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Overview of determiners and their role before nouns.
Determiners are words placed before nouns to identify, specify or quantify them.
They help define which noun is being referred to and provide information about reference, quantity, possession or distribution.
I bought a new car yesterday.
Я вчера купил новую машину.
"A" is a determiner that introduces the singular countable noun "car".
The car is parked outside.
Машина припаркована снаружи.
"The" identifies a specific car.
My brother lives in Chicago.
Мой брат живет в Чикаго.
"My" identifies the noun through possession.
These shoes are too expensive.
Эти туфли слишком дорогие.
"These" identifies specific plural shoes in relation to the speaker.
Several students stayed after class.
Несколько студентов остались после занятия.
"Several" quantifies the plural noun "students".
Each employee received a badge.
Каждый сотрудник получил бейдж.
"Each" distributes the reference over individual employees.
Both parents attended the meeting.
Оба родителя присутствовали на собрании.
"Both" identifies the two members of the group.
Three people were waiting outside.
Три человека ждали снаружи.
"Three" specifies the exact number of people.
Determiners identify, limit or describe the reference of a noun.
They indicate whether a noun is specific, general, possessed, counted or quantified.
I need the blue folder.
Мне нужна синяя папка.
"The" identifies which folder is meant.
She bought a laptop.
Она купила ноутбук.
"A" presents one non-specific laptop.
His car is in the driveway.
Его машина стоит на подъездной дорожке.
"His" identifies the car through possession.
Several customers complained about the delay.
Несколько клиентов пожаловались на задержку.
"Several" limits the quantity of customers.
Every student needs a password.
Каждому студенту нужен пароль.
"Every" distributes the reference over all members of the group.
Those boxes are for the warehouse.
Те коробки предназначены для склада.
"Those" identifies particular boxes from the speaker's perspective.
My two brothers live in Texas.
Мои два брата живут в Техасе.
"My" identifies the brothers as belonging to the speaker, while "two" specifies their number.
No employees were in the office.
В офисе не было сотрудников.
"No" indicates complete absence of employees.
The main types of determiners are articles, demonstratives, possessives, quantifiers, distributives and numerals.
Each type performs a different grammatical function before a noun.
I saw a dog in the park.
Я увидел собаку в парке.
"A" is an article functioning as a determiner.
This dog belongs to my neighbor.
Эта собака принадлежит моему соседу.
"This" is a demonstrative determiner.
My dog sleeps in the kitchen.
Моя собака спит на кухне.
"My" is a possessive determiner.
Many people use public transportation.
Многие люди пользуются общественным транспортом.
"Many" is a quantifying determiner.
Each student received a handout.
Каждый студент получил раздаточный материал.
"Each" is a distributive determiner.
Both teams played well.
Обе команды хорошо сыграли.
"Both" is a distributive determiner referring to two members.
Three students volunteered.
Три студента вызвались помочь.
"Three" is a numeral determiner specifying quantity.
No customers complained.
Ни один клиент не пожаловался.
"No" is a determiner expressing zero quantity.
Determiners normally appear before adjectives and the noun they modify.
Compare the red car, my old house and several interesting books.
The red car is mine.
Красная машина моя.
"The" comes before the adjective "red" and the noun "car".
My old house needs a new roof.
Моему старому дому нужна новая крыша.
"My" appears before the adjective "old" and noun "house".
Several interesting books were on the table.
На столе лежало несколько интересных книг.
"Several" comes before the adjective "interesting".
Those two large boxes are heavy.
Те две большие коробки тяжелые.
"Those" appears before the number, adjective and noun.
Her new office is downtown.
Ее новый офис находится в центре.
"Her" comes before the adjective "new" and the noun "office".
The three young employees arrived early.
Трое молодых сотрудников пришли рано.
"The" precedes the numeral and adjective in this noun phrase.
Both new computers are working.
Оба новых компьютера работают.
"Both" appears before the adjective "new".
A beautiful old house stood on the hill.
На холме стоял красивый старый дом.
"A" comes before both adjectives and the noun.
Many words may function either as determiners or as pronouns.
A determiner modifies a noun, whereas a pronoun replaces one. Compare This book is new with This is new.
This book is expensive.
Эта книга дорогая.
"This" is a determiner because it modifies "book".
This is expensive.
Это дорого.
"This" is a pronoun because it stands alone.
Those shoes are mine.
Те туфли мои.
"Those" is a determiner because it modifies "shoes".
Those are mine.
Вон те мои.
"Those" is a pronoun because it replaces the noun phrase.
My car is outside.
Моя машина снаружи.
"My" is a possessive determiner because it modifies "car".
The car is mine.
Машина моя.
"Mine" is a possessive pronoun and stands alone.
Some students stayed after class.
Некоторые студенты остались после занятия.
"Some" is a determiner because it modifies "students".
Some stayed after class.
Некоторые остались после занятия.
"Some" is a pronoun because it stands without a noun.
Most noun phrases contain only one central determiner.
Articles, demonstratives and possessives usually cannot be combined with one another.
The car is in the garage.
Машина находится в гараже.
"The" is the central determiner in the noun phrase.
My car is in the garage.
Моя машина находится в гараже.
"My" is a central determiner.
This car is in the garage.
Эта машина находится в гараже.
"This" is a central determiner.
The students arrived early.
Студенты пришли рано.
"The" occupies the central determiner position.
Her new car is very fast.
Ее новая машина очень быстрая.
"Her" functions as the central determiner.
These old houses are for sale.
Эти старые дома продаются.
"These" is the central determiner.
An experienced engineer joined the company.
Опытный инженер пришел в компанию.
"An" is the central determiner of the noun phrase.
The noun phrase normally cannot contain both "my" and "the" as central determiners.
В именной группе обычно нельзя одновременно использовать "my" и "the" в качестве центральных определителей.
"My car" and "the car" are possible, but not standard "my the car".
Some words may appear before the central determiner.
Examples include all the students, both my parents and half the money.
All the students passed the exam.
Все студенты сдали экзамен.
"All" appears before the central determiner "the".
Both my parents live in Texas.
Оба моих родителя живут в Техасе.
"Both" appears before the possessive determiner "my".
Half the money was spent on rent.
Половина денег была потрачена на аренду.
"Half" appears before "the".
All my friends came to the party.
Все мои друзья пришли на вечеринку.
"All" is followed by the possessive determiner "my".
Both those cars are for sale.
Обе те машины продаются.
"Both" precedes the demonstrative determiner "those".
Half a loaf is better than none.
Половина буханки лучше, чем ничего.
"Half" precedes the central determiner "a".
All the available seats were taken.
Все доступные места были заняты.
"All" is the predeterminer, while "the" is the central determiner.
Both my older brothers work in Denver.
Оба моих старших брата работают в Денвере.
"Both" precedes the possessive determiner and adjective.
Numbers and certain quantifiers may follow the central determiner.
Examples include the two books, my several attempts and those many years.
The two students arrived early.
Два студента пришли рано.
"Two" follows the central determiner "the".
My first job was in Chicago.
Моя первая работа была в Чикаго.
"First" follows the central determiner "my".
The many problems we faced delayed the project.
Многочисленные проблемы, с которыми мы столкнулись, задержали проект.
"Many" follows the central determiner "the".
Those three large boxes are mine.
Те три большие коробки мои.
"Those" is followed by the numeral "three".
Her several attempts finally succeeded.
Ее несколько попыток в конце концов увенчались успехом.
"Several" follows the possessive determiner "her".
The first three chapters are easy.
Первые три главы легкие.
"First" and "three" provide postdetermining information after "the".
My two younger sisters live nearby.
Мои две младшие сестры живут неподалеку.
"Two" follows the central determiner "my".
Those many years changed his perspective.
Те долгие годы изменили его взгляд на вещи.
"Many" follows the demonstrative determiner "those".
Some nouns are used without any determiner.
Plural countable nouns, uncountable nouns and many proper nouns often appear without determiners when used in a general sense.
Dogs make great pets.
Собаки — отличные домашние животные.
Plural countable nouns can appear without a determiner when used generally.
Coffee helps me wake up in the morning.
Кофе помогает мне проснуться утром.
The uncountable noun "coffee" has zero determiner in a general sense.
Students need enough sleep.
Студентам нужно достаточно сна.
"Students" is plural and general, so no determiner is required.
Water is essential for life.
Вода необходима для жизни.
"Water" has no determiner because it is used as a general uncountable noun.
Chicago is a large city.
Чикаго — большой город.
"Chicago" is a proper noun used without a determiner.
English is spoken in many countries.
На английском говорят во многих странах.
"English" is a language name used without a determiner.
We had breakfast at seven.
Мы позавтракали в семь.
"Breakfast" is used without a determiner in its general or routine meaning.
Children need safe places to play.
Детям нужны безопасные места для игр.
"Children" is used generically without a determiner.
When more than one determiner is used, English follows a fixed order.
Predeterminers come first, followed by central determiners and then postdeterminers.
All the students passed.
Все студенты сдали экзамен.
The order is predeterminer "all" + central determiner "the" + noun.
Both my parents are retired.
Оба моих родителя на пенсии.
The order is predeterminer "both" + central determiner "my" + noun.
The first two chapters are easy.
Первые две главы легкие.
The central determiner "the" is followed by postdeterminers "first" and "two".
All my three children live nearby.
Все мои трое детей живут неподалеку.
The noun phrase combines a predeterminer, central determiner and numeral.
Both those two options are possible.
Оба этих двух варианта возможны.
The order places "both" before the demonstrative and numeral.
The next three meetings are already scheduled.
Следующие три собрания уже запланированы.
"The" precedes the ordinal-like determiner "next" and numeral "three".
Half the six employees worked remotely.
Половина из шести сотрудников работала удаленно.
"Half" precedes the central determiner "the", followed by the numeral.
All those many years were difficult.
Все те долгие годы были трудными.
The sentence illustrates the sequence of determiner types in a marked construction.
Careful determiner choice contributes to precision and naturalness in formal writing.
Incorrect or missing determiners are among the most common grammatical errors made by learners.
The report identifies several significant risks.
В отчете выявлено несколько значительных рисков.
"The" and "several" precisely identify and quantify the noun phrase.
Each applicant must provide a valid email address.
Каждый кандидат должен предоставить действующий адрес электронной почты.
"Each" specifies the distribution, while "a" introduces the required item.
The first three sections require further review.
Первые три раздела требуют дополнительной проверки.
The determiner sequence provides a precise reference to a particular subset.
Both of the proposed solutions have limitations.
Оба предложенных решения имеют ограничения.
"Both of the" clearly identifies the complete set of two solutions.
No further action is required at this time.
На данный момент никаких дальнейших действий не требуется.
"No" precisely indicates the absence of further action.
A number of factors may influence the outcome.
На результат может повлиять ряд факторов.
"A number of" is a formal quantifying expression.
The data were collected from several independent sources.
Данные были собраны из нескольких независимых источников.
"The" and "several" provide precise reference and quantity.
Any material changes must be reported immediately.
О любых существенных изменениях необходимо сообщать немедленно.
"Any" allows the rule to cover every relevant possible change.
Choose determiners according to noun type, meaning and grammatical context.
Common mistakes include omitting required determiners, combining incompatible determiners, confusing determiners with pronouns and using articles unnecessarily.
I bought a new laptop.
Я купил новый ноутбук.
A singular countable noun such as "laptop" normally needs a determiner.
I bought the new laptop you recommended.
Я купил новый ноутбук, который ты рекомендовал.
"The" identifies a specific laptop.
My car is parked outside.
Моя машина припаркована снаружи.
Do not combine the possessive determiner "my" with the article "the".
These books are expensive.
Эти книги дорогие.
"These" must agree with the plural noun "books".
This book is expensive.
Эта книга дорогая.
"This" must agree with the singular noun "book".
All the students passed.
Все студенты сдали экзамен.
Use "all the", not an incompatible combination such as "all a".
Students need enough sleep.
Студентам нужно достаточно сна.
A plural noun used generally can appear without a determiner.
The car is mine.
Машина моя.
"The" functions as a determiner, while "mine" is a pronoun; they do different jobs.