Unit 7 Determiners in Noun Phrases
☞ Check Your Understanding
1. F
2. W
3. F
4. T
5. W
In-Class Activities
1.
(1) There are altogether 10 cases of inappropriate use of English articles, as can be seen from the
revised version of the passage below:
(1)When we use the word "love", we do not simply mean an attraction to a person of the opposite
sex, which is a very narrow definition of the word. (The definite article “the” before love should
be omitted) Love is emotional strength, which can support us no matter how dark the world
around us becomes. In fact, throughout history (the definite article “the” before people should be
omitted) people of many different cultures have regarded love as the noblest of (the definite article
“the” before human emotions should be omitted) human emotions.
(2) Open for discussion
2. (1)
a. The definite article is used before nouns of which there is only one, or which are considered as
one, e.g., the earth, the sea, the sky, the weather;
b. The definite article is used before superlatives, or rather adjectives of superlative degree;
c. The definite article is used before a singular noun to represent a class of animals or things;
d. The definite article is used before an adjective to represent a class of persons;
e. The definite article is used before some musical instrument;
f. The definite article is used before nouns of computational units, meaning a, per, each, etc.;
g. The definite article is used before a noun which has become definite as a result of being
mentioned a second time.
(2) Open for discussion
(3) Open for discussion
(Hints: A. The definite article is used before a noun made definite by the addition of a phrase or
clause: the boy in yellow
the man standing at the door
the place where I was born
B. The definite article is used before a noun which by reason of locality can represent
only one particular thing:
a) John sent for the doctor (his own doctor).
b) Please pass me the salt (the salt in the cupboard).
c) The desk is a bit too large (the desk in the study).
C. The definite article is used before certain proper names of seas, rivers, groups of
islands, chains of mountains, plural names of countries, deserts:
the Arctic; the Pacific; the Alps; the Netherlands; the Philippines; the USA; the Sahara; the Gobi
Desert.)
3.
(1) Yes, there is some difference between the two verb phrases in each group:
When the nouns chapel, church, market, college, school, hospital, court, prison, work, sea, bed
are used with the zero article, it means that these places are visited or used for their primary
purpose (idiomatic usage), e.g., go to church to pray; go to school to study; go to college to study;
go to bed to sleep. However, when they are used with the definite article, it means that these
places are visited for other reasons (non-idiomatic usage), e.g.,
He went to the bed to see what was on it.
I went to the church to see the carvings.
He comes to the school sometimes to speak to the headmaster.
He returned from the prison where he had been visiting his brother.
(2)
A. a. The guests will come by ship.
b. The ship measures fifty meters long and ten meters wide.
B. a. It takes about ten hours to go from Shanghai to Beijing by train.
b. In a hurry to catch the train, he left one of his suitcases in a taxi.
C. a. My son usually goes to school by bus.
b. The bus didn’t come as scheduled and so we called a taxi instead.
Note: The nouns ship, train and bus in the first three sentences in each group are used to denote
the means of transport in the abstract sense; whereas in the second three sentences in each group
the nouns ship, train and bus refer to specific means of transport.
(3)
A. a. The lunch was really well cooked.
b. After lunch the students usually take a nap.
B. a. The dinner given in honor of the guests was magnificently prepared.
b. What would you like to do after dinner?
C. a. My mother didn’t stay for coffee this afternoon.
b. The coffee Jack made was so awful.
Note: The nouns lunch, dinner and coffee in the first three sentences in each group are used in the
abstract sense; whereas in the second three sentences in each group the nouns lunch, dinner and
coffee refer to specific meals.
4.
(1) In Picture One, two determiners are used: such and a; in Picture Two, nine determiners used:
this and a in the first sentence; this, a and the in the second sentence; their, all, the and which
in the third sentence.
(2) We cannot use the definite article before “Section 128” (because we generally do not articles
before a proper name) or “Non-pass holders” (because they do not refer to definite people) in
the second picture.
(3) The sentence should be rewritten as “So, blackened pastrami wasn’t so hot an idea.”
5.
(1) Many, few (fewer, fewest), and several always go with countable nouns whereas much and little
(less, least) go with mass nouns.
(2) Semantically, “many teachers” and “many a teacher” almost mean the same, but grammatically
when they function as subjects in a sentence, “many teachers” takes a plural verb while “many a
teacher” takes a singular verb, e.g.,
a. Many teachers find it hard to get the students interested in foreign language learning.
b. Many a teacher finds it hard to get the students interested in foreign language learning.
(3) “Lots of” can go together with plural countable nouns, e.g.,
Lots of books have been found related to the ongoing project.
(4) “Plenty of” can go together with a mass noun, e.g.,
Plenty of evidence has been collected against the defendant.
(5) Two advantages: one is that the number of open-system quantifiers is much bigger than that of
the closed-system quantifiers, thus enriching the use of determiners; the other advantage is that
the heads in the open-system quantifiers can be further modified by adjectives of varied kinds,
e.g., a great/good deal of money, a great/large/good/small number of students, etc.
6.
(1) The two sentences in each of the two groups are quite different, as can be seen from the
paraphrased sentences below:
A. a. Not both banks of the river are covered with bushes, that is, One bank is covered with bushes
while the other is not.
b. There are no bushes on either bank of the river.
B. a. Not all the students think highly of Professor Wang’s class, that is, some students think highly
of Professor Wang’s class while some others do not.
b. Not a single one of the students thinks highly of Professor Wang’s class, that is, Professor
Wang’s class is a complete failure.
(2) Yes, there are some other differences with regard to the use of “both” and “neither”:
A. “Both” means “one and the other”, taking a plural verb; “neither” means “not one and not the
other”, taking an affirmative singular verb, e.g.
a. She has two sons. Both are taller than she is.
b. She has two sons. Neither of them drinks coffee.
B. “Neither” is usually preferred at the beginning of a sentence while “both” is relatively flexible
in terms of position. “both” always takes a plural predicate verb; “neither” may take a singular
predicate verb.
7.
(1) No, the two sentences in Group A do not mean the same. In Sentence a, the speaker was simply
asking whether there was any call for him; whereas in Sentence b the speaker was perhaps
expecting a call from someone.
(2) Yes, “someone” in the two sentences of Group B can both be replaced by “anyone”, but the
meanings of the sentences are changed, as can be seen below:
a. The sentence “If someone were to drop a match here, the whole house would be on fire in a few
minutes” means “it was mostly likely that a certain person or someone unspecified would drop
a match here and that the whole house would be on fire in a few minutes.” By contrast, the
sentence “If anyone were to drop a match here, the whole house would be on fire in a few
minutes” means “The whole house would be on fire in a few minutes if anyone, whoever he/she
is, were to drop a match here ”
b. The sentence “Will someone please give me a hand by carrying the heavy case?” means the
speaker hopes that a certain person will help him/her carry the heavy case. By contrast, in the
sentence “Will anyone please give me a hand by carrying the heavy case?” the speaker is
simply asking a question and he/she is not sure how the listeners will respond to his/her
question.
(3) For Group C, “anything” in the first sentence and “anyone” in the second sentence can be
replaced by “something” and “someone” respectively, though the meanings of the two
sentences are changed, as can be seen below:
a. The sentence “My son will eat anything” means that my son will eat whatever is provided or
whatever there is. By contrast, the sentence “My son will eat something” means my son will eat
a certain thing or something unspecified.
b. The sentence “Anyone interested in the lecture is welcome” means whoever interested in the
lecture is welcome, that is, no discrimination is to be made so long as he/she is interested in the
lecture. By contrast, the sentence “Someone interested in the lecture is welcome” means a
certain person or someone unspecified interested in the lecture is welcome.

Post-Class Tasks
1. The; the; the; the; The; ; a; a; the; an; the; the; the; the; .
2. a. The Smiths; b. marshy land; c. an early lunch; d. sea; e. the phone; f. prison; g. the arm; h. the
millions; i. the prime minister; j. the entire night
3. a. some; b. any; c. some; d. any; e. some; f. any; g. some; h. any; i. some; j. any;
4. a. (air→ the air); b. (a few → few); c. (every → each/either); d. (by the way → by way of);
e. (any → no); f. (√); g. (all other Shakespeare’s → all Shakespeare’s other); h. (many
informations → lots of information); i. (√) ; j. (in the position → in a position)
5. a. The young plumber is a person whose job is fit and repair water pipes.
b. No one knows exactly when the wheel was invented.
c. There must be some other way of doing this.
d. Not a few people there are vegetarian.
e. There is every chance that he will succeed.
f. We worked round the clock to finish the job.
g. I’m almost finished. I just need another five minutes.
h. The guests may have missed the train, in which case they won’t arrive for another hour.
6. a. B; b. C; c. A;
d. B; e. A; f. D; g B;
7.
A. a. in front of: in the position directly before
h. D;
i. D;
j. C
b. in the front of: in the most forward or important position
B. a. in charge of: responsible for
b. in the charge of: under someone’s or something’s control; someone’s or something’s
responsibility
C. a. in possession of: having or controlling a place or thing, esp. so that someone else is prevented
from doing so
b. in the possession of someone: owned, held, kept, or controlled by someone
8.
A. a. positive
b. negative
B. a. negative
b. positive