Determiner

General and specific determiners

Determiners are words which come at the beginning of the noun phrase. They tell us whether the noun
phrase is specific or general. Determiners are either specific or general

Specific determiners:

The specific determiners are:

 the definite article: the

 possessives: my, your, his, her, its; our, their, whose

 demonstratives: this, that, these, those

 interrogatives: which

We use a specific determiner when we believe the listener/reader knows exactly what we are referring
to:

Can you pass me the salt please?

Look at those lovely flowers.
Thank you very much for your letter.
Whose coat is this?

General determiners:

The general determiners are:

 a; an; any; another; other; what

When we are talking about things in general and the listener/reader does not know exactly what we are
referring to, we can use a uncount noun or a plural noun with no determiner:

Milk is very good for you. (= uncount noun)

Health and education are very important. (= 2 uncount nouns)
Girls normally do better in school than boys. (= plural nouns with no determiner)

… or you can use a singular noun with the indefinite article a or an:

A woman was lifted to safety by a helicopter.

A man climbing nearby saw the accident.

We use the general determiner any with a singular noun or an uncount noun when we are talking
about all of those people or things:

It’s very easy. Any child can do it. (= All children can do it)
With a full licence you are allowed to drive any car.
I like beef, lamb, pork - any meat.

We use the general determiner another to talk about an additional person or thing:
Would you like another glass of wine?

The plural form of another is other:

I spoke to John, Helen and a few other friends.

Conjunction

A conjunction is a joiner, a word that connects (conjoins) parts of a sentence.

Different kinds of conjunctions join different kinds of grammatical structures.

The following are the kinds of conjunctions:

A. COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS (FANBOYS)

for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

Coordinating conjunctions join equals to one another:

words to words, phrases to phrases, clauses to clauses.

Coordinating conjunctions usually form looser connections than other conjunctions do.
Coordinating conjunctions go in between items joined, not at the beginning or end.

Punctuation with coordinating conjunctions:

When a coordinating conjunction joins two words, phrases, or subordinate clauses, no comma should be
placed before the conjunction.

A coordinating conjunction joining three or more words, phrases, or subordinate clauses creates a series
and requires commas between the elements.

A coordinating conjunction joining two independent clauses creates a compound sentence and requires
a comma before the coordinating conjunction
B. CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS

either. . .or both. . . and

neither. . . nor not only. . . but also

These pairs of conjunctions require equal (parallel) structures after each one.

C. CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS

These conjunctions join independent clauses together.

The following are frequently used conjunctive adverbs:

after all in addition next

also incidentally nonetheless

as a result indeed on the contrary

besides in fact on the other hand

consequently in other words otherwise

finally instead still

for example likewise then

furthermore meanwhile therefore

hence moreover thus

however nevertheless
 Punctuation: Place a semicolon before the conjunctive adverb and a comma after the conjunctive
adverb.

D. SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

These words are commonly used as subordinating conjunctions

after in order (that) unless

although insofar as until

as in that when

as far as lest whenever

as soon as no matter how where

as if now that wherever

as though once whether

because provided (that) while

before since why

even if so that

even though supposing (that)

how than

if that

inasmuch as though

in case (that) till

Subordinating conjunctions also join two clauses together, but in doing so, they make one clause
dependent (or "subordinate") upon the other.
A subordinating conjunction may appear at a sentence beginning or between two clauses in a sentence.

A subordinate conjunction usually provides a tighter connection between clauses than a coordinating
conjunctions does.

Loose: It is raining, so we have an umbrella.

Tight: Because it is raining, we have an umbrella.

Punctuation Note:

When the dependent clause is placed first in a sentence, use a comma between the two clauses. When the
independent clause is placed first and the dependent clause second, do not separate the two clauses with a comma.
Interjections

Interjections are words used to express strong feeling or sudden emotion. They are included in a
sentence (usually at the start) to express a sentiment such as surprise, disgust, joy, excitement, or
enthusiasm. An interjection is not grammatically related to any other part of the sentence.

Examples of interjections (shaded):

 Hey! Get off that floor!

 Oh, that is a surprise.

 Good! Now we can move on.

 Jeepers, that was close.

Yes and No

Introductory expressions such as yes, no, indeed, and well are also classed as interjections.
Examples:

 Indeed, this is not the first time the stand has collapsed.

 Yes, I do intend to cover the bet.

 I'm sure I don't know half the people who come to my house. Indeed, for all I hear, I shouldn't
like to. (Oscar Wilde)

 Well, it's 1 a.m. Better go home and spend some quality time with the kids. (Homer Simpson)
Phew!

Some interjections are sounds.

Examples:

 Phew! I am not trying that again.

 Humph! I knew that last week.

 Mmmm, my compliments to the chef.

 Ah! Don't say you agree with me. When people agree with me, I always feel that I must be
wrong. (Oscar Wilde)