THE NOUN

THE NOUN

The noun denotes thingness (substance) in a most general sense. Thus they name things, living beings, places, materials, processes, states, abstract notions and qualities.

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

The Category of Number

English nouns that are inflected for number (countable nouns) have singular and plural forms. In English the singular form of a noun is unmarked (zero). As for the plural form, there is a number

of word-building means correlated with the semantic characteristics, morphological composition of nouns and language traditions. One should revise at first the basic knowledge on which special items are grounded.

Regular plurals

The regular plural form is marked by the inflection –(e)s.

Nouns endings in vowels and voiced consonants have the plural ending pronounced as [z]:

bees, dogs; in voiceless consonants have a voiceless ending [s]: books, maps; nouns ending in –s, -sh, -ch, -x, - z (sibilants) have the ending [iz]: actresses, benches, lashes, boxes.

Nouns ending in -o have the ending [z] which has two spellings : -s and -es. After another vowel (kangaroos, zoos), after a consonant in proper names (Eskimos, Filipinos), in abbreviations (kilos, photos) and in most borrowed words which are still felt as foreign (tobaccos, tangos, concertos). In other cases the spelling is –es:tomatoes, echoes, potatoes. Some nouns vay form their plurals in either way: cargo(e)s, banjo(e)s, mosquito(e)s.

The letter -y usually changes into -i (sky – skies), but it remains unchanged after vowels (days)

and in proper names (the Kennedys, the two Germanys). The word penny has two plural forms: pence (irregular) – in British currency to denote a sum of money: Here is ten pence; pennies (regular) for individual coins: Here are ten pennies.

Thirteen nouns ending in -f(e) follow the rules of Middle English spelling and change it into –v(e): calves, elves, halves, knives, leaves, lives, loaves, selves, sheaves, shelves, thieves, wives, wolves. Other nouns ending in - f(e) are recent borrowings and do not follow the above mentioned rules. They have the plural inflexion -s in the regular way: proofs, chiefs, safes, griefs. In a few cases both -fs and -ves forms are possible: scarfs/scaves, dwarfs/dwarves, hoofs/hooves.

Nouns ending in -th after a long vowel or a diphthong have the voiced [Gz] in the plural: baths [ba:Gz], oaths [ouGz] . But: youths [ju:Qs], births [be: Qs]. After a short vowel nouns in -th have the voiceless [s] at the end: months, deaths, myths.

Irregular plurals

For historical reasons certain nouns form their plural differently. They are the most ancient forms, the survivals of Old English.

Seven nouns distinguish plural from singular by vowel change: man – men, woman – women,

tooth – teeth, foot – feet, goose – geese, mouse – mice, louse – lice.

Four nouns have -(e)n to mark the plural: ox – oxen, child – children, brother – brethren (in elevated style to denote people of the same creed, not relations; also as a religious term); cow – kine (in poetry).

With some nouns the plural is identical with the singular form. They are animal names and were

originally used to denote hunting quarries rather than different individuals, species, kinds of animals: sheep, swine, deer, grouse, fish, pike, trout, carp, salmon, cod. In Modern English both meanings are realized but the form remains identical. For correct usage of the nouns of the group in special texts, one should born in mind the context they are used in, as they can be combined with singular and plural verbs, being countable or uncountable. The proper word in British English to see the peculiarities of this group of nouns appears to be fish. In American English the regular plural form is used.

Usage notes

Fish live in water. Are there any fish in the pond?

The angler caught many fish ( five, ten, etc.) in the pond (can be counted).

The fishing boat caught much fish (a mass of fish, uncountable).

There is much (little) fish in the fridge (uncountable).

There were seven fish in the aquarium, one was a goldfish.

Sometimes the plural marker -(e)s can be lexicalized, and one observes the change of meaning:

The tropical (river, Atlantic) fishes (=various kinds). The same refers to fruit – fruits and swine –

swines (a herd of swine but You dirty swines !). The change of meaning in lexicalized grammatical forms can be observed in the following pairs of words: custom – customs; colou – colours; damage – damages; to take pain – to take pains.

Names indicating number such as pair, couple, dozen, score, stone (14 pounds = 6,35kg), head

have in special texts the same form for both the singular and plural when they are preceded by a numeral, that is, they function as an indication of a kind of measure: three dozen of handkerchiefs; one thousand head of cattle. A newly-born child weights about two stone.

When these nouns have no number as predeterminer they take the usual plural form: dozens of time, to go in pairs. The regular plural with preceding numerals often occursin neutral texts.

There is one more group of nouns which have the same form in the singular and plural. It comprises recent borrowings from other languages: aircraft, hovercraft, spacecraft, series, species, corps.

Loans

As can be seen from the above list some loans may have two plural forms: the English plural and the original foreign one: formula – formulae / formulas; curriculum – curricula / curriculums; focus – foci / focuses. There is a tendency to use the regular English forms in fiction and colloquial speech, whereas the foreign plural forms are used in academic or learned language. Sometimes the original and English plurals have different meanings: index – indexes (a list of contents of a book) / indices (a mathematical term – показатель); genius – geniuses (men of talent) / genii (fabulous spirits guarding a place).

Invariable nouns.

Invariable nouns cannot change their number, some of them though having the plural marker

-(e)s are always singular in meaning (measles, draughts), some others denote plurality (archives, bellows).

Singular invariable nouns

Here belong:

a) some nouns ending in -s:

news – Here is the 8 o’clock news;

means – by this means;

gallows – They fixed up a gallows.

b)some diseases – measles, mumps, rickets, shingles;

c)some games – billiards, bowls, dominoes, draughts;

d)some proper nouns – Athens, Brussels, Wales, the United Nations, the United States;

e)nouns in -ics denoting some sphere of knowledge or activity – athletics, linguistics, mathematics, phonetics, politics. In scientific or official documents style the nouns of this group combine with a singular verb – Their politics has always been open. In neutral or colloquial style the words can acquire additional meanings and denote skills or qualities: Your phonetics have been greatly improved since last term ( skills in phonetics); The acoustics of his CD player are excellent (qualities); I cannot make out her politics – they seem to be strange (manners or behaviour).

f)all non-count nouns – abstract nouns: music, advice, love, quietness; material nouns: silver,

oil, sand, coffee. The latter may undergo semantic change and become count nouns. Then they are

used in the plural to denote different sorts or types of a certain material: teas, tobaccos, cheeses. Plural forms can also show portions: two teas = two cups of tea; three beers, ice creams.

g) collective nouns denoting a number of things collected together and regarded as a single object. They are often referred to as Singularia Tantum: hair, money, furniture, machinery, foliage, equipment.

Plural invariable nouns

Plural invariable nouns also comprise two types – marked and unmarked plurals. Both combine with a plural verb.

In the first type the form of the noun itself shows plurality. They are referred to as Pluralia Tantum and semantically they fall into several groups:

a)names of tools or articles of dress consisting of two equal parts which are joined: bellows, binoculars, pincers, pliers, scales, scissors; pyjamas, jeans, shorts, tights, trousers. These nouns can be made singular and countable by means of a pair of: a pair of trousers; this pair of jeans is…

b)miscellaneous nouns: arms, ashes, belongings, clothes, earnings, goods, greens, minutes (of the meeting), outskirts ( on the outskirts of… vs in a suburb of…),headquarters, stairs, troops, wages, the Middle Ages.

c)some proper nouns: the West (East) Indies, the Highlands, the Netherlands.

In the second type of the plural invariable nouns the meaning of plurality is not marked in any form. They are collective nouns denoting living beings and are singular in form but plural in meaning: police, gentry, clergy, fowl, cattle, poultry. Collective nouns have two categorical meanings: plurality as indivisible whole and plurality of separate beings. That is why the words of this type – people, family, crew, crowd, parliament, team, jury, government - can be both singular and plural. In the latter case they are called Nouns of Multitude. The difference in two categorical meanings is indicated be the number of the verb-predicate (singular in the first case and plural in the second) as well as by the personal pronouns.

The family quarrel (among themselves).

The family quarrels(with somebody else).

The crowd have accepted the decision.

The crowd has parted down the middle like a black curtain.

The crew on the ship was excellent.

The crew have taken their posts.

Plural in compound nouns

As a rule, in compounds, it is the second component that takes the plural form: housewives, tooth-brushes, handfuls, spoonfuls, though in compound nouns in -ful two variants are possible: spoonfuls / spoonsful, mouthfuls / mouthsful.

Compounds in which the first component is man or woman have plurals in both first and last components if the status of elements is equal: men-teachers, women-doctors, gentlemen-farmers. If the first element denotes object of action, only the second element takes the marker: man-eaters, lady-killers. Compounds ending in -man change it into -men: policeman – policemen.

Such nouns as German, Norman, Roman are not compounds, therefore they have regular plurals: Germans, Normans, Romans.

In compounds originated from a prepositional noun phrase only the first component takes the plural form: editors-in- chief, mothersin- law, commanders- in-chief, men-of-war.

In compound nouns formed by a noun plus a preposition, or an adjective, or an adverb only the first element takes the plural: passers-by, lookers-on, governors-general, courts-martial.

When the compound is a substantivized phrase without a noun, the last component takes the plural ending - s: forget-me-nots, merry-go-rounds, grown-ups, pick-ups, drop-outs, go-betweens.

Questions

1.How do understand the notion ‘Languages for Special Purposes”?

2.How can a functional style be identified?

3.What is the aim of functional grammar as a university subject?

4.Comment on the two constituent parts of grammar.

5.How is the category of number manifested in English?

6.In what functional styles are the original plurals of loans mostly used?

7.What lays the grounds for difference between non-marked plurals of Singularia Tantum and Pluralia Tantum nouns?

8.Comment on the plural forms of compound nouns with the first component man.

9.Give examples of lexicalized plural forms.

Exercises

Ex. 1.Which of the following words are singular in meaning (i.e. would be used with is); which are plural (would be used with are); and which can be used either singular or plural (could be used with

either is or are)?

1.the news _____; 2. people _____; 3. measles _____; 4. trousers _____; 5. the team _____; 6. the police _____; 7. billiards _____; 8. cattle _____; 9. tweezers _____; 10. statistics _____; 11. gymnastics _____; 12. underpants

_____; 13. headquarters _____; 14. the government _____; 15. mathematics _____; 16. Manchester United _____; 17. thanks _____; 18. the clergy _____.

Ex. 2. What have the following groups of words got in common? We are concerned with grammar rather than with meaning.

1.information, luggage, news, advise, furniture

2.family, council, committee, crowd, jury, staff, the public

3.customs, minutes, outskirts, belongings, lodgings

4.bread, rice, ink, wool, iron, sugar, salt, wood

5.breeches, flannels, tongs, scissors, suspenders.

Ex. 3. In the following set of words, there is one ‘odd man out’ – there is one word in each set in which the plural ending is pronounced differently from the others. Can you find the odd words?

1.houses, horses, matches, lines, ages

2.ropes, safes, roads, gifts, bikes, chips

3.knees, days, grapes, donkeys, flies, rows

4.stores, chairs, hearts, wires, ears

5.paths, months, mouths, baths, oaths

Ex. 4. Choose the correct number form.

a)Fish hatchery is a place where fish (is / are) bred under control. It is possible to single out voices belonging to specific (fish / fishes). Fish generally (fall / falls) silent when a ship draws near. Some (fish / fishes) (do / does) not begin to make sounds until after sunset. Many (fish / fishes) react to external irritation by gnashing their teeth. When fish (attain / attains) maturity, you first hear separate calls from the mature specimens. In some (fish / fishes) it is the swimming bladder that produces sounds. Some (fish / fishes) (is / are ) capable of producing ultrasounds.

b)1. There (is / are) a lot of frozen fish in the shops, but not (much / many) fresh fish. 2. Fish (do / does ) not live without water. 3. How (much / many) fish have you caught since morning? – Only three little (fish / fishes). 4. There (is / are) several goldfish in my aquarium. 5. Freshwater (fish / fishes) cannot live in salt water. 6. In a great river great fish (is / are) found.

Ex. 5. Change the sentences using the nouns in bold type in the plural.

1.This place can well be called an oasis of culture. 2. The atomic nucleus must not be used as a medium of destruction, but rather as a medium of construction. 3. Every heavenly body revolves round its axis. 4. Through a microscope we can see such a tiny living thing as a bacillus, a bacterium or a larva. 5. A more detailed analysis of this phenomenon can be found in a specialized encyclopedia. 6. A fungus is a kind of a poisonous mushroom. 7. There is a strict criterion which makes it possible to support this hypothesis and to present it in the form of a mathematical formula. 8. An abacus is a very simple instrument for doing arithmetic. 9. A nebula is a cloudlike group of stars, too far away to be seen singly. 10. An alumnus of a university is a person who has attended, or is a graduate, of this particular institution.

Ex.6. Give the plural forms of:

a)memorandum, symposium,geranium, pendulum

b)ameba, vertebra, antenna, uvula, copula, larva

c)cactus, genius, calculus, fungus, terminus, focus

d)paralysis, sclerosis, crisis, basis, ellipsis

e)automaton, criterion, phenomenon.

Ex. 7. Give the singular of:

Data, stimuli, oases, alumni, ensyclopaediae, formulae, theses, moratoria, hypotheses, iambi,

analyses, alumni, cumuli, media, terraria, bacilli, axes, curricula.

Ex. 8. Give the plural form of the compounds and comment on the patterns.

Forget-me- not, German, on-looker, looker-on, sister-in-law, Roman, man-of-war, woman-driver, man-eater, manservant, lady-killer, clergyman, man-of-letters, lady-bird, pencil-sharpener.