TapLearn
Determiners for Year 4: Ride the Determiner Express

Determiners for Year 4: Ride the Determiner Express

Learn what determiners are, from a, an and the to my, some and every, by building word trains and spotting determiners in real sentences.

Play now

What you'll learn

  • A determiner comes before a noun and any adjectives
  • When to use a, an or the before a noun
  • Possessive determiners like my, her and their show who owns something
  • Numbers and quantifiers like two, some, many and no say how many
  • How my differs from mine: determiner versus possessive pronoun
  • Using the terms pronoun and adverbial to talk about writing

Chapter by chapter

  1. What is a determiner? The word that comes before a noun Free to try

    Year 4 english · 1 Years 3–4 english · 2

  2. Articles: choosing a, an and the

    Year 4 english · 1

  3. Possessive determiners: my, your, his, her, its, our, their

    Year 4 english · 1

  4. Numbers and quantifiers: two, some, many, every, no

    Year 4 english · 1

  5. Determiner or pronoun? My and mine, and possessive pronouns

    Year 4 english · 1 Years 3–4 english · 2

  6. Grammar words: determiner, pronoun, possessive pronoun and adverbial

    Year 4 english · 1 Years 3–4 english · 2

  7. Big Ticket Quiz: determiners and Year 4 grammar words (10 questions)

What the chapters cover in the national curriculum in England:

  1. Year 4 english: Terminology: determiner, pronoun, possessive pronoun, adverbial
  2. Years 3–4 english: Use and understand the grammatical terminology in English appendix 2 accurately and appropriately when discussing their writing and reading

About this adventure

Determiners for Year 4 is an interactive grammar game that teaches children aged 7–10 what determiners are and how to use them, together with the Year 4 terms pronoun, possessive pronoun and adverbial.

Players join Captain Dee on a railway where every noun phrase is a train. The determiner is the engine at the front, adjectives are the carriages and the noun rides at the back. Children load word trains, tap determiners hidden in sentences, fill gaps with a or an, sort words into wagons and fix short pieces of writing.

Along the way they meet articles, possessive determiners such as her and their, numbers and quantifiers such as some and every, and the test that tells a determiner from a pronoun: a determiner needs a noun after it. Every line is read aloud, and a final quiz checks what has stuck.

Questions and answers

What is a determiner, in simple words?

A determiner is a word that comes before a noun, and before any adjectives, to tell us which one, whose or how many. Common determiners include the, a, an, my, their, two, some and every, as in 'the big dog'.

What is the difference between a determiner and a pronoun?

A determiner needs a noun straight after it, as in 'my bike', while a pronoun stands alone in place of a noun, as in 'she' or 'mine'. Words like this and that can be either, depending on whether a noun follows them.

When do you use a or an?

Use an when the next word starts with a vowel sound, as in an egg or an hour, and use a before a consonant sound, as in a kite. It is the very next word that counts, so we say an orange but a big orange.

What age is this determiners game for?

It is designed for children aged 7 to 10 and matches the Year 4 grammar terminology in the national curriculum for England. Year 3 children who already know a and an can follow it, and Year 5 and 6 pupils can use it for revision.

What does the determiners game include, and how long does it take?

The game has six chapters and a ten-question final quiz, and playing everything takes about 45 minutes. Each chapter starts with a short animated introduction, every line is read aloud, and chapters can be played in any order.

More to explore

See all