Post-determiners 

Master post-determiners, which provide detailed information or quantity about nouns. Clear explanations and practice exercises to help you learn.

Post-determiners in the English Grammar

What Are Post-determiners?

Post-determiners are words or phrases that come on their own or after the central determiners in a noun phrase to provide additional information and modify the noun.

Post-determiners: Types

There are different types of post-determiners:

Numerals as Post-determiners

Cardinal numbers are the main members of numeral post-determiners. These numbers represent quantity or number, such as one, two, three, four, and so on. They are used to count or measure things and cannot be used with uncountable nouns. Check out the examples:

Example

I found these two cats on the street. They were homeless.

Here, 'these' is the central determiner and the cardinal number 'two' comes after it.

I was a man who was carrying fifty books in his hands.

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Tip!

Ordinal numbers such as 'first,' 'fifth,' 'tenth,' 'twenty thousandth,' etc., as well as some general ordinals or sequencers like 'next,' 'last,' 'previous,' 'final,' etc. share some of the qualities of determiners, such as their placement in the noun phrase. However, they are not typically included in the class of post-determiners and are more closely associated with adjectives because rather than showing definiteness or quantity of a noun, they exhibit its position in a series or order. Additionally, they can be modified by a degree adverb.

Example

The very first time I saw you, I had no idea that we would be best friends.

This is the last time.

The next part of the book is dedicated to a famous actor.

Quantifiers as Post-determiners

Certain words known as quantifiers, including many (used with countable nouns), much (used with uncountable nouns), other, little (used with uncountable nouns), few (used with countable nouns), several, etc. can be used as post-determiners in a noun phrase. They can be placed after central determiners or pre-determiners to provide additional information about the quantity or amount of the noun being described. Check out the examples:

Example

I gave the issue much thought.

Those few moments that we spent together were precious.

Tip!

These quantifiers also exhibit some adjective-like qualities. For example, they can be modified by adverbs. However, since both their position and quantification function matches qualities of determiners, they are considered as part of the post-determiner class.

Example

I saw too many people in the room.

The very few people who had attended the session dispersed.

Review

Post-determiners are used after central determiners to modify a noun. Here are the different types of post-determiners.

1.

numerals: one, fifty, eighty-nine, two thousand

2.

some quantifiers: many, much, few, several

Quiz:


1.

Which word functions as a post-determiner in this sentence?
"She reviewed her several options before deciding."

A

her

B

several

C

options

D

before

2.

Sort the words to form a correct sentence.

i
ignored
valuable
suggestions
many
.
his
3.

Which sentence uses an incorrect quantifier-noun combination?

A

She expressed much gratitude for the unexpected help.

B

The project faced many obstacles during development.

C

We need fewer paperwork to finalize the application.

D

He has several innovative ideas for the campaign.

4.

Fill the table by choosing the type of post-determiner used in the sentence (Numeral or Quantifier).

She reviewed these three proposals.

We value their many contributions.

He managed her five research journals.

Those few errors were easily fixed.

Quantifier
Numeral
5.

Fill each blanks with the appropriate post-determiner.

She showed

patience with the new trainees.

We encountered

challenges during the project.

The investigation found

evidence to support the claim, so it was dismissed.

The committee interviews

candidates and hired two of them.

several
much
little
fifteen

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Jan 2024
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