Basics. Determiners and Pronouns.
Determines and Pronouns
this/that/these/those
This group of words refers to specific items or people, with their usage depending on the distance from the speaker and the number of items:
- "this" refers to a singular item close to the speaker.
- Example: This book is interesting.
- Example: This cake tastes good.
- "these" refers to multiple items close to the speaker.
- Example: These shoes are new.
- Example: These apples are fresh.
- "that" refers to a singular item farther from the speaker.
- Example: That house is big.
- Example: That shirt looks great.
- "those" refers to multiple items farther from the speaker.
- Example: Those birds are noisy.
- Example: Those cars are fast.
every and all
"every" and "all" are used to refer to the whole group or all members of a group:
- "every" refers to each member of a group individually.
- Example: Every student passed the test.
- Example: Every morning, I go for a walk.
- "all" refers to the entire group collectively.
- Example: All students passed the test.
- Example: All the books on the shelf are mine.
all, most, some, any, no/none
These words express different quantities or proportions of a group:
- "all" refers to the entire group.
- Example: All children like to play.
- Example: All the cookies were eaten.
- "most" refers to the majority of a group.
- Example: Most people enjoy watching movies.
- Example: Most of the work is done.
- "some" refers to an unspecified number or portion of a group.
- Example: Some students didn't finish the assignment.
- Example: Some apples are rotten.
- "any" is used in negative sentences or questions to indicate the possibility or presence of something.
- Example: I don't have any money.
- Example: Do you have any siblings?
- "no/none" indicates the absence of something.
- Example: No one came to the party.
- Example: None of the students failed the exam.
(a) little, (a) few
These words express small quantities:
- "(a) little" is used with uncountable nouns to indicate a small amount.
- Example: I have little time to finish this task.
- Example: She drinks a little coffee in the morning.
- "(a) few" is used with countable nouns to indicate a small number.
- Example: I have a few friends in this city.
- Example: He reads a few pages every day.
Try the quiz to figure out if you are comfortable with these!
Noun and pronoun
If you've ever written Tom told Mike that he was wrong and realised your reader had no idea who he meant, you've hit the territory this tag covers. Nouns and pronouns are inseparable: a pronoun's meaning depends on the noun it refers to, and pronoun choice is what controls whether your writing is precise or ambiguous.
The Noun and pronoun tag groups topics that span both nouns (words naming things) and pronouns (their substitutes: I, you, he, they, this, who). Both classes occupy the same sentence slots; together they cover plurals, possessives, agreement, case, and reference.
Pronoun
If you've ever paused before who vs whom, its vs it's, or me vs I — you've felt how much weight pronouns carry in English. They're tiny words but they're case-sensitive (I vs me), context-dependent, and one of the few places where everyday English still trips careful speakers. Get the common patterns right and you instantly sound more careful.
A pronoun is a closed class of small words that replace nouns or noun phrases. Types: personal (I, you, he…), demonstrative (this, that), relative (who, which), interrogative (who?, what?), reflexive (myself), and indefinite (everyone, nobody).
Determinative
If you've wondered why grammar books sometimes call the, this, and my "determinatives" and other times "determiners", you've spotted a useful distinction. The two terms aren't synonyms: one names a word class, the other names a job. Once that clicks, references in modern grammar books stop being confusing.
A determinative is a part of speech — a word class including articles (a, the), demonstratives (this, that), possessives (my, your), and quantifiers (some, many). A determiner is the syntactic role these words usually play before a noun.
Demonstrative
If you've ever pointed at something and said that one!, you've used a demonstrative. They're the four pointing words — this, that, these, those — that English uses constantly to specify which item you mean. Get them wrong (these book, those is mine) and the sentence sounds clearly off; get them right and you can refer to anything within sight or recent memory without naming it.
Demonstratives point to which entity you mean: this/these for near, that/those for further. They function as both pronouns (Put that on) and determiners before a noun (Put that coat on).
Determiner
If you speak a language without articles or demonstratives — Mandarin, Russian, Polish, Japanese, Korean — determiners are likely the most stubborn topic in your English. The rules feel small but the wrong choice (I went to home instead of I went home) immediately marks you as non-native. Mastering determiners is the highest-leverage move you can make for sounding natural.
A determiner comes before a noun to clarify which one, how many, or whose. Categories include articles (a/the), demonstratives (this/that), possessives (my/your), and quantifiers (some/many).
Quantifier
If you've ever written many information or much friends and been corrected, you've hit the quantifier-noun match. English splits its quantifiers based on whether the noun can be counted: many/few/several go with countable nouns, much/little go with uncountable. Use one with the wrong type and the sentence sounds clearly off.
A quantifier indicates vague quantity rather than a specific number: all, some, any, many, few, much, little, several, each, every, both. Splits into count quantifiers (with countable nouns) and mass quantifiers (with uncountables).
Negation
If your native language uses double negatives (I don't see nothing) — like Russian, Spanish, or French — you've probably been told this is wrong in English and not been entirely sure what the fix is. Standard English uses one negative per clause: either I saw nothing or I didn't see anything, never both. Once you internalise that single rule, your written English clears up a lot.
Negation in English uses not after an auxiliary or modal verb: I am not going. Without an auxiliary, you add do-support (I do not go). Negative words like never and nobody already negate the clause — adding not on top creates non-standard double negatives.
English Grammar Basics
If grammar feels like a tangle of rules you can never quite remember, the fix isn't more advanced material — it's making the foundations automatic. The English Grammar Basics tag is where you do that: the building blocks every other topic stands on. Get these right and the rest stops feeling random.
It marks quizzes and explainers covering the core of English: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, tenses, voice, mood, and basic sentence structure. Useful whether you're a beginner or refreshing rusty knowledge.
A1 | Elementary | Beginners
If you can say your name, ask Where is the toilet?, and read a simple bus sign — but freeze when someone speaks at normal speed — you're at A1. That's not a problem to fix; it's the level where most learners actually live for a while, and recognising it lets you pick the right material instead of drowning in advanced grammar that wasn't meant for you yet.
A1 is the starting level of the CEFR framework, covering basic everyday communication: greetings, introductions, simple personal questions, present-tense forms of be/have/do, and core determiners and prepositions.
Difficulty: Easy
If a textbook leaves you confused, sometimes the issue isn't the topic — it's that the practice material is layered with extra complications. Filtering by Easy strips that away. You get one rule at a time, in plain everyday language, with no trick questions. It's how you make a shaky foundation solid before stacking more on top.
The Easy difficulty tag marks beginner-level questions and challenges — typically A1 or early A2. Single-rule focus, short sentences, common vocabulary, one clear correct answer.