Search results for 'tag:Numbers tag:Demonstrative Adjectives' matching tags 'Numbers' and 'Demonstrative Adjectives'

Re: Possesive pronoun

CalifJim — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:28:31 GMT

Huevos
Mister Micawber
are determiners
Just a terminology thing: CJ says possessive adjectives whereas you say determiners. What makes these determiners?

Possessive adjectives are just one class of determiners. Articles, demonstrative adjectives, numbers, and quantifiers are other classes of determiners.

my, his, ..., a, an, the, this, that, these, those, one, two, three, ..., some, all, every, many, ... are all determiners.

So there is no conflict between my focus on the possessive and adjectival properties and Mr. M.'s focus on the superclass called determiners.

(Technically, a determiner is not an adjective -- not a central case of "adjective" anyway (like red and round) -- so maybe 'possessive determiner' and 'demonstrative determiner' are better terms. It all depends on which author you read. They all have different preferences as regards terminology.)

Re: WHICH comes first? (number Or superlative)

rvw — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 10:02:16 GMT

The following is from Mary Ansell's English Grammar: Explanations and Exercises. In your sentences, the numbers should precede the superlatives. Otherwise, one might get the feeling that there are several groups of 50 people each and you are selecting the most beautiful group.

Usual Order of Attributive Adjectives

1) certain determiners such as all, both and half
2) determiners including the articles a, and and the;
possessive adjectives e.g. my, his, her, our and their;
demonstrative adjectives e.g. that, these, this, and those; and
certain other determiners such as another, any, each, either,
enough, every, neither, no, some, what and which
3) cardinal numbers e.g. one, two, three; and
certain other determiners such as few, many and several
4) determiners such as fewer, fewest, least, less, more and most
5) general descriptive adjectives, often in the following order:
a) adjectives indicating size e.g. large, long, narrow
b) adjectives indicating weight e.g. heavy, light
c) participles and other adjectives e.g. clever, excited, interesting
d) adjectives indicating temperature e.g. cold, hot, warm
e) adjectives indicating humidity e.g. dry, damp, wet
f) adjectives indicating age e.g. new, six-month-old, young
g) adjectives indicating shape e.g. barrel-shaped, round, square
6) adjectives indicating color e.g. blue, grey, white
7) adjectives indicating materials e.g. cloth, leather, metal
8) proper adjectives e.g. American, Victorian
9) defining adjectives, usually indicating purpose, method of operation, location,
time or categories of people

Re: This time I have a question about general grammar

Mister Micawber — Wed, 22 Dec 2004 12:49:44 GMT

These cover most instances:

(1) When the noun is plural and is referring to all like items generally: 'Lions are big cats'.

(2) When the noun is uncountable and is referring to all like substances generally: 'Sugar is sweet'.

(3) When the noun is preceded by another determiner-- a possessive or a demonstrative adjective: 'My elephant is pregnant'; 'This banana is overripe'.

(4) There are a number of idiomatic cases of omitted articles: 'on foot', 'at school', 'by airmail', 'in bed', 'after midnight', etc.

There are some other minor instances, but these four will cover 95% of the zero-articles, I think.

Re: Using "a" before a noun

Mister Micawber — Fri, 08 Oct 2004 06:03:55 GMT

Because the English language uses number, which requires a determiner before a singular countable common noun-- either an article, a demonstrative adjective, or a possessive adjective.

You don't have to use 'a car' if you choose instead to use 'the car', 'this/that car', or 'my/his/their/Jesus' car'. Additional adjectives are optional: 'an old car', 'James's stolen car', 'this decrepit car'.

Sorry, guest, it's just part of the language. How about your language-- any unusual features?

Re: Maj - First question (Other than that)

wumanfu — Wed, 24 Sep 2003 14:29:41 GMT

Hi, this is my first post to the group. Iâve just pasted information from Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage. To be quite frank, I donât really understand these definitions fully but I hope the information is useful to you. So, regarding the words
1 Than
2 that
1 Than is normally used to introduce the second element in a comparison, and acts either as a conjunction (He is older than I am) or as a preposition (He
is older than me). In uses such as He is older than I, than is normally regarded as a conjunction with the verb following I understood, but in spoken English
at least the more usual choice is the type He is older than me.
2 that is a word with many roles, and plays a major part in English sentence structure. The following are its main grammatical functions:

DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN: That was what I meant

DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVE: Why did you take that picture of me?

DEMONSTRATIVE ADVERB: I was that angry / It didn't hurt that much

RELATIVE PRONOUN: It was not the drug that had done it

CONJUNCTION: He had assumed that we would want to see him (1) As a demonstrative pronoun and adjective, that normally refers to something already mentioned
or known: (pronoun) She had not meant it so, but it could have been read like that / How the hell did you manage that? / The witnesses, if they could be
called that, continued to repeat that they knew nothing / (adjective) If I were you, I would keep an eye on that young man / It wasn't a nature reserve,
that Ark of yours. There are also a number of familiar idiomatic or formulaic uses: Something worth a lot of money, that's for sure / She had a small,
pretty face, I'll give you that / She cleared her throat to speak but left it at that / I just wanted to see her, that's all. (2) Its use as a demonstrative
adverb equivalent to so or very (or so very) dates from the 15c and has been slipping in and out of standard usage ever since. In current English it is
regarded as informal in both positive and negative contexts:

âShut up,â says Claudia â¦ âIt's not that funnyââDavid Lodge, 1988 / You and your brother, you're not really that alike, are you?âEncounter, 1989. In other
contexts, however, it verges on the formal or at least neutral:

The questioning attitude that comes naturally at student age is not that easily abolishedâListener, 1987. (3) As a relative pronoun, that becomes an alternative
to which (and occasionally who). Although they are often interchangeable, there are some uses that are peculiar to each: (a) When that is used it normally
introduces a so-called ârestrictiveâ clause, which defines or gives essential (rather than additional) information about the noun or noun phrase that comes
before: the pen that my father bought for me / the pen that is over on the table/ (in each case the that-clause defines which pen is meant). (See further
at
RELATIVE CLAUSES).
In these cases the that-clause normally follows on without a comma. Which can also be used in these examples, but in conversational English that is more
usual, and in some cases it is possible to omit the relative pronoun altogether and say the pen my father bought for me. That can also replace who (or
whom), especially when the reference is non-specific, as in The person that I saw was definitely a woman, and when there are two antecedents, one inanimate
and the other human: It was the drug and not her brother that had upset her. (b) That is also more idiomatic than which in a number of cases: (1) when
which already occurs earlier in the sentence in another role (Which is the house that you bought?), (2) after indefinite pronouns such as anything, everything,
nothing, and something (There is something that I forgot to mention), and (3) after a construction with the impersonal it (It is the new one that we want).
When that is the object of the verb in its clause, it is regularly omitted, especially in speech (There is something I forgot to mention). (c) Which, not
that, has to be used in so-called non-restrictive clauses which give additional rather than essential information: A new edition of the book, which has
taken ten years to write, will be published this week. Which is also used when a preposition precedes it (Is this the book to which you are referring?);
in a corresponding construction with that, the preposition has to come at the end (Is this the book that you are referring to? or Is this the book you
are referring to?). (4) That is used as a conjunction to introduce a subordinate clause, principally after verbs of saying, feeling, believing, knowing,
learning, etc.: The President admitted that he had lied / We would hate to think that they were corrupting you / I understand that you wanted to see me.
A that-clause of this type can also occur after the impersonal it: It was natural that they should think so. Normally the conjunction that can be omitted,
especially in speech: I understand you wanted to see me / It was natural they should think so. In inverted constructions, however, in which the that-clause
comes before the main clause, that is obligatory: That they are guilty is assumed by everybody.

Notes from Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage.