Determináló

Determináló, often equivalent to the term determiner in English linguistics, is a word class that accompanies a noun to mark reference and specification within a noun phrase. Its primary function is to indicate whether the noun refers to a definite or indefinite item, and to convey information such as quantity, possession, or demonstrative proximity. Determináló words typically appear before the noun they modify and help establish the referent of the noun phrase.

Common types of determináló items include articles (the, a, an), demonstratives (this, that, these, those), possessives (my, your, his, her), quantifiers (some, many, few), and numerals used as determiners (one, two). Interrogative determiners such as which also function to select a referent. The exact inventory and behavior of determinálók vary by language: some languages have a rich determiner system, others rely on demonstratives or possessives, and some do not mark definiteness with a dedicated word at all.

Syntactically, determináló elements typically occupy the pre-nominal position in a noun phrase and interact with the noun to form a stable unit. They are generally considered a closed class of words, in contrast to adjectives, which are an open class and can freely extend with new members. In some languages, determináló and adjectives may share forms or overlap in function; in others, they are clearly distinct categories.

Cross-linguistically, determiner systems vary widely. In Hungarian grammatical terminology, determináló is the label used for this category, though the exact realization of determiners can differ from language to language. See also determiner and noun phrase.