← Course index: Articles, Determiners and Quantifiers

ARTICLES, DETERMINERS AND QUANTIFIERS

Unit 17 – Tracing Our Family Tree

Determiner combinations and order

Anna and James are cousins. They have decided to find out more about their family history. Their grandmother has left them an old family Bible, some photographs and a bundle of letters. They also use an online family-history website to search historical records.

As they investigate, they discover that several relatives have the same name, that different branches of the family followed different occupations, and that some members of the family moved to other countries.

1. The family Bible

The Bible belonged to Anna and James's great-grandparents. On a page near the beginning, a member of the family recorded the dates of birth, marriage and death of a number of relatives. The handwriting is old, but most of the entries are still legible.

Anna recognises the names of both her great-grandparents. She also finds the names of three of their children. Some dates are missing, and several people are recorded only by their first names. There are two entries for William and two for Margaret, so it is not immediately clear who is who.

“We need to look at all the evidence,” says James. “The Bible gives us some clues, but we shouldn't assume that every person with the same name is the same person.”

Talk about it: Have you ever looked at old family photographs or documents? What kinds of information might they contain?

2. How determiners combine

We often use more than one word before a noun. The words have to appear in a particular order. In this unit we will look at common combinations used to talk about groups, quantities and members of a family.

Predeterminers: all, both and half

All, both and half can come before a central determiner such as the, my or those.

PatternExample
all + the / my / these + nounAll the relatives were invited.
All my cousins live nearby.
All those photographs are labelled.
both + the / my / these + nounBoth my grandparents came from the same village.
Both the brothers worked in banking.
half + the / my / this + nounHalf the family emigrated.
Half my grandmother's brothers lived abroad.

We can also use of before a pronoun or a possessive/demonstrative determiner: all of them, both of my grandparents, half of those records. With a noun phrase, of is often optional after all and half: all (of) my cousins; half (of) the family. After both, both forms are possible: both my grandparents / both of my grandparents.

Quantifiers + of

With words such as many, several, some and most, we commonly use of before a determiner or pronoun.

Without a following determinerWith of + determiner
Many relatives moved abroad.Many of the relatives moved abroad.
Several photographs are missing.Several of those photographs are missing.
Most people have two parents.Most of my relatives came from this area.

Numbers, ordinals and other

Notice the order: my + other + two + uncles, and the + first + three + generations.

3. One family, several branches

Anna and James draw a simple outline of the family. It is not complete, but it helps them organise the information they have found.

Great-grandparentsArthur and Elizabeth ReedThomas and Mary Doyle
GrandparentsGeorge ReedNora DoyleThey married and had children
ParentsHelen and Peter ReedBrother and sister
Present generationAnna, Helen's daughterJames, Peter's sonThey are cousins

This is a simplified fictional outline. George Reed and Nora Doyle are Anna and James's shared grandparents. Their children, Helen and Peter, are brother and sister; Anna and James are therefore cousins. The names and relationships are used for the exercises; the full family tree is gradually reconstructed as the story develops.

As they compare the records, Anna notices that several members of the Reed family were clergymen. On the Doyle side, three generations worked in financial institutions. Some were bank clerks, while others became managers.

The family did not all remain in one place. A number of relatives moved to different parts of Britain, and some emigrated to Canada and Australia. The records also reveal marriages between people from different national and cultural backgrounds.

“We have only found a small part of the story,” says Anna. “There are lots of names we don't recognise, and some of our relatives may have descendants in other countries.”

4. Practice 1 – Choose the correct combination

Choose the phrase that completes each sentence.

1. ______ my cousins have heard stories about the old family Bible.
2. ______ my great-grandparents came from the same village.
3. ______ the family moved away from the village.
4. ______ those photographs show the same house.
5. ______ first three generations lived in the same county.
6. My ______ cousins have the same first name.
1 All of · 2 Both · 3 Half of · 4 Several of · 5 The · 6 other two

5. Practice 2 – Complete the sentences

Type the missing word or words. In some sentences, more than one form is possible.

1. ______ my grandmother's brothers worked in financial institutions.
2. ______ of the two men called William was Anna's great-grandfather?
3. ______ of my cousins have photographs of the same family house.
4. The family Bible records ______ the births and marriages, but not all the deaths.
5. My grandmother had five brothers. Two stayed in Britain; ______ other three emigrated.
6. ______ one of these names appears in the family Bible.
1 Three of · 2 Which? · 3 Several / Some / Many / All · 4 both / all · 5 the · 6 Every

6. Practice 3 – Put the words in the correct order

Rearrange the words to make natural noun phrases. Type the complete phrase.

1. cousins / all / my
2. grandparents / both / my
3. generations / the / first / three
4. uncles / my / other / two
5. photographs / of / several / those
1 All my cousins / All of my cousins · 2 Both my grandparents / Both of my grandparents · 3 The first three generations · 4 My other two uncles · 5 Several of those photographs

7. Online research

Anna and James decide to search an online family-history website. They enter the names and dates from the Bible and look for matching records. They find census returns, parish registers and records of births, marriages and deaths.

At first, the results seem confusing. There are several men called William Reed, and two of them lived in the same county. Anna thinks they may be the same person, but James compares their ages and occupations. One was a clergyman; the other worked in a bank. They were different people.

They find a record of a marriage between a member of the Reed family and a woman whose parents had come from Ireland. Another branch later moved to Canada. The online records suggest possible connections, but Anna and James know that a name alone is not enough to prove a relationship. They check dates, places and other details before adding anyone to the family tree.

“We need to be careful,” says James. “Some of these records fit our family, but others may belong to completely different people.”

Comprehension

1. Why were the two men called William difficult to distinguish?
2. What helped Anna and James establish that they were different people?
3. Does a matching name prove that someone belongs to the family?
4. Which records did they search?
1 They had the same name · 2 Their ages and occupations · 3 No · 4 Census returns, parish registers and birth, marriage and death records

8. Practice 4 – All, both, half, every and each

Choose the expression that best completes each sentence. Pay attention to the noun that follows.

1. ______ my grandparents were born in the nineteenth century.
2. ______ of the photographs has a date written on the back.
3. ______ the family records are kept in the old Bible.
4. ______ one of the three brothers chose a different career.
5. ______ my relatives have heard the story, but not everyone believes it.
1 Both · 2 Each · 3 Some of · 4 Each · 5 Some of

9. A closer look at the language

Compare these patterns

ExpressionUse
All my relativesAll + possessive determiner + plural noun.
All of themAll + of + object pronoun.
All of my relativesAll + of + possessive determiner + plural noun.
Several relativesQuantifier directly before a plural noun.
Several of my relativesQuantifier + of + determiner + plural noun.
My other two cousinsPossessive determiner + other + number + noun.
The first three generationsArticle + ordinal number + cardinal number + noun.

Remember: We do not normally say every of my cousins or several my relatives. Say every one of my cousins and several of my relatives.

10. Your family-history investigation

Imagine that you are helping Anna and James. Use the information in this unit to write a short account of one branch of their family. Include at least five of these expressions:

You could explain where the relatives lived, what they did for a living, whom they married and where their descendants eventually settled.

Discussion: Why do people research their family history? What can old documents tell us that family stories might not? What problems can arise when several relatives have the same name?

Review

End of Unit 17.