determiners introduce nouns [Music] a determiner comes before the noun [Music] they also come before an adjective if there is one the dog these trees many classes my new friend [Music] a determiner is always used before a singular noun for example we couldn't say there is book on floor we would need determiners before book and floor for example there is a book on the floor determiners are optional before plural nouns for example we could say there are books on the floor because books is a plural noun we don't need to use a determiner we might choose to but we don't need to a determiner is also optional before uncountable nouns for example there is money on the floor because money is uncountable it doesn't require a determiner this video will explain four types of determiners in english articles demonstratives quantifiers and possessives let's begin with articles articles are a very common determiner there are three articles a and all three can be used for singular nouns only the can be used for plural nouns for example dogs is plural we would use the dogs shu is singular we could use a or the a and an are indefinite articles we use them when we don't want to refer to a specific member within the group or we are referring to a noun for the first time the is a definite article we use it when we want to refer to a specific member within the group [Music] for example there is a cat outside the indefinite article used in this sentence tells us that the particular cat is not known this is the first time it's being referred to the next time it's referred to the definite article the would be used for example the cat has green eyes it is understood which particular cat the speaker is referring to another example let's go to a park let's go to the park in this sentence with the indefinite article which park it is isn't important [Music] in this sentence the definite article means they have a specific park in mind that they will go to or they have previously mentioned the park why are there two indefinite articles a is used for nouns beginning with a consonant a boat a tree a flower an is used for nouns beginning with a vowel for example an orange an umbrella an award let's now look at a second type of determiner demonstratives the four most common demonstratives are this that these and those [Music] these words are generally used when the speaker is in close proximity to an object and so they're even more specific than the definite article this and that are used for singular nouns whereas these and those are used for plural nouns this and these refer to objects that are close to you this tree is beautiful these trees are beautiful that and those refer to objects that are comparatively further away that tree is beautiful those trees are beautiful [Music] do you like this shirt that shirt looks great now let's move on to the third type of determiners quantifiers quantifiers give information about the quantity of an object without providing a number some quantifiers can only be used with countable nouns while others can only be used with uncountable nouns some quantifiers can be used with both these quantifiers describe large quantities much most a lot of many several for example is there much food left food is uncountable we couldn't say are there much apples left because apples are countable we would need to say are there many apples left most and a lot of can be used for both countable and uncountable nouns paula ate the most food paula ate the most apples there is a lot of sand there are a lot of animals these quantifiers describe small quantities a few a little a bit a few grapes dropped on the floor i like a little milk in my tea there is a bit of water left we can use these quantifiers if we don't know or don't want to specify the quantity some and any sum is used to make positive statements for both countable and uncountable nouns for example there is some ice cream here are some spoons [Music] any is used to make negative statements for both countable and uncountable nouns for example there isn't any ice cream there aren't any spoons any is also used for questions is there any ice cream are there any spoons [Music] many and much are also used in questions about quantity many for countable and much for uncountable for example how many dogs do you have how many eggs would you like how much water do you want how much luggage do you have let's now look at the fourth type of determiner possessives possessives show that a noun is owned by someone or something for singular first person we use my this is my car for singular and plural second person we use your your house is wonderful for singular third person we use his her and it for plural first person we use our and for plural third person we use there be careful not to mix up these words there there and there these two are not possessives it's and it's this word is a contraction meaning it is not a possessive you're and you're this word is a contraction meaning you are it's not a possessive remember determiners introduce nouns thanks for watching easyteaching.net