronouns, Quantifiers and Demonstratives, and it comes from our unit called key terminology, including determiners, fronted adverbials, and parenthesis.

By the end of today's lesson, we'll be able to choose which type of determiner to use in a clause and for what reason.

Now, learning to identify determiners is a useful skill in itself, but we're going to go beyond that today and we're going to learn how to select the right determiner to use in different situations and how to use determiners to introduce nouns in different sentence types.

Let's get to work.

Here are our keywords for today's lesson.

My turn, your turn.

Determiner.

Article.

Possessive pronoun.

Quantifier.

And demonstrative.

Well done.

Now, a determiner is a word that introduces a noun in a clause or phrase, and an article is a type of determiner that shows how specific the noun is that's being introduced.

A possessive pronoun is a type of determiner that shows that a noun belongs to another noun, and a quantifier is a type of determiner that indicates the quantity of a noun.

And finally, a demonstrative is a type of determiner that indicates which noun is being referred to.

Let's look at our lesson outline.

We're going to start off by looking at different types of determiner and then we'll move on to using those in sentences.

Now, as I'm sure you know, nouns are naming words for people, places, and things.

So if you look at these simple sentences, we'll see some nouns inside them.

See if you can spot them as I read them.

What a complicated language this is.

The ancient temple had been destroyed.

Who was willing to make a sacrifice.

And clap this rhythm.

Hopefully you spotted the nouns.

Language, temple, sacrifice, and rhythm.

These are all nouns, which are names for things.

So determiners are words that introduce nouns in a clause or phrase.

So let's look at some more clauses here.

Meet me at the leisure centre.

As our ancient vehicle juddered to a sudden halt.

This enormous elephant occupies a lot of space.

Maybe you spotted the nouns here.

Leisure centre, vehicle, halt, elephant, and space.

Now, let's look at these words, the leisure centre, our vehicle, a halt, this elephant, a lot of space.

Each noun here has been introduced by a determiner, and those are the words which are circled.

And determiners help us to determine which noun we're talking about.

We're talking about the leisure centre, we're talking about this elephant, we're talking about a lot of space.

So there may be adjectives as well between the determiner and the noun it introduces, and we can see that here, we've got our ancient vehicle, a sudden halt, and this enormous elephant.

So the adjective has been placed between the determiner, this, and the noun, elephant.

The adjective ancient is between the determiner, our, and noun, vehicle.

Now, let's see if we can spot which sentence here has all the determiners circled correctly.

Remember, a determiner is a word that introduces a noun.

So which sentence has them circled correctly? Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, let's take a look.

Hopefully you spotted that it is B.

Here we've got the determiner, them, introducing the noun, government and the determiner, its, introducing the noun, mind.

Really well done.

Have you spotted that already? Now, there are several different types of determiner as we saw in our vocabulary at the start of the lesson.

So start off with two.

The first one is articles, and articles help us to show how specific the noun is we're talking about.

So we've got just three in English language, a, an, and the.

Let's see them in sentences.

We won the competition.

We won a vital competition.

We won an important local competition.

Can you see here the determiner, the article, the, introducing the noun, competition.

Here we've got the article a introducing competition, and here the article an introducing competition.

And they have a slightly different meaning, don't they? The competition suggests that the speaker knows which competition is being referred to and their listener knows as well.

But if we say an important competition, we don't necessarily think that the person who's listening knows which competition we're referring to.

So they're slightly different in meaning, and we'll talk about that more later.

Another type of determiner is a possessive pronoun, and possessive pronouns help us to show that a noun belongs to another noun.

So some possessive pronouns in English are my, your, his, her, our, their, and its, so we use these to show the possession of that noun.

So for instance, I'm friends with his neighbour.

I enjoyed your cooking, but it upset my delicate stomach.

She wrote her intricate signature on the certificate.

We can see here the possessive pronoun his introducing the noun neighbour.

We've got the possessive pronoun your introducing cooking and my introduces stomach.

And then finally, her introduces signature.

And notice those adjectives, delicate and intricate, in between the determiner and the noun.

And in this case, that determiner is a possessive pronoun to show it's the signature belonging to her.

It's my stomach.

It's the cooking that you do.

It's his neighbour.

So the possessive pronoun helps us show that noun belongs to someone.

So I wonder if you can find all the articles and possessive pronouns in these sentences.

Pause the video and have a try.

Okay, let's take a look.

In A, we've got the, an article, and our, a possessive pronoun.

In B, we've got my, a possessive pronoun, and a, an article.

In C, we've got the, an article, and, your, a possessive pronoun.

Really well done if you've got all six of those.

So we've talked about articles and about possessive pronouns, but there are several other types of determiner as well.

Quantifiers are determiners which help us show the quantity of a noun we're referring to.

So there's a clue in the name there, that we're talking about a quantity and amount of a noun.

So here are some sentences containing quantifiers.

Some people love to exaggerate.

I saw lots of familiar faces there.

Miss O'Neill speaks no other languages.

You're asking many excellent questions.

And I glimpsed a few distant yachts.

So we've got here our nouns, people, faces, languages, questions, and yachts are all nouns.

And then they're being introduced by these words, some, lots of, no, many, a few.

So we've got a few yachts, many questions, no languages, lots of faces, and some people, so these are quantifiers, a type of determiner that shows us how many of the noun we're referring to.

We're referring to just a few yachts, just some people, and no languages.

So they allow us to talk about different amounts of quantities of a noun we're referring to.

And we can put them on a scale, going from no, like no languages, and then all, like all languages.

Imagine someone spoke all the languages in the world.

That would be the quantifier I would use then.

So we can include words like a few, not many, a handful of, a little, some, enough, plenty of, several, many, and lots of, and can you see, I'm increasing the quantity as they go across.

But these are all quantifiers that allow us to introduce nouns to say how many are we referring to.

So let's put them in a sentence.

We could say we only saw a few vehicles struggling up the hill, but we saw many exhausted walkers making the same trip.

I bet you spotted we've got a few there, a quantifier, which shows a low amount, and then many, a quantifier which shows a high amount.

And then you might have noticed, I put an adjective, exhausted, between my quantifier, many, and my noun, walkers there, which is fine.

You can do that too in your own writing.

So can you identify the quantifiers in these sentences? Pause the video and have a try.

Okay, let's see what we've got.

In A, we've got no lightning and lots of heavy rain.

In B, we've got several restaurants and some sandwiches.

In C, we've got a few neighbours and enough blankets.

And notice how we've got there, between a few and neighbours, the adjective kind again.

Really well done if you spotted all those quantifies.

Now, our final type of determiner for this lesson is a demonstrative.

So demonstratives are determiners that help us show which nouns we're talking about.

And there aren't many of these to learn.

Let me show you them in a sentence.

I love this profession.

I can't decode these complex symbols.

Hand me that big dictionary, please.

Those dirty vegetables need scrubbing.

And we put the nouns in purple there.

Profession, symbols, dictionary, and vegetables are all nouns.

So let's look at the words in front of them, introducing them.

We've got this, these, that, and those.

This profession, these symbols, that dictionary, those vegetables.

So these are demonstratives, which show which specific nouns we're referring to.

Not any profession, this profession.

Not any symbols, these symbols.

Not any dictionary, that dictionary.

And not any vegetables, those vegetables.

So these demonstratives help us to say which ones we're talking about.

So what type of determiner is shown in each of these lists? Pause the video and think of our four labels, demonstratives, quantifiers, articles, and possessive pronouns, and decide which lists should have which label, have a go.

Okay, really good job.

Hopefully you spotted that A is a list of demonstratives, those, that, and these.

B is a list of possessive pronouns, they're showing things belonging to other nouns.

Then we've got a list of quantifiers, showing us amounts, some, too many, a few, a quantity.

And then finally, we've got articles.

And this is the complete list of articles, a, an, and the are only articles in the English language.

Great job if you've got those labels.

Now let's test our knowledge of those demonstratives.

Can you identify the demonstratives in these sentences? Pause the video and have a try.

Okay, let's take a look.

In A, we've got these introducing the noun number facts, with that adjective vital in between.

B has two, this government and that law.

In C, we've got those papers and then these paint-splattered desks.

So again, we've got that adjective, paint-splattered, in between the demonstrative these and the noun desks.

Great job if you spotted all this.

Now, demonstratives and quantifiers are only working as determiners if they're introducing a noun.

Because remember, that's what a determiner is.

So if you look at this example, we've got pass me those ancient documents.

We've got those, a demonstrative, and then ancient documents, which is our noun.

So here, those is working as a determiner.

It's a demonstrative working as a determiner.

But look at this sentence, please pass me those.

We've still got those in that sentence, a demonstrative, but there's no noun after it.

So here, that demonstrative those is not working as a determiner because it is not introducing a noun.

So determiners always introduce nouns.

If they're not doing that, they're not working as determiners in that particular sentence.

So which of the following sentences contain a demonstrative or a quantifier used as a determiner? Pause the video and have a hard think.

Great job.

Let's have a look.

So in A, we've got can you give me that? So we've got that, but it's not followed by a noun, so this is not working as a determiner.

In B, we've got can you give me that dictionary? So here that is followed by a noun, so it is working as a determiner.

In C, we've got I don't have any.

Now, any can be a quantifier working as a determiner, but here it's not followed by a noun, so it's not working as a determiner here.

And finally in D, I've said I don't have any bruises.

So here any is introducing bruises, working as a quantifier, which is in this case, a determiner.

Really well done if you've got those.

So let's do our first task for this session.

I've got some sentences here, and I want you, in each sentence, to find and label all the determiners in all four categories we've learned.

We've got articles, we can label this A, possessive pronouns, quantifiers, and demonstratives.

And I've given you a couple of hints there as to what we're looking for in each of those categories, but I haven't given you the full list, so you're gonna have to look for those yourself.

So pause the video and let's label these sentences up.

Okay, let's take a look.

First, I'm going to show you the determiners and then we'll label them up.

So in A, we've got the determiners some, the, and a.

In B, we've got that, this and his.

In C, the, mine, and several.

And in D, those, your, and a few.

So if you go back to A, some is a quantifier, the is an article, and a is an article.

In B, that is a demonstrative, so is this, and then his is a possessive pronoun.

And C, the is an article, my is a possessive pronoun, and several is a quantifier.

And D, those is a demonstrative, your is a possessive pronoun, and a few is a quantifier.

Great job if you've managed to spot all those determiners and label them up correctly.

Okay, we've talked about those types of determiner.

We're now going to move on to looking at how we can use them in our writing.

Now, we've learned four different types of determiner now, so we need to know when to use those different determiners.

And we're gonna start off by looking at articles, because there's a special rule we can follow to know when to use the article a and when to use the article an.

And the rule is that when the word after the article starts with a vowel letter or a vowel sound, we use an instead of a.

So we know that these are the vowel letters in English, A-E-I-O-U, so let's have a look at some examples that would use an as the article.

We would say an absolute disaster.

Absolute starts with the letter A, that's a vowel, so we use an.

We'd say an embarrassment.

We'd say an individual player, an old yacht, an understandable mistake.

So we've got our words there after the article starting with a vowel, so we use an instead of a.

Here's another example.

We would say an honourable leader.

Now, honourable starts with H, but the H here is silent, so the word honour actually starts with a vowel sound, oh, and so we use an because it starts with a vowel sound as well.

In every other case, we use a as the article.

So all the consonant letters, we would use a.

So can you decide whether each gap should use the article a or the article an? Pause the video and have a try.

Okay, let's take a look.

We would say for A, opening the envelope, she let out an excited scream.

Excited starts with a vowel letter, so it must be an.

For B, we'd say after the match, I spotted a purplish bruise on my shoulder.

Purplish starts with a consonant, P.

It's not a vowel sound, so we use a.

For C, we'd say we had an opportunity to win the match, but we squandered it, that means wasted it.

So opportunity starts with a vowel letter, so it must be an.

And for D, Ms. O'Neill continued talking after giving John a consequence for his behaviour.

Consequence does not have a vowel sound or a vowel letter, so he must use a.

Really well done.

Now, what is the purpose of articles? Well, articles help us to show how specific we're being about the noun we're introducing.

So we use a or an when we aren't talking about a specific noun.

For example, I pulled a muscle, I've not told my reader anything about where that muscle is.

I'm being very unspecific.

We use the when we're talking about a specific noun.

For instance, I pulled the muscle in my shoulder.

Much more specific.

We could say we clapped a rhythm.

I'm not saying where that rhythm is from, but we could say we clapped the rhythm of the song.

So we're being more specific about which rhythm we're referring to.

Here's another example.

We could say, let's watch a programme together.

So I may be speaking to someone, but we are not thinking about a particular programme.

We're just suggesting we could watch a programme, maybe any programme.

Whereas if I said, let's watch the programme together, then that would suggest we both know which programme it is we're referring to, so we're being much more specific.

So can you decide whether the, a, or an is the best article to use in each of these sentences? Pause the video and try and fill those gaps.

Okay, great effort.

Let's take a look.

We would say I'll meet you at the restaurant at 6:00 PM.

It would probably be foolish to say I'll meet you at a restaurant at 6:00 PM, 'cause you wouldn't be being specific enough to meet together, would you? You might end up in completely different places.

For B, we'd say when I didn't get a lunch, Dad complained to the secretary.

We wouldn't complain to a secretary because we want to complain to the specific secretary who could help us out with that complaint.

For C, we'd say I had a nasty bruise on my arm where she hit me.

And for D, we'd say, "I didn't have the time to mark your work at lunchtime," explained Mr. Martinez.

Really well done if you've got those four.

So when we're writing sentences, we really need to choose the right determiner to help us introduce a particular noun.

If we want to be specific about which noun we're talking about, we might use an article.

If we want to emphasise who owns that noun, we might use a possessive pronoun.

Let's look at two sentences with a gap in them.

We really did our best to speak blank language, but it was very difficult.

Blank temperature has been rising rapidly for the last few hours.

Let's see if you can put some articles and possessive pronouns in those gaps.

We could say we really did our best to speak the language, to speak your language, to speak their language.

We've used articles and possessive pronouns, and they all work in that gap.

For the second example, we could say my temperature has been rising.

We could say the temperature, maybe outside, has been rising, your temperature has been rising, or we could say her temperature has been rising.

So let's see if you can choose an appropriate determiner for each of these gaps.

We have our articles and possessive pronouns.

I wonder if you can fill each gap with an appropriate determiner.

Push the video and have a go.

Okay, let's take a look.

Now, yours might be slightly different to mine in some cases, but for some, I'm sure we've got the same.

For A, I've said stepping into the room, I grabbed my bag.

For B, I've put when his stomach rumbled, he had a snack.

And for C, Sam ate her vegetables, but she left the bread on her plate.

But you could have put she left her bread on the plate as well, couldn't you? Pretty well done if you've got something very similar to mine.

Now, we've talked about using articles and possessive pronouns in our sentences, but we might also have to choose an appropriate demonstrative or quantifier.

Remember, if we want to emphasise the quantity of a noun, we're going to use quantifiers, and if we want to emphasise which specific nouns we're referring to, we might use those demonstratives.

So let's look at some sentences with a blank again.

Blank queue just never seems to get any shorter.

I have blank pain in my muscles today.

And blank children speak blank languages.

So let's look at some examples of how we could use these quantifiers and demonstratives in these sentences.

We could say this queue just never seems to get any shorter or that queue.

We could say I have some pain in my muscles or lots of pain in my muscles.

Both of those are quantifiers.

For number three I could say these children speak, or some children speak a few or many or several languages.

So there I've used a combination of a quantifier and another quantifier to show that some children are speaking several languages.

So can you choose an appropriate quantifier or demonstrative for each of these gaps? Post the video and have a go.

Okay, let's take a look at some ideas.

For A, I could say if we win this competition, we will celebrate for many days.

For B, I could say I love these vegetables because they have lots of flavour.

And for C, I could say, "Wipe the that smirk off your face," snapped Miss O'Neill, who had no patience for rudeness.

So I viewed some demonstratives there, this, these, and that, and some quantifiers, many, lots of, and no.

Great job if you managed to get something similar.

Now, we can also complete a sentence using a new noun and adjectives when we are given a determiner.

So look at this sentence ending in a quantifier.

During the storm, the lightning struck some.

There's my quantifier.

So now I have the chance to introduce a new noun, maybe with an adjective in front of it.

I could say the lightning struck some tall trees or some ancient buildings.

Let's look at this one ending in a demonstrative.

When it's winter, we'll be glad we have these.

I could say frozen vegetables or warm blankets.

This one ends with a possessive pronoun.

Rubbing the dog's head, I gave it its special treats or vital medicine.

And this one ends with an article.

Once we've finished our work, we'll have a short break or a little rest.

So each time I've used that determiner of different types to introduce a new noun with adjectives in front of it.

I wonder if you can do the same thing now.

Can you think of a way to complete each clause by introducing a new noun using the determiners you've been given? So I've got the determiners in green.

What noun are you going to introduce afterwards? Pause the video and have a think.

Great job.

Let's have a look.

So for A, we could say after we've had a little rest, we should do some exercise.

For B, I could say racing out of the house, I forgot my packed lunch.

I'm sure you might have something different there, but this could work.

For C, I've got for my birthday, I want this coat and those shoes.

And for D, I could say I will persuade the teachers that we should have a break.

Good luck.

So there we've used new nouns after our determiners, because the determiner helps us to introduce those new nouns to our sentences.

Okay, let's do our final task for this lesson.

Here are some sentences, and I've left some gaps in front of nouns that we're introducing.

I'd like you to choose an appropriate determiner to introduce each noun in each of these sentences.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, let's have a look.

Now, your determiners might be different to mine, of course, but I'm gonna show you some examples I've done.

I could say stomping into the classroom, Aisha knocked over lots of pens and pencils.

For B, "Hand out these pencils and then take your book to Ms. O'Neill, please," commanded Mr. Martinez.

Andeep said, "I have a few bruises on my shoulder, but I don't have any pain." Once you've finished this task, you can do some reading.

This work has several mistakes, but I appreciate your effort.

And on 8th of March, which is my sister's birthday, we do many fun things.

Well done if you've managed to use a wide range of determiners there to introduce those different nouns.

As we've seen, it's important to choose the right determiner for the right noun in order to introduce it correctly in our sentences.

Good job.

Okay, let's summarise our learning in this lesson.

We learned that determiners introduce nouns and phrases and clauses.

We learned that there are several types of determiners, including articles, possessive pronouns, quantifiers, and demonstratives.

And we must choose appropriate determiners to introduce nouns in a clause or phrase, depending on what we were trying to emphasise about those nouns.

Really well done for all your hard work in this lesson.

I can't wait to see you in a future one.

Well done.