Morphological characteristics

Morphologically nouns are characterized by the grammatical categories of number and case.

Gender does not find regular morphological expression. The distinction of male, female, and neuter may correspond to the lexical meaning of the noun:

masculine (names of male beings)	- boy, man, husband, bachelor, ox, cock;
feminine (names of female beings)	- girl, woman, wife, maid, cow, hen;
neuter (names of inanimate objects)	- table, house.

The distinction may be also expressed by word-formation of different types:

a) feminine suffixes

-ess (actress, hostess, poetess, tigress),

-ine (heroine),

-ette (usherette);

b) compounds of different patterns:

noun + noun stem		pronoun + noun stem
Tom-cat doctor dog-otter male-frog cock-pheasant	- Tabby-cat - woman-doctor - bitch-otter - female-frog - hen-pheasant	he-wolf he-cousin	- she-wolf - she-cousin

There are also some traditional associations of certain nouns with gender. These are apparent in the use of personal or possessive pronouns:

a) moon and earth are referred to as feminine, sun as masculine:

It is pleasant to watch the sun in his chariot of gold and the moon in her chariot of pearl.

At first the earth was large, but every moment she grew smaller.

b) the names of vessels (ship, boat, steamer, ice-breaker, cruiser, etc.) are referred to as feminine:

The new ice-breaker has started on her maiden voyage.

She is equipped with up-to-date machinery.

c) the names of vehicles (car, carriage, coach) may also be referred to as feminine, especially by their owners, to express their affectionate attitude to these objects:

She is a fine car.

d) the names of countries, if the country is not considered as a mere geographical territory, are referred to as feminine:

England is proud of her poets.

But: If the name of the country is meant as a geographical one the pronoun it is used. Iceland is an island, it is washed on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean.

The category of number

English nouns that are inflected for number (count nouns) have singular and plural forms.

Singular denotes one, plural denotes more than one. Most count nouns are variable and can occur with either singular or plural number. In Modern English the singular form of a noun is unmarked (zero). The plural form is marked by the inflexion -(e)s. The spelling and the pronunciation of the plural morpheme vary.

Regular plurals

I. Nouns ending in vowels and voiced consonants have the plural ending pronouced as [z]:

bee - bees [bi:z], dog - dogs [dɔgz]

II. Nouns ending in voiceless consonants have a voiceless ending:

book - books [buks]

III. Nouns ending in -s, -sh, -as, -ch, -x, -z, (sibilants) have the ending [iz]:

actress - actresses ['æktrɪsɪz]

bush - bushes ['bu∫ɪz]

watch - watches ['wot∫ɪz]

box - boxes ['boksɪz]

IV. Nouns ending in -o have the ending [z]:

hero - heroes ['hɪǝrouz]

photo- photoes ['foutouz]

The regular plural inflexion of nouns in -o has two spellings; -os which occurs in the following cases:

a) after a vowel - bamboos, embryos, folios, kangaroos, radios, studios, zoos;

b) in proper names - Romeos, Eskimos, Filipinos;

c) in abbreviations, kilos (kilogramme), photos (photograph), pros (professional);

d) also in some borrowed words: pianos, concertos, dynamos, quartos, solos, tangos, tobaccos.

In other cases the spelling is -oes: tomatoes, echoes, Negroes, potatoes, vetoes, torpedoes, embargoes

Note:

Some nouns may form their plural in either way:

oes/os: cargo(e)s, banjo(e)s, halo(e)s.

V. The letter -y usually changes into -i:

sky skies [skaiz]

But the letter -y remains unchanged -ys:

a) after vowels:

days (except in nouns ending in -quy: soliloquy - soliloquies).

b) in proper names:

the two Germanys, the Kennedys, the Gatsbys;

c) in compounds:

stand-bys, lay-bys.

The word penny has two plural forms:

pence (irregular) - in British currency to denote a coin of this value or a sum of money:

Here is ten pence (in one coin or as a sum of money);

pennies (regular) - for individual coins.

Here are ten pennies.

VI. Thirteen nouns ending in -f(e) form their plural changing -f(e) into -v(e): the ending in this case is pronounced [z]:

calf - calves elf - elves half - halves knife - knives leaf - leaves

life - lives loaf - loaves self - selves sheaf - sheaves shelf – shelves

thief - thieves wife - wives wolf - wolves

Other nouns ending in -f(e) have the plural inflexion -s in the regular way: proof - proofs, chief - chiefs, safe - safes, cliff - cliffs, gulf - gulfs, dwarf - dwarfs, reef- reefs, grief - griefs; the ending is pronounced [s].

In a few cases both -fs and -ves forms are possible:

scarf - scarfs/scarves, dwarf - dwarfs/dwarves,

hoof - hoofs/hooves.

VII. Nouns ending in -th after a short vowel have the ending -s [s]:

month — months [mʌnθs].

Nouns ending in -th after a long vowel or a diphthong have [9z] in the plural: baths [ba:ðz], paths [paðz], oaths [ouðz].

But: youths [ju:θs], births [bǝ:θs].

VIII. The plural of abbreviations is sometimes formed in spelling by doubling a letter:

Ms (manuscript) p. (page) Mr (Mister) M.P. (Member of Parliament) M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) Co. (Company)

- MSS - pp. - Messrs ['mesǝz] - M.P.s ['em'pi:z] - M.D.s ['em'di:z] - Co.s [kouz]

In a phrase like "Miss Brown" two different forms are used for the plural. We may either say "the Miss Browns" or "the Misses Brown", the latter being generally considered more correct.