Welcome, budding wizards of words, to the enchanting world of indefinite determiners! Like magical ingredients in a potion, these words—such as “all,” “some,” “many,” and “few”—help us express quantity, weaving precision and mystery into our sentences. As you master these linguistic spells, you’ll learn to conjure with countable and uncountable nouns, crafting expressive and nuanced language without specifying exact numbers. Prepare your cauldron and let magic of words guide you!

Indefinite determiners (or indefinite adjectives) give a general indication of quantity without specifying an exact number or amount. They are essential in expressing quantities for countable and uncountable nouns.

Common Indefinite Adjectives

• Single words: all, any, much, few, many, less, several, some, little, more
• Phrasal Determiners: a few, a little, a lot of

Indefinite adjectives can indicate different quantities for countable nouns, uncountable nouns, or both; speakers can also use some indefinite adjectives in questions.

Large Quantity

• Countable Nouns: many, several, more
  • Example: She read many books.
  • Example: Several people learned French.
  • Example: More men joined the cause.
• Uncountable Nouns: much
  • Example: She drank much water. (This is grammatically correct, and formal, which is not used in everyday conversation.)
• Countable or Uncountable Nouns: most, a lot of
  • Example: Most people enjoy pizza.
  • Example: She drank a lot of water.

Small Quantity

• Countable Nouns: a few, less (occasionally, with referring to a lower number or reduced frequency)
  • Example: He eats a few cookies.
• Uncountable Nouns: a little, a bit, less
  • Example: A little tea calms my nerves.
• Countable or Uncountable Nouns: few, little
  • Example: Few people attended the party.

Quantity Unknown

• Countable or Uncountable Nouns: Some, any, all
  • Example: Some dwarfs dwell in that mountain.

Questions

• Countable Nouns: many
  • Example: How many stickers do you have?
• Uncountable Nouns: much
  • Example: How much flour do you need?
• Countable or Uncountable Nouns: any
  • Example: Do you have any questions?

Note: We will explore the “of” prepositional phrase in the next lesson, focusing on instances where the indefinite determiner acts as a pronoun. In Lesson 26, collective nouns (like group, class, number, team) become the noun followed by an “of” prepositional phrase may also correct some examples below.

Pre-determiners: all

Rule 1: Indefinite Determiner with Multiplier

• Cannot use a multiplier in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: All twice the kids ran.

Rule 2: Indefinite Determiner with Distributive Determiner

• Cannot use a distributive determiner in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: All both kids ran.

Rule 3: Indefinite Determiner with Article

• Can use a definite article “the,” but not with indefinite articles “a” and “an.”
  • Example: All the kids ran.

Rule 4: Indefinite Determiner with Possessive Noun

• Can use possessive nouns in the same determiner phrase.
  • Example: All Jim’s kids ran.
  • Improved: All of Jim’s kids ran. (Preferred for clarity and structure.)

Rule 5: Indefinite Determiner with Possessive Determiner

• Can use a possessive determiner in the same determiner phrase.
  • Example: All his kids ran.

Rule 6: Indefinite Determiner with Demonstrative Determiner

• Can use a demonstrative determiner in the same determiner phrase, accepted in spoken and informal writing. Formal writing often recommends “all of those/these.”
  • Incorrect: All those kids ran.
  • Improved: All of those kids ran. (“All” functions as a pronoun.)

Rule 7: Indefinite Determiner with Ordinal Adjective

• Can use an ordinal adjective in the same determiner phrase, while this is grammatically correct but awkward, “of” prepositional phrase structure provides clarity.
  • Example: All the third kids ran.
  • Improved: The third student of all the teams ran.

Rule 8: Indefinite Determiner with Cardinal Adjective

• Can use a cardinal adjective in the same determiner phrase.
  • Example: All six kids ran.

Central Determiners: any, some

Rule 1: Indefinite Determiner with Multiplier

• Cannot use a multiplier in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Any twice the students finished the book.
  • Incorrect: Some triple the soldiers showed up.

Rule 2: Indefinite Determiner with Distributive Determiner

• Cannot use a distributive determiner in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Any both students attended the meeting.
  • Incorrect: Some each soccer players left.

Rule 3: Indefinite Determiner with Article

• Cannot use an article in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Some the students passed mid-term test.
  • Incorrect: Any a student could answer the question.

Rule 4: Indefinite Determiner with Possessive Noun

• Cannot use possessive nouns in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Any John’s writing is on the table.
  • Incorrect: Some John’s ideas are interesting.

Rule 5: Indefinite Determiner with Possessive Determiner

• Cannot use a possessive determiner in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Any my friend could come. 
  • Incorrect: Some my gifts were exchanged.

Rule 6: Indefinite Determiner with Demonstrative Determiner

• Cannot use a demonstrative determiner in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Any those apples are red.
  • Incorrect: Some these apples are sweet.

Rule 7: Indefinite Determiner with Ordinal Adjective

• Can use an ordinal adjective in the same determiner phrase.
  • Example: Some first-place winners won money.
  • Example: Any third customer won a free meal.

Rule 8: Indefinite Determiner with Cardinal Adjective

• Can use a cardinal adjective in the same determiner phrase to refer to a subset or a known or implied group. Grammatically acceptable but uncommon outside informal or idiomatic use.
  • Example: Any three monsters ate the bird.
  • Example: Some three monsters ate the bird.
  • Improved: Three of the monsters ate the birds.

Post determiners: much, few, many, less, several, more, little

Rule 1: Indefinite Determiner with Multiplier

• Cannot use a multiplier in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Many twice the students finished the test.

Rule 2: Indefinite Determiner with Distributive Determiner

• Cannot use distributive determiners in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Several each book was read.

Rule 3: Indefinite Determiner with Article

• Cannot use articles in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Few the students were absent.

Rule 4: Indefinite Determiner with Possessive Noun

• Cannot use possessive noun in the same determiner phrase, even though this occurs in spoken English.
  • Incorrect: Few Jim’s friends arrived. 
  • Improved: Few of Jim’s friends arrived.

Rule 5: Indefinite Determiner with Possessive Determiner

• Cannot use possessive determiner in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Few his friends arrived.
  • Correct: A few of his friends arrived. (“Few” changes to “a few.”)

Rule 6: Indefinite Determiner with Demonstrative Determiner

• Cannot use demonstrative determiner in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Many those students finished early.

Rule 7: Indefinite Determiner with Ordinal Adjective

• Cannot use ordinal adjectives in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Few first student finished.

Rule 8: Indefinite Determiner with Cardinal Adjective

• Cannot use cardinal adjectives in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Many three students passed.

Post Determiner Phrasal determiners: a few, a little, a lot of

• These are post-determiners. Even when the determiner word order is adjusted, they cannot appear with central or pre-determiners in the same determiner phrase.
• To combine them with other determiners, use an “of” prepositional phrase, but note: when used this way, the phrasal determiner functions as a pronoun, not as part of the determiner phrase.

Rule 1: Phrasal Determiner with Multiplier

• Cannot use a multiplier in the same determiner phrase. Their sematic meaning conflict.
  • Incorrect: A few twice the students finished the test.
  • Improved: Twice as many students finished the test.
  • Improved: A few of the students finished the test. (“ A few” functions as a pronoun.)

Rule 2: Phrasal Determiner with Distributive Determiner

• Cannot use a distributive determiner in the same determiner phrase. These forms are semantically and structurally incompatible. 
  • Incorrect: A little each book read.
  • Improved: Each of the books was damaged. (“each” functions as a pronoun.)
  • Improved: A little damage was done to each book.

Rule 3: Phrasal Determiner with Article

• Cannot: The phrasal determiner already includes an article to create a meaning together. Combine an article with another article following a phrasal determiner by using an “of” prepositional phrase to make the correction. 
  • Correct: A few textbooks lay on the floor.
  • Correct: A few of the textbooks lay on the floor.
  • Incorrect: A few the textbooks lay on the floor.
  • Correct: A lot of the students were absent. (“A lot” functions as a pronoun.)
  • Incorrect: A lot the students were absent.
  • Correct: A little piece lays on the floor.

Rule 4: Phrasal Determiner with Possessive Noun

• Cannot use directly with a possessive noun in the same determiner phrase. Use an “of” prepositional phrase to correct the structure.
  • Incorrect: A few Jim’s friends arrived. (“A few” functions as a pronoun.)
  • Correct: A few of Jim’s friends arrived.

Rule 5: Phrasal Determiner with Possessive Determiner

• Cannot use directly with a possessive determiner in the same determiner phrase. Fix with an “of” prepositional phrase.
  • Incorrect: A lot my friend arrived.
  • Correct: A lot of my friends arrived. (“A lot” functions as a pronoun.)

Rule 6: Phrasal Determiner with Demonstrative Determiner

• Cannot use directly with a demonstrative determiner in the same determiner phrase. Fix with an “of” prepositional phrase.
  • Incorrect: A few those students finished early.
  • Correct: A few of those students finished early. (“A few” functions as a pronoun.)

Rule 7: Phrasal Determiner with Ordinal Adjective

• Cannot use an ordinal adjective in the same determiner phrase. Use and “of” structure to separate the ideas. 
  • Incorrect: A little first student finished the puzzle.
  • Correct: A first student of a little group finished the puzzle.

Rule 8: Phrasal Determiner with Cardinal Adjective

• Cannot use directly with cardinal adjectives in the same determiner phrase. Their meanings must be separated or restructured.
  • Incorrect: A lot of three students passed.
  • Correct: A few of the three students passed.
  • Correct: A group of three students passed

Misfit Determiners 

Indefinite adjectives like “such,” “another,” and “various” don’t conform to the standard definition of determiners. “Such” even shares some qualities with demonstrative determiners. The irregular behavior of these words and the lack of agreement among linguists on how to classify them lead to individual instruction.

As much as I dislike oversimplification, I teach them as indefinite adjectives—even though I don’t find that entirely accurate.

• Another adds one more to that it is modifying.
  • Example: Another cup of coffee to go.
  • Nouns: countable singular or plural (sometimes used with plural in informal contexts: another three days)
• Such emphasizes the nature or quality of a noun.
  • Example: You grew such a great garden.
  • Nouns: countable or uncountable, usually paired with adjectives or noun phrase (such a mess, such kindness)
• Various denotes a variety of different types of the noun.
  • Example: We saw various dogs. 
  • Nouns: Countable plural

Misfit: Another, Various, Such

Rule 1: Indefinite Determiner with Multiplier

• Cannot use multipliers in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Another twice the students finished the book.

Rule 2: Indefinite Determiner with Distributive Determiner

• Cannot use distributive determiners in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Various each book was read.

Rule 3: Indefinite Determiner with Article

• Cannot use “another,” “such,” and “various” with articles in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: The another book was read. 
• Cannot use articles with “such” as a determiner. “Such” can also function as an intensifier when this occurs an article may follow. (She is having such a beautiful day.)
  • Incorrect: Such a students came late.
  • Correct: Such behavior is unacceptable.

Rule 4: Indefinite Determiner with Possessive Noun

• Cannot use possessive nouns in the same determiner phrase. You can use a collective noun and “of” prepositional phrase to correct this combination. 
  • Example: Various John’s books were read.
  • Improved: Various books of John’s were read. (Possessive nouns can function as a pronoun.)

Rule 5: Indefinite Determiner with Possessive Determiner

• Cannot use possessive determiners in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Another my friend arrived.

Rule 6: Indefinite Determiner with Demonstrative Determiner

• Cannot use demonstrative determiners in the same determiner phrase.
  • Incorrect: Various those students finished early.

Rule 7: Indefinite Determiner with Ordinal Adjective

• Can use ordinal adjectives in the same determiner phrase.
  • Example: Another first-place winner won the prize.

Rule 8: Indefinite Determiner with Cardinal Adjective

• Can use cardinal adjectives in the same determiner phrase.
  • Example: Another three students passed.

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