What are Determiners in Linguistics?

In linguistics, a determiner is a word or phrase that expresses the quantity, distance, or other specification of a noun phrase. It is typically used before the noun phrase to indicate which specific noun or noun phrase is being referred to. Examples of determiners include:

* Articles (the, a, an)
* Possessive adjectives (my, your, his, her, its)
* Demonstratives (this, that, these, those)
* Quantifiers (some, any, all, both, each)
* Numerals (one, two, three)

For example, in the sentence "I want to see that movie," the determiner "that" specifies which movie is being referred to. Without the determiner, the sentence would be ambiguous and could refer to any movie.

In summary, determiners are words or phrases that help to specify the noun phrase and make it clear which specific entity is being referred to. They can indicate quantity, distance, possession, or other aspects of the noun phrase, and are typically used before the noun phrase to indicate which one is being referred to.