Question

Fill in the blank with the most suitable determiner:
The minister has virtually presided over _______ meeting for the last ten years.
a) each
b) every
c) all
d) Both A and B

Answer 1

Hint: The noun after the blank is a singular noun. The number of the noun will help you in choosing the correct determiner, as it is specific to the noun itself.

Complete answer:
A determiner, also called determinative, is a word, phrase, or affix that occurs together with a noun or noun phrase and serves to express the reference of that noun or a noun phrase in the context.
In English, a determiner is a word that introduces a noun. It always comes before a noun, not after, and it also comes before any other adjectives used to describe the noun. Determiners are required before a singular noun but are optional when it comes to introducing plural nouns. In the given sentence, the noun is singular.

Now, we know what we are looking for. Let’s look at the given options-
a) each - ‘Each’ is a way of seeing the members of a group as individuals. This distributive can only be used with countable nouns. It is normally used with singular nouns and is placed before the noun. However, it is not the only correct answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b) every - ‘Every’ refers to each member of a complete group. This distributive can only be used with countable nouns. It is normally used with singular nouns and is placed before the noun. However, it is not the only correct answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) all - All refers to a complete group. This distributive can only be used with countable nouns. It is normally used with plural nouns and is placed before the noun. However, it is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d) both a and b - ‘Each’ is a way of seeing the members of a group as individuals, and ‘every’ refers to each member of a complete group. These are the required answers. So, this is the correct option.

Note:
Understand the meaning of the given sentence as the context of the sentence will help you to reach the correct and required conclusion. Try to match the determiner in the given sentence to the appropriate one in the given options.