THE NOUN Copyright © Juan Luis Stamboni, 2000 Definitions of NOUN according to various criteria for definition of word classes: 1) According to the Logical-Objective criterion, which corresponds to traditional grammar, the word classes are defined from a strictly semantic point of view: A noun is the name of a living being or thing. 2) Following Amado Alonso’s Logical-Conceptual criterion, the noun is defined semantically in the following terms: A noun is a word with which we name an object thought of as an independent concept. 3) Morphologically and distributionally: A noun is a lexical word which may follow a noun determiner (articles, demonstratives, numerals, possesives, indefinite, etc.) such as “the”, and is inflected by the plural and genitive morphemes (/s/ ; /’s/) 4) The definitions provided by Structural grammar are based upon the syntactic function with which words-classes are generally associated: A noun is a word that can be used as subject of a sentence. Formal (i.e. morphological) characteristics of nouns: Noun determiners and quantifiers are function words typically used with nouns: the, a, an, this, these, that, those, my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose, such, other, etc. one, two, some, any, no, many, much, more, little, few, several, enough, all, both, every, etc. Inflectional noun markers: plural suffix /s/; genitive suffix /’s/ Derivational noun markers: (a) deverbal suffixes are added to VERBS in order to form NOUNS: –al: arrive arrival / dismiss dismissal / peruse perusal / refuse refusal / retrieve retrieval –ance: accord accordance / encumber encumbrance / endure endurance / hinder hindrance –ee: devote devotee / employ employee / pay payee / refer referee / trust trustee –er: (to) make maker / paint painter / search searcher / work worker / write writer –ment: employ employment / enjoy enjoyment / pay payment / ship shipment –ure: close closure / depart departure / erase erasure / please pleasure / seize seizure (b) deadjectival suffixes are added to ADJECTIVES in order to form NOUNS: –ce: abundant abundance / distant distance / independent independence / petulant petulance –cy: accurate accuracy / consistent consistency / delicate delicacy / intricate intricacy –ity: clear clarity / docile docility / formal formality / hostile hostility / real reality –ness: good goodness / happy happiness / same sameness / white whiteness (c) denominal suffixes are added to NOUNS in order to form other NOUNS: –ian: history historian / library librarian / logic logician / music musician –ism (also deadjectival): capital capitalism / commune communism –ship: friend friendship / kin kinship / relation relationship / scholar scholarship –er (also deverbal): line liner / steam steamer / jewel jeweller / Dublin dubliner –ist: flower florist / lyrics lyricist / physics physicist / piano pianist –ster: gang gangster / prank prankster / trick trickster / (arch.) spin (V) spinster Some of these suffixes are added to bound bases, not to words, forming nouns such as: linguistic, polytheist, communist, communism, felicity, debility although what these words actually show is derivational processes occurring in the (often classical, but also French, etc.) languages from which such lexical items have been borrowed. Syntactic distribution of NOUNS and NOUN constructions According to its distribution, i.e. the position filled by the word in the sentence, the noun may be: Complement to Determiner: the light, that light, no light, my light Head of a Noun Phrase: the fact that she hates politics... / the boy (whom) we sent the parcel to... 1 Complement of an FP (attributive adjective construction): good light / brilliant light / shining light Noun modifier: light-house, light giver Subject: Light failed. Direct Object: He turned out the light. Indirect Object: She gave the light a good shake. Predicative Complement: It was a dim light / I call that a poor light Complement to Preposition: I came back with the light. Semantic classification of NOUNS Abstract nouns: according to their meaning, these nouns are opposed to concrete nouns in that they denote entities which do not occupy a volume in the physical world, such as qualities, actions, states, relations and general ideas. They are sometimes personified in literature and then they are spelled, like proper names, with capital letters. They also admit the /’s/ morpheme. The abstract nouns form a group of nouns distinguished from concrete nouns by certain formal marks, like the following derivational suffixes: -ness, -th, -y, -al, -dom, -ship, -ism, -iom, -ance, -ence, -cy, -ity Abstract nouns are usually uncountable nouns, therefore they do not occur as complement to certain overt determiners, and they do not take plural form: He was appointed to a position of trust and dignity. Pathos, piety, courage, they exist but are identical. Power and humility seldom go together. Superstition was severely attacked. When abstract nouns are further defined or specified by a pre- or a postmodifier they occur with overt determiners, usually the definite article: The human spirit slumbers registering the distinction between pleasure and pain. If one had pleaded for all the happiness and misunderstanding in the world, for all the misery men must undergo... / She was at the summit of her powers. What pleasures and pains haven’t we experienced? Countable and uncountable nouns: the categorization count / non-count cuts across the traditional distinction between abstract (broadly immaterial) nouns like warmth, and concrete (broadly tangible) nouns like bottle. But, while abstract nouns may be countable (like remark) or uncountable (like warmth), there is a considerable degree of overlap between abstract and uncountable (also called mass, class, non-count) nouns. Material or concrete mass or uncountable nouns include substances and stuffs, minerals, metals, liquids, foods, etc., e.g.: rain, sand, water, flour, iron, steel, oil, air, grain. Immaterial or abstract mass or uncountable nouns: success, advice, law, patience, virtue, cowardice... UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS number determiners quantifiers exclamation COUNTABLE NOUNS no plural form plural inflection /-s/, /-en/, etc. null determiner overt determiners: the, a(n), those, etc. much copper, cheese, noise many boys, houses, women, games (a) little water, milk, gold (a) few books, flowers (cf. a little boy, house, etc.) less money, progress, shame fewer students, towns, occasions some, any, no, more, a lot of..., plenty (of)... such / what success! / hair! such a / what a party! / face! / night! Uncountable nouns can be used as countable with overt determiners and plural inflection when they refer to particular classes of a given substance, material, etc. or to elements made of the substance, material, etc. denoted by the mass noun: old wines, all possible dangers, several oil tins, a new iron Uncountable nouns can be used with partitive meaning when the substance or material they refer to occupies a certain position or volume: two or three whiskeys, an ice-cream, five teas, a coffee, etc. Singular portions of a given substance or material can be referred to by means of expressions like: a piece of information / a (little) bit of glew / a stroke of good luck / a loaf of bread Some nouns can be used both as count or non-count with different meaning: I should prefer oak for this table. / he planted five oaks when his daughter was born. Paper is not a durable material / I read about it in the papers / We handed in our papers 2 Countable nouns can be further subclassified as: a) individual nouns: denoting singular or plural individual items: cats, men, a field, manners b) collective nouns: denoting groups taken as a whole or unit; some of them can be used as individual countables in singular or plural form: two families, several teams, three armies, etc., but some collective nouns are never pluralised, e.g.: police, infantry, cavalry, gentry, cattle... Notice the plural number agreement between some “collective” subjects and the verb inflection: Twenty clergy want to walk in the procession. / The jury sit enduring, patient, mute. The police are after me. / Our crew were drunk. Eighty thousand cattle have been slaughtered. He joined the party [ who were dancing in the Hall ]. But: The nobility is empoverished as their property pays heavy taxes. The committee has been sitting for hours. / The public is determined to protest. Proper nouns: According to Quirk, proper nouns are names of specific people, places, countries, months, days, holidays, magazines, institutions, public buildings, sciences, honorific titles, etc. They have no semantic content of their own and, like pronouns, they acquire meaning every time they are used to refer to a particular entity in a particular situation. They have unique reference, therefore they never denote members of a class, thus contrasting with common nouns, which always do. They denote, they do not connote, whereas common nouns denote and connote. Proper nouns do not occur as complement to overt determiners and they do not take plural form. They inflect for genitive case and they accept non-restrictive modifiers, e.g.: poor Jill, good Catherine and appositive constructions, e.g.: Richard, the Lion Hearted. Sometimes, however, they take restrictive modification, by means of which they get partitive meaning, in those cases they occur as complement to the definite article. They are always spelled with capital letters in their written form. Proper nouns can fill all the syntactic positions of common nouns. Unique Reference Partitive Meaning in England during Easter in the England of Queen Elizabeth I during the easter of that year Main classes of proper nouns 1) Personal names (without / with title): Mr & Mrs Johnson, Dr Watson, Cardinal Spellman, Emperor Haili Selassie but: The Emperor (Napoleon), The Lord (God) in contexts where the DP has unique reference 2) Calendar items: names of months and days of week: January, Tuesday these items can also be used as countable nouns: I hate Mondays, On a Saturday.... names of festivals: Christmas (day, eve), Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc. 3) Geographical names: names of continents, countries, states, provinces, counties, cities, towns, districts, etc.: Africa, America, Europe, Antarctica, France, Argentina [but: the Argentine], Alaska, Louisiana, Brittany, Glendale, Stockholm, Vancouver, Hoboken, Chelsea when premodified by a noun or an adjective, these names do not take an overt determiner: South America, northern Europe, West Scotland, suburban London, modern Brazil, ancient Rome, etc., but some of these names take an overt determiner as an integral part of them: The Hague, the Bronx, the City, (the) Soho, the Vatican, the Netherlands, the Strand names of lakes, mountains, etc. (without an overt determiner only if modified): Lake Windermere, Mount Everest, Cape Horn, Silver Lake, The Mount of Olives names of rivers, seas, oceans, volcanoes, etc. (with overt D and an elliptic common noun): the (river) Thames, the Caribbean (sea), the Rhine, the Vesuvius, the Atlantic (ocean) many classical or institutionalized proper names are used elliptically, with an overt definite article: the Avon, the Danube, the Euphrates, the Nile, the Baltic, the Mediterranean, the Savoy (hotel), the Hilton, the Sheraton, the Lido (theatre), the Globe (theatre) when the elliptic item is a plural or a collective noun implying plurality, the truncated name is pluralized: The Canary Islands = The Canaries; The Himalaya mountains = The Himalayas 3 names of public buildings, places, etc. (name + common noun): the Albert Hall, the Hay market, the Opera house, the Tate gallery, the Sistine chapel, the Louvre (museum) 4) Ordinary common nouns are used as proper nouns (and spelt with initial capital letters) when: the unique reference of the noun has been institutionalized (as a publication, an institution, etc.): The Guardian, The Times, The Economist, The Observer, The Washington Post, the House of Commons, the Bay of Biscay, the Institute of Psychiatry, the Suez Canal some of these names, particularly those of magazines, do not take an overt determiner: Time, Life, Newsweek, Punch, People, Superman, National Geographic used in a particular context to refer to a particular person after their rank, profession, etc.: Baby, Mother, Granny, Dad, Aunt Mary, Uncle John, Cousin Kevin the Doctor, the Priest, the Boss, the Sergeant, the Teacher, Nurse used in a particular context to refer to a particular place or building: the Tower, the Chapel, the Abbey, the Cinema, the Library, the Market denoting personified things (in literature): Evil, Good, Envy, Greed, Power, Music, Poetry, Painting, etc. 5) When a proper noun is used as a common noun, the referent of the noun construction is identified (1) as though bearing resemblance or being “like” the unique referent of the proper noun: a Napoleon, a Beau Brummel, an Elvis, a few Churchills, these Romeos – or (2) denoting individuals of a class named after its inventor, author, place of origin or trademark: a Sandwich, a Ford, some Picassos, a Steinway, this Sherry, some Port, a Panama (hat) NUMBER The English number system comprises singular (i.e. “one”) and plural, which denotes more than “one”. In addition to singular and plural number we may distinguish “dual” number, as in the case of the pronouns both, either and neither, which can only be used with reference to “two”. The singular category includes mainly common non-count nouns and proper nouns. Both concrete and abstract noncount nouns usually occur in their singular invariable form and agree with singular V inflection: gold, furniture, sand, flour, air, anger, homework, happiness... Music is my favourite pastime. But some non-count nouns, like goods, news, etc. take only an invariable plural form, though they do not always follow a fixed subject-verb inflection agreement pattern: The news is bad. / The news were immediately broadcasted. some diseases: measles, mumps, rickets ... [with singular or plural verb agreement] some fields of study [with singular verb agreement]: linguistics, phonetics, mathematics, physics... some practical skills [with plural verb agreement]: acoustics, statistics, tactics, politics... The statistics you are showing me are very poor. / Politics don’t interest me / but: Politics is a dirty affair. The acoustics of the new auditorium have been carefully studied. / His tactics, where did he learn them? some games [singular agreement]: checkers, billiards, bowls, darts, dominoes, drawghts, ninepins Billiards is played upstairs. / Drawghts doesn’t attract me. When these nouns occur as noun modifiers, they do not take the plural inflection: a billiard table / a drawght board Some geographical proper nouns take invariable plural form and agree with singular verb inflection: Algiers, Athens, Brussels, Flanders, Marseilles, Naples, Wales ... Count-nouns are either variable, occurring either with singular or plural number (e.g.: boy – boys), or invariable, as in the case of collective nouns (e.g.: cattle, cavalry, clergy, folk, gentry, people, police, etc.), which have singular form but always express plurality, and noun constructions with an adjectival head. There are two kinds of adjectives that can behave as head of DP’s in constructions with generic reference: a) Adjectives with plural personal reference: the wounded, the dead, the poor, the beautiful, the rich (the French = those who are French citizens; the rich = those who are rich; etc.) Some nationality words admit lexical variation between forms with countable singular or plural meaning and plural collective meaning, e.g.: 4 The three Englishmen we met last night were from York. / The English are usually very moderate. but when this lexical distinction is not available, the plural form can take both generic and specific meaning: The Greeks are musical [generic] / The Greeks that I know are musical [specific] b) Adjectives with singular abstract non-personal reference: the good, the evil [ = the good, evil nature] Other plural invariables (also known as “pluralia tantum”) with plural subject-verb inflection agreement include: summation plurals: nouns referring to tools and articles of dress consisting of two equal parts which are joined occur always in their plural invariable form, but countable meaning is conveyed when the summation plural noun forms part of the construction “a pair of...”: bellows, binoculars, glasses, pincers, pliers, scales, scissors, shears, spectacles, tongs, tweezers, trousers, flannels, knickers, pants, shorts, breeches, pyjamas, etc. Some summation plurals can occur with the (singular) indefinite article, specially if premodified: a curling tongs; a garden shears ... When premodifying another noun, these nouns do not take plural inflection, e.g.: a trouser button Other nouns generally used as ‘pluralia tantum’: the following nouns tend to occur only in their plural form, however their singular form may occasionally be used with a different meaning: ages (the Middle Ages) / age; arms ( = weapons) / arm (body part); brains (intellect) / brain (organ) ashes, auspices, banns, bowels, clothes, commons, contents (but the silver content of coins), customs, (the) creeps, dregs, earnies, entrails, fireworks (but He let off a firework), funds / a fund ( = a source of money), goods, goosebumps, greens, guts, headquarters, holidays (but He’s on holiday), (a man of) letters, lodgings, (his) looks, manners, oats, odds, outskirts, particulars, premises, quarters, (give my) regards, remains, riches, savings, spirits ( = mood / spirit = soul, alcohol...), stairs, suds, surroundings, thanks, valuables, wages, wits (but a keen wit) Note: the following plural proper nouns are not ‘pluralia tantum’ since they may agree both with singular or plural verb inflection: the Bahamas; the Highlands; the Hebrids; etc. However, some of these constructions (e.g. the Netherlands), whose referent is conventionally regarded as a single unit, agree only with singular verb inflection. Plural form of proper nouns (always with overt determiners or quantifiers and keeping the initial capital letter) a) Denoting an individual entity at different moments or in different interpretations: This seemed to be another England, so now he knew two Englands. She thought there were two Mr Beresfords, so much had he changed. b) Denoting different individuals bearing the same name: Henrys, Cynthias... There are three Hamiltons on my list. Which are you? They are all Marys and Davids in this village. There had been three Elizabeths in our family. c) Denoting members of the same family: The Browns, The Millers, The Tudors, The Stuarts... In the time of the Plantagenets... She wished that other Elliots would have her advantages. The Samuel Johnsons never play by themselves. d) When a proper name is preceded by a title, either the title or the name may be pluralised: the Mr Smiths – Mssrs Hendersons (used only commercially) Miss – Misses Croft(s), Mrs – Mesdames (used only commercially in former decades) The younger miss Thorps were also dancing. (only the name is pluralised) e) When a proper noun premodifies a common noun, only the common noun is pluralised: the Newman girls, the Brontë sisters, the Chapman children, the Wilcox brothers f) Some proper names have an inherent plural form which is never contrasted with a singular form: The United States, The Antilles /æn’tili:z/, The Cyclades /’sikldi:z/ The Andes, The Pyrenees /pir’ni:z/, The Alps, The Himalaya(s) /him’lei(z)/ 5 Variable nouns can be further sub-classified on account of the phonological and/or spelling characteristics of their morphological realization of the singular–plural opposition: Regular plural form: with a /s/ sound after a voiceless ending, e.g.: cat–cats; cup–cups; lip–lips; plant–plants; yoke–yokes; spot–spots; belief–beliefs; chief–chiefs; cliff– cliffs; gulf–gulfs; proof–proofs; reef–reefs; roof–roofs; relief–reliefs; safe–safes; turf–turfs; berth–berths; birth–births; cloth–cloths; death–deaths; moth–moths; faith–faiths; month–months; wraith–wraiths with a /z/ sound after a voiced ending, e.g.: shampoo–shampoos; pin–pins; bed–beds; card–cards; leg–legs, name–names; crab–crabs; table–tables; pimple–pimples; bamboo–bamboos; daily–dailies; convoy–convoys; bay–bays; key–keys; lady–ladies; sea–seas with an /ɪz/ sound after a sibilant ending, e.g.: annex(e)–annexes; box–boxes; inch–inches; brush–brushes; fox–foxes; horse–horses; prince–princes; prize–prizes; wish–wishes; ace–aces; canvas–canvases; mongoose–mongooses; paradox–paradoxes; vase–vases many nouns with diphthong endings take regular spelling alternations, e.g.: tomato–tomatoes; potato–potatoes; torpedo–torpedoes; embargo–embargoes; negro–negroes; hero–heroes; veto–vetoes; echo–echoes; pleasantry–pleasantries; spy–spies; sty–sties; foe–foes; etc. But some groups of nouns with diphthong or “y” endings add just an “s” to spell their plural form: a) proper names: Kennedy–Kennedys; Mary–Marys; Lucy–Lucys; Germany–Germanys b) monosyllabic nouns without initial consonant clusters: day–days; boy–boys; toy–toys c) some technical nouns of foreign origin ending in “o”: Michael Angelo(s); Fra Angelico(s); Romeo(s) duo–duos; folio–folios; kilo–kilos; piano–pianos; radio–radios; ratio–ratios d) some nouns ending in “o” have two optional spelling forms: archipelagos / archipelagoes; buffalos / buffaloes; commandos / commandoes; flamingos / flamingoes; cargos / cargoes; halos / haloes; mottos / mottoes; tornados / tornadoes; volcanos / volcanoes ... e) letter names, numerals, abbreviations: Dot your i’s / in the 1890’s / two B.A.’s [bachelor of arts] f) compounds including (- N) categories, like prepositions, e.g.: stand-bys; [cf. passers-by] Some compound nouns take their plural inflection on their last element: forget-me-nots; tigerlilies; grown-ups; take-offs; mothballs; assistant directors; assistant teachers; breakdowns; boyfriends; fountain-pens; ticket-collectors; girl-guides; lord-justices; mayor-generals; outbreaks; onlookers Some compound nouns take their plural inflection on their first element: mouthsful; spoonsful; attorneys-general; mothers-in-law; notaries-public; passers-by; grants-in-aid; coats of mail; man-of-war – men-of-war; man-at-arms – men-at-arms; Some compound nouns take their plural inflection on both elements: madam – mesdames; gentlemen farmers; men servants; women doctors; men teachers Irregular plural forms: these forms are by definition unpredictable and have to be learned as individual items. In many cases, when foreign words are involved, it is helpful to know about pluralization patterns in the relevant languages, particularly Latin and Greek. However, due to the fact that many foreign words have been incorporated into the English morphological system, we cannot always rely on etymological criteria. Some English nouns referring to certain animal species do not show morphological variation between their singular and plural forms, this particular trait being related to the fact that these species (d) are mostly referred to as fishing or hunting prey. (a) voicing: most singular nouns ending in the voiceless fricatives // and /f/ take the voiced fricative clusters /ðz/ and /vz/ in their plural form: mouth–mouths; path–paths; calf–calves; elf–elves; life–lives; half–halves; knife–knives; leaf–leaves; loaf–loaves; wife–wives; -self–-selves; sheaf–sheaves; wolf–wolves; shelf–shelves; thief–thieves; [with optional voiced or voiceless plural /s/–/ðz/: baths; oaths; sheaths; truths; wreaths; youths; /fs/ – /vz/: dwarfs / dwarves; hoofs / hooves; scarfs / scarves; staffs / staves; wharfs / wharves; handkerchiefs / handkerchieves ]. Note: house–houses /ziz/; die–dice; penny(ies)–pence (b) mutation: foot–feet; goose–geese; louse–lice; (dor)mouse–(dor)mice; tooth–teeth (c) ancient forms: ox–oxen; child–children; brother–brethren; man–men; woman–women (d) Ø morphological variation [both singular & plural agreement]: 6 plaice–plaice; herring–herring; pike–pike; sheep–sheep; deer–deer; salmon–salmon; trout–trout; fish– fish [fishes denotes individuals of species]; means–means; news–news; series–series; species–species Nouns denoting quantities and magnitudes take Ø plural morphology only when quantified: hundred; thousand; million; dozen; brace; yoke; head [of cattle]; optional: foot; ton (e) foreign forms: the foreign plural morphology of some of these nouns is restricted to technical usage in English, while regular forms co-exist for colloquial usage. Furthermore, the plural form antenae is used only within the field of biology, while antenas is used in electronics; similarly, formulae is restricted to the field of mathematics and, to a lesser extent, chemistry. In the case of the plural Latin noun data, reclassification as a singular uncountable noun is widespread in present day English, the technical singular datum being nowadays rather rare. Similarly, the plural Latin forms media, with reference to press, T.V., etc., strata, with reference to society, and the Greek forms criteria and phenomena are generally used informally as singular nouns. Latin plurals: -us -i alumnus–alumni; bacillus–bacilli; locus–loci; stimulus–stimuli; either form: cactus(es) / cacti; focus(es) / foci; fungus(es) / fungi; genius(es) / genii; nucleus(es) / nuclei; radius(es) / radii; syllabus(es) / syllabi; terminus(es) / termini; exceptions: virus(es); bonus(es); circus(es); campus(es); chorus(es); corpus–corpora; genus–genera -a -ae alga – algae; alumna – alumnae; larva – larvae either form: antena(s) / antenae; formula(s) / formulae; nebula(s) / nebulae; retina(s) / retinae; vertebra(s) / vertebrae; exceptions: area(s); dilemma(s); diploma(s); drama(s); villa(s) -um -a bacterium–bacteria; corrigendum–corrigenda; datum–data; stratum–strata; curriculum–curricula; addendum–addenda; desideratum–desiderata; erratum–errata; ovum–ova; either form: acquarium(s) / acquaria; medium(s) / media; memorandum(s) / memoranda; symposium(s) / symposia; exceptions: album(s); forum(s); museum(s); stadium(s); chrysanthemum(s); ultimatum(s) -ex / -ix -ices codex–codices; [either form: apex(es) / apices; matrix(es) / matrices; index(es) / indices; vortex(es) / vortices; appendix(es) / appendices ] Greek plurals: -is -es analysis–analyses; axis–axes; basis–bases; crisis–crises; oasis–oases; ellipsis–ellipses; diagnosis–diagnoses; prognosis–prognoses; synopsis–synopses; thesis–theses; hypothesis– hypotheses; parenthesis–parentheses; [exception: metropolis(es)] -on -a phenomenon–phenomena; criterion–criteria; either form: ganglion(s) / ganglia; automaton(s) / automata; exceptions: demon(s); electron(s); neutron(s); proton(s) French plurals: these plurals are generally pronounced as regular /z/, irrespective of spelling: -eu -eux adieu(s) / adieux; milieu(s) / milieux [either form] -eau -eaux bureau(s) / bureaux; plateau(s) / plateaux; tableau(s) / tableaux [either form] /-Ø/ /-z/ [singular form pronounced with vowel ending, plural form with the regular /z/ sound] chassis–chassis (/ʃæsi/ – /ʃæsiz/); corps–corps; patois–patois; faux-pas – faux-pas Italian plurals: -o -i tempo – tempi [exceptions: libretto(s); solo(s); soprano(s); studio(s); virtuoso(s). Only plural: graffiti [pluralia tantum]; confetti; spaghetti [uncountable singular nouns] Hebrew plurals: /-Ø/ /-im/ kibbutz–kibbutzim; [either form: cherub(s) / cherubim; seraph(s) / seraphim ] 7 GENDER Gender has been traditionally treated as a system of subclassification of nouns and nominals. It is often said that Modern English, unlike Modern German or French, has no grammatical realization of gender, but this seems to be an oversimplification. Consider the following sentences: (1) My son is a teacher. / (2) His daughter is a teacher. / (3) That book is a novel. For the subject determiner phrase in (1) we can substitute the personal pronoun he, but not she or it. In (2), “my daughter” can be replaced by she, but not by he or it, and in (3), it, but not she or he, can be used instead of “my book”. It is this correlation that forms the basis for the subclassification of nominals into different genders. Singular nominals replaceable by he and by he only form one subclass, those replaceable by she and by she only form another, and those replaceable by it and it only make up another one. If nothing else is stipulated, it is clear that this subclassification is very far from being exhaustive, there are a great many words normally used in nominal constructions which cannot be put into any of these three gender classes. For instance, nouns like bull, ram or horse cannot be classified exclusively as masculine because the constructions they form part of may be replaced not only by he, but also by it. Similarly, cow, ewe or mare are not just feminine because again, they may be replaced by it as well as by she. Even more problematic are nouns like child, baby, dog and others which are replaceable by it or he or she. An exhaustive gender classification based on such a correlation between nominal constructions and pronouns should operate with more than 3 gender classes: 1) Nouns correlated with he: father, son, man, king, brother, etc. 2) Nouns correlated with she: daughter, queen, mother, woman, sister, etc. 3) Nouns correlated with it: box, table, door, beer, sand, etc. 4) Nouns correlated with he / she: teacher, friend, doctor, secretary, writer, etc. 5) Nouns correlated with he / it: bull, ram, stallion, etc. 6) Nouns correlated with she / it: cow, mare, ewe, car, ship, etc. 7) Nouns correlated with he / she / it: child, baby, cat, dog, etc. 8) Nouns correlated with it / they: family, government, team, party, etc. 9) Nouns correlated with he / she / they: somebody, someone, anybody, etc. 10) Nouns correlated with they: scissors, pliers, trousers, etc. An alternative subclassification of nominals, somewhat similar to gender classification, correlates them with the relative pronouns who and which. In this case we can distinguish only three groups: 1) Nouns correlating only with who: father, son, girl, sister, teacher, somebody, etc. 2) Nouns correlating only with which: book, scissors, house, bird, water, etc. 3) Nouns correlating with who / which: party, child, family, government, trousers, etc. The morphology of English makes very few gender distinctions. Where they are made, the connection between the biological category “sex” and the grammatical category “gender” is very close insofar as natural sex distinctions determine, in many cases, language gender distinctions. Nevertheless, English does not have special grammatical resources, other than certain suffixes of foreign origin, to mark gender distinctions, nor are any gender distinctions morphologically or lexically realized on articles and most determiners. Some pronouns are ‘gender-sensitive’, like the personal pronouns he, she and it, and the relative pronouns who and which, but others are not (we, they, some, these, etc.) A gender classification of nouns based on meaning and pronoun substitution a) Masculine and feminine personal nouns form part of nominal constructions which admit pronoun substitution by the following personal, relative and indefinite pronouns: he, she, who, someone, somebody. These nouns can be further subclassified in two separate groups: I. Nouns denoting natural sex distinctions although morphologically unmarked for gender, e.g.: bachelor / spinster; brother / sister; father / mother; uncle / aunt; mom / dad; gentleman / lady; king / queen; friar, monk / nun; earl (count) / countess; sir / madam; wizard / witch II. Nouns whose opposite gender forms have a derivational relationship (i.e. morphologically marked for gender): actor / actress; bridegroom / bride; emperor / empress; duke / duchess; god / 8 goddess; host / hostess; waiter / waitress; steward / stewardess; prophet / prophetess; peer / peeress; porter / portress; director / directress; traitor / traitress; tempter / temptress; negro / negress; abbot / abbess; lad / lass; master, mister / mistress; marquis / marquess, marchioness; murderer / murderess; conductor / conductress; manager / manageress; jew / jewess; ambassador / ambassadress; beau / belle; widow / widower; executor / executrix; testator / testatrix; prosecutor / prosecutrix; administrator / administratrix; usher / usherette; sultan / sultana; czar / czarina; hero / heroine; [rare feminine forms: poetess; authoress] b) Dual-gender personal nouns: admit pronoun substitution by the following personal, relative and indefinite pronouns: he, she, who, someone, somebody, e.g.: artist; servant; musician; author; novelist; poet; writer; speaker; student; teacher; professor; guest; cook; nurse; neighbour; foreigner; fool; enemy; criminal; librarian; engineer; citizen; inhabitant; chairman, monarch; doctor; dentist; operator; singer; pianist; assistant; physician; parent; child; friend; minister... When used generically, these nouns agree in gender with both third-person singular (either masculine or feminine) and plural pronouns, e.g.: If any student calls, tell him / her / them I’ll be back soon. but when they are used with specific reference in singular, gender correlation must be either masculine or feminine, e.g.: The artist showed us the house where we could visit her while she was in town. When they refer to activities performed by both male and female individuals, they may occur preceded by a gender marker: woman-doctor; boyfriend; manservant; maidservant ... c) Collective personal nouns: have singular form and singular/plural meaning, agreeing both with singular and plural verbs. They admit pronoun substitution by the following personal, relative and indefinite pronouns: it, they, who, which, one. The use of singular verb agreement stresses the non personal collectivity of the group, whereas plural verb agreement stresses the personal individuality within the group, e.g.: The committee has met and it has rejected our proposal. The committe have met and they have rejected our proposal. Specific collective nouns can co-occur with determiners and quantifiers alike, e.g.: crowd; family; clan; crew; class; club; committee; group; jury; majority; government; army; congress Generic collective nouns, on the other hand, are usually determined by the definite article and do not allow quantifiers: aristocracy; gentry; clergy; laity; public; bourgeoisie; intelligentsia. d) Nouns denoting animal species: admit, in general, pronoun substitution by the following personal, relative and indefinite pronouns: it, he, she, who, which, one, something. These nouns can be further subclassified into four separate groups: I. Nouns denoting animal sex distinctions although morphologically unmarked for gender, e.g.: bull / cow; buck / doe; cock / hen; dog / bitch; hart / roe; drake / duck; boar / sow; drone / bee; gander / goose; bullock / heifer; colt / filly; ram / ewe; stag / hind; stallion / mare; swain / nymph II. Nouns whose opposite gender forms have a derivational relationship (i.e. morphologically marked for gender): lion / lioness; tiger / tigress; fox / vixen III. Dual-gender nouns denoting animal species admit pronoun substitution by: it, he, she, which, one, something. When used generically in singular, these nouns generally correlate only with thirdperson neuter pronoun forms (i.e. it, its), but when used with specific reference in singular, gender correlation is either masculine or feminine (i.e. he, him, his, she, her); in these cases they may occur preceded by a gender marker, e.g.: [without gender marker] elephant; fly; horse; cat; pig; snake; goat; [with gender marker] he-goat / she-goat; billy-goat / nanny-goat; male frog / female frog; cock-pheasant / hen-pheasant; cock-sparrow / hen-sparrow; buck-rabbit / doe-rabbit; jackass / she-ass; tom-cat / tib-cat; bull-calf / cow-calf; he-wolf / she-wolf IV. Collective nouns denoting groups of members of an animal species have singular form and singular / plural meaning depending on whether either the collectivity of the group or the individualities within the group are to be stressed, taking in the first case singular verb agreement and in the second, plural verb agreement. They admit pronoun substitution by: it, they, which, one, something, e.g.: flock; herd; pack [of wolves, dogs, etc.]; swarm; etc. 9 e) Nouns denoting inanimate entities: admit, depending on each case, personal and relative pronoun substitution by: it, (she), (they), which, (who). These nouns can be further subclassified into: I. Nouns denoting inanimate beings in general, whether concrete or abstract, countable or uncountable, admit pronoun substitution by the neuter-gender pronouns it, which, something. Nouns denoting lower animal species are treated in the same manner: E.g.: box; wish; frog; world; magic; bush; eagerness; chariot; France; water; flower; insect; spider; trout; bee II. Names of countries, in contexts where these are seen not as mere geographical units, but as political, economic or cultural entities. In these cases singular feminine pronoun correlation occurs, e.g.: France has been able to increase her exports lately. England is proud of her poets. III. In sports or at war, teams and armies representing particular countries can be referred to by the names of their respective countries, but treated as collective personal nouns [see (c)], e.g.: Germany have improved their chance of winning the cup. IV. Certain nouns referring to some inanimate entities (e.g. some types of vehicles) admit pronoun substitution by she, which, something, e.g.: ship; schooner; boat; car; van ... Abstract Nouns DEADJECTIVAL beautiful beauty courteous courtesy DEVERBAL bear birth compel compulsion DENOMINAL companion companionship curator curatorship coward cowardice expensive expense destroy destruction fly flight lady ladyship librarian librarianship generous generosity gentile gentility gentle gentleness great greatness hard hardship high height / highness know knowledge repel repulsion succeed success nation nationhood neighbour neighbourhood official officialdom parent parenthood / partner partnership parentage prince princedom honest honesty hot heat liberal liberalism / liberality likely likelihood long length profound profundity proud pride sane sanity social sociability / traitor treachery socialism wide width wise wisdom young youth 10 GENITIVE CASE SPELLING CONVENTIONS and PHONOLOGICAL REALISATION of the genitive case inflection The mark of the genitive case is ‘s, added to the base of the noun. There are three allophones: /s/, /z/, /Iz/ according to the final sound of s. /s/ after voiceless sounds: bishop’s residence /z/ after voiced sounds: boy’s attitude /Iz/ after sibillant sounds: judge’s decision The difference with the plural morpheme of the noun is that there is no change in the final sound of the noun, nor in the spelling of the base: Ending in y preceded by a consonant: the lady’s belief Ending in f: his wife’s point of view Ending in -th: youth’s side. NUMBER The inflected forms of singular nouns: ‘s is the ordinary form which is realized in the speech only in the singular of regular nouns and irregular nouns like: woman – woman’s / man – man’s / horse’s mouth The inflected forms of plural nouns: a) Ending in s, only ‘ in written form and spoken form of genitive is the same as plural form of regular nouns: the students’ bell b) Not ending in s, mutation plurals, the ordinary form is ‘s: men – men’s (oral and written distinction) PROPER NOUNS (names) a) Classical endings in s, only ‘ is added: Venus’ beauty / Mars’ inhabitants / Euripedes’ theatre b) Familiar names: English first names and surnames, ‘s is added (/Iz/) when they end in s: Charles’s business / Mr Jones’s school c) Names whose last syllable begins and ends in s, only ‘ is added: Moses’ law / Jesus’ word / Isis’ rules d) English surnames in current use ending in s, only ‘ is added (they are generally long words): Carruthers’ school / Stephens’ pub COMPOUND NOUNS Addition of the inflection to the last term: his son-in-law’s voice / William-the-Conqueror’s wife OTHER GROUPS Addition of the inflection to the plural part of some post-modified noun phrases: the teacher of music’s room / the Commander in chief’s quarters / the Queen Mother’s birthday NOTE: this group genitive is regularly used with such post-modifications, as in: someone else’s house / the heir’s apparent name; as well as prepositional phrases. Other examples involving coordination: an hour and a half’s discussion / a week or so’s sunshine. With the word sake as head: 1. Additions of the inflection: for God’s sake; Christ’s sake; children’s sake. 2. Ø inflection: a. Singular nouns ending in sibilant sound: for Goodness’ sake / conscience’ sake / Justice’ sake. b. Plural nouns ending in s take only ‘ : for appearances’ sake / for parents’ sake. Group on appositional construction (according to length): a) Inflection at the end if the appositive is short: He had been Doctor Asher, the headmaster’s pupil. / Molly, the nurse’s report was not satisfactory. b) If the appositive is long, the head is inflected: Forsyte’s, the old tea dealers in Oxford Street, correspondence was reliable. / Mrs Brighton’s, the night nurse coming into the room, report sounded alarming. 11 PRONOUNS ‘s inflection is added to the following: one’s duty / someone else’s nonsense / each other’s company / someone’s shadow / I can’t take anybody’s / somebody’s book / the others’ suitcases. REPEATED GENITIVE More than two is to be avoided. The “of” genitive is preferred instead of a complicated series of ‘s: So you know I have been to Johnny’s mother’s for the day? / Mary’s sister’s behaviour surprised me. / They sold Miss Spencer’s father’s property. INFLECTED GENITIVE NOUNS WITHOUT A HEAD (GENITIVE WITH ELLIPSIS) INDEPENDENT GENITIVE a) Head mentioned before the genitive: The chain is my wife’s. / My father is faster than John’s. / His memory is like and elephant’s. b) Head expressed after the inflected noun: Henry’s was not a nature to remain long depressed. / Ours is not a position to be envied. (with genitive pronoun used in literary style) / I think the Browns’ is the prettiest garden. ABSOLUTE GENITIVE No head mentioned with nouns denoting place (premises, establishments), therefore, these genitive nouns function always as locatives with to or at: 1. Public places and shops: They will be married at St Paul’s. (church) My two boys are now at St George’s. (school) We used to dine together at Foppa’s. (restaurant) The baker’s, the tailor’s, etc. 2. Private places, family relations or acquaintances (with to or at – prepositional phrase): I met him once at aunt Molly’s. I’m going down to granny’s for Christmas. Let’s meet tonight at Julie’s. DOUBLE REDUNDANT PLEONASTIC GENITIVE (POST GENITIVE) The form is head with noun determiner + of + ‘s This possessive form is common in English when we wish to emphasise the person who possesses rather than the thing which he/she possesses. A friend of John’s came to see me. Form: a. With plural head: We are all friends of Robert’s. / We were all pupils of Dr Thompson’s. b. With noun head modified by article: I live in a flat owned by a relation of your wife’s. / The favourite daughter of Moore’s. c. With other noun determiners: He was another contemporary of Whitman’s. / Take away that beastly dog of yours. Meaning: different shades of meaning may be expressed by the post-genitive: (1) One of many partitives: He was the new assistant of Dr Hill’s. / A neighbour of ours has recently visited Mexico. (2) Approbatory: I love seeing that dear little girl of Mary’s. / The audience applauded that really beautiful speech of your brother’s. (3) Derogatory: expressing content, arrogance, or a desire to ridicule on the part of the speaker: The new teacher of the children’s is completely ignorant. / That beastly dog of hers spoiled up the garden. INFLECTED FORMS OF NOUNS NOT DENOTING ANIMATE BEINGS: A. Expressing time: an hour’s wait / a minute or two’s meditation / the night’s events / ten day’s absence B. Expressing space: a stone’s throw / a boat’s length / the Earth’s circumference C. Expressing size: the razor’s edge / a needle’s point / a pen’s head D. Expressing value: his money’s worth / a shilling’s worth / 20 u$s’s worth (set expressions) E. Expressing weight: a pound’s weight 12 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. With nouns denoting geographical objects or objects of nature: The ocean’s roar / the sun’s rays / the moon’s light / the waves’ movement With set expressions: To my heart’s content / at one’s fingers’ end / at one’s wits’ end / before my mind’s eyes With geographical and institutions names: Europe’s future / the school’s history / London’s water supply With nouns of specific interest to human activity: The brain’s total solid weight / the mind’s general development / science’s influence Newspaper headlines: for reasons of space economy and brevity, it is more compact than the uninflected genitive: Theatre’s Roof Damage / Ghana’s Difficulties / Machine-gun Nest’s Destruction USE OF PREPOSITIONAL OR UNINFLECTED GENITIVE (OF) 1) a. With nouns denoting inanimate things, belonging to the lower part of the gender scale: at the beginning of the chapter / there is a list of things / The windows of all the houses were closed b. Some exceptions are fully acceptable: The book’s title / the room’s interior 2) With plural nouns: We took advantage of the mistakes of our enemies. / The arguments of the speakers were very contradictory. / The ambition of my brothers brought about ruin. 3) With collective nouns: a. He didn’t seek the applause of the public. / The policy of the Conservative party has not changed. / I think they are members of the police. b. Collective nouns are also used with inflection: The company, a modern bank, accepts people’s money for safe keeping. / We’re surprised at the amount of the society’s funds. / The government’s connection was well known. 4) Adjectives and non-finite used as head: a. What measure must be taken to help the interest of the poor? / A team of doctors and nurses was sent for the attention of the wounded. b. But sometimes inflected in legal language: The jury can’t believe in the accused’s innocence. / the deceased’s stepsister claimed her rights. 5) With names of animals a. The tail of the cat / The wings of the swallow / The sound of the nightingales / The legs of the flies b. But with higher animals normally the inflected genitive: The horse’s tail / The lion’s hunger / The cow’s milk / The goose’s nest 6) Nouns modified by adjuncts that cannot precede the head (especially long phrases and clauses): It is difficult to summarize the life of Dr Bridge, born in Yorkshire in 1920. / The wife of Charles, who was already fifty when he married her, was young and pretty. / The writer of a commercial letter should always bear in mind the feelings of the person who is going to receive the letter. 7) Nouns having many modifiers on the left (or on both sides): He was the son of a well known politician. / He was watching the movements of a nervous dark little man near the counter. / the surprise attack of the fully army paratroops 8) When it is objective: A detailed statement of the witnessed facts will follow. 13 GENITIVE MEANING The meaning of the genitive can best be shown by sentential of phrasal analogues such as the ones presented below. In comparison a corresponding use of the of genitive is given where this is possible. Genit ive Ana logue s a) Possessive genitive My son’s wife Mr Thompson’s passport The gravity of the Earth My son has a wife Mr Thompson has a passport The Earth has gravity b) Subjective genitive The boy’s application His parents’ consent The rise of the sun The boy applied His parents consented The sun rose c) Objective genitive The family’s support The boy’s release A statement of the facts […] is supported by the family […] released the boy […] stated the facts d) Genitive of origin The girl’s story The general’s letter The wines of France The girl told a story The general wrote a letter France produced the wines e) Descriptive genitive A women’s college A summer’s day A Dr’s degree The degree of doctor A college for women A summer day / a day in summer A doctoral degree A doctorate f) Genitive of measure 10 days’ absence an absence of 10 days The height of the tower Part of the problem g) Appositive genitive The city of York The pleasure of meeting you The absence lasted 10 days The tower is (of) a certain height The problem is divisible into parts York is a city Meeting you is a pleasure 14
