Determiners

Determiners have the following characteristics that distinguish themselves from adjectives:

1. Form: They are mostly closed category words having corresponding pronouns. 2. Position: They must come before ordinary open-class adjectives (if present) in a noun phrase. 3. Function: They determine or limit the noun that follows. 4. Exclusive use: Theoretically, there is no limit to the number of adjectives in a noun phrase, but most determiners are mutually exclusive; that is, using one determiner excludes the use of another (most of the time, you can only use one determiner at a time within the same noun phrase).

Example (INCORRECT): //My brother has **a, the,** red car.// Example (adjectives in bold): //My brother has a **red, blue, white**..., car. My brother's car is **red, blue, white**..., etc.//

(Chalker, 1984, p. 50)