Below are explanations for the two Determiner Samples:

Determiners from The Brothers Karamazov

It came to pass that, settling permanently in Paris he, too, forgot the child, especially when the Revolution of February broke out, making an impression on his mind that he remembered all the rest of his life.

As the interactive exercise instructs, the first step is to highlight any words that could be determiners:

It came to pass that, settling permanently in Paris he, too, forgot the child, especially when the Revolution of February broke out, making an impression on his mind that he remembered all the rest of his life.

There appear to be six determiners in this sentence:

1. THE: Definite Article; precedes a noun (CHILD)
2. THE: Definite Article; precedes a noun (REVOLUTION)
3. AN: Indefinite Article; precedes a noun (IMPRESSION)
4. HIS: Possessive Determiner; precedes a noun (MIND)
5. THE: Definite Article; precedes a noun (REST)
6. HIS: Possessive Determiner; precedes a noun (LIFE)

Challenge Sample from The Brothers Karamazov

He completely abandoned that child of his first marriage, not from malice, nor because of some matrimonial grievances, but simply because he forgot him.

Again, the first step is to highlight any words that might be determiners:

He completely abandoned that child of his first marriage, not from malice, nor because of some matrimonial grievances, but simply because he forgot him.

For this sample, there appears to be four determiners in this sentence:

1. THAT: Demonstrative Determiner; precedes a noun (CHILD)
2. HIS: Possessive Determiner; precedes a noun (MARRIAGE)
3. FIRST: Ordinal Determiner; precedes a noun (MARRIAGE)
4. SOME: Indefinite Determiner; precedes a noun (GRIEVANCES)

Tips to Keep in Mind

When reviewing for determiners, the most important consideration is naming the element precisely. You can't identify a word as simply a "determiner" because there are different categories of determiner. So be precise! The KEY MARKER for determiners is always if it precedes a noun (or a nominal, such as a gerund).

If you have questions about these sample analyses, please contact your instructor or start a conversation in your work group.