distributive determiners

Distributives : all, both, half, either, neither, each, every

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Distributive determiners refer to a group of people or things, and to individual members of the group. They show different ways of looking at the individuals within a group, and they express how something is distributed, shared, or divided.

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Using “each” and “every”

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Each is a way of seeing the members of a group as individuals, while every is a way of seeing a group as a series of members. These distributives can only be used in countable nouns. They are normally used with singular nouns, and are placed before the noun. In many cases, they are interchangeable.

• Each artist presented a paint.

• Every artist presented a paint.

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Open Ended

Give me an example using every/each talking about art..

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The distributive determiner all is used to talk about a whole group, with a special emphasis on the fact that nothing has been left out. All can be used as a distributive in several different patterns.

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All can be used with uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns by itself. In this usage, it refers to the group as a concept rather than as individuals.

Examples

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• All pieces of art contains a message.

• I like all artists.

• All artists need inspiration.

Using “all” as a distributive

Open Ended

Give me an example using all talking about movies..

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All can be used with uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns preceeded by the or a possessive pronoun. In this case, the meaning is shifted towards referring to a concrete, physical group rather than the group as a concept. In these uses, the word of can be added just after all with no change in meaning.

Examples

• All the people in the room were silent.

• All of the birds flew away.

All can be used with plural pronouns preceeded by of.

Examples

• All of us are going.

• Did you find all of them?

Using “all” as a distributive

Distributives for pairs of objects

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The distributive determiners both, either and neither are concerned with distribution between a pair of objects. Normally, these words cannot be used to refer to a group of three or more individuals. They also cannot be used to refer to a group of indefinite size. These distributives can only refer to countable nouns.

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Both refers to the whole pair and is equivalent to “one and the other”. Both can be used with plural nouns on its own, or it can be followed by “of”, with or without an article. When followed by a plural pronoun, both must be separated from the pronoun by “of”. Both cannot be used with singular nouns, because it refers to two things.

• Both painters were born in Italy.

• Both of the painters were born in Italy.

• Both my parents like Pollock.

• Both of my parents like Pollock.

Using “both”

Open Ended

Give me an example using both talking about music..

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Either is positive and when used alone, refers to one of the two members of the pair. It is equivalent to “one or the other”. Because it refers to just one member of a pair, either must be used before a singular noun. It can also be used with a plural noun or pronoun if followed by “of”.

Examples

• I can go to either museum.

• Either day is fine for me.

• Either of you can come.

• Either of the museum will be fine.

Using “either”

Open Ended

Give me an example using either talking about literature..

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Neither is negative and when used alone, refers to the whole pair. It is equivalent to “not one or the other”. Because it refers to just one member of a pair, neither must be used before a singular noun. It can also be used with a plural noun or pronoun if followed by “of”.

Examples

• Neither artist is any good.

• Neither painter came.

• Which singer do you like the most? Neither of them.

• Neither of us were on time.

• I think neither of these pictures mean somenthing.

Using “neither”

Open Ended

Give me an example using neither talking about arts..

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