what is a determiner

A determiner is a word that comes before a noun or noun phrase and generally serves to express the reference of that noun or noun phrase in the context. Determiners can be used to clarify what a noun refers to and to indicate quantity or number. They specify something about the quantity, definiteness, or ownership of the noun. Determiners can be classified into different types, including definite and indefinite articles, demonstratives, possessive determiners, cardinal numerals, quantifiers, distributive determiners, and interrogative determiners. Determiners modify nouns by introducing specificity and narrowing down the identity of a noun. They are often considered essential to the sentences they are a part of and cannot be removed. While determiners can be classified as adjectives in traditional grammar, many contemporary grammarians insist that determiners are not adjectives.