Noun

Semantic definition

• word that describes objects, people, places, etc.

Morphologically

• noun endings (-hood, -ship)

• Inflection endings

  • (-'s) boy's

  • plural – boys

Syntax

• a word is a noun if it fallows

  • adjective

  • determiners

  • Preposition

• it comes after

  • a verb

Pronouns

Pronouns constitute a separate part of speech

However when it comes to......... pronouns and anaphors belong to nouns, they only have different properties

Pronoun – nominal expression

anaphor – sth that refers to sth that was already mentioned

Nominals

Categories which are in between a NP and a Nouns

Pre head and post head dependants

Dependants – all the other elements of the NP

• Determiners

  NP → (Det) N

• The teacher's phone

  • The teacher's – Det, Determiner Phrase

Pre-head - modifies the meaning of the noun and stands before it

Post-head

Pre modifier

Post modifier

Determiner – function

Determinative – the part of speech (articles, demonstratives, possessive pronouns, indefinite pronouns (some), quantifiers (many), numerals, wh-pronouns (what))

My book – my =determiner (D)

The teacher's book – the teacher's = determiner (Determinative phrase)

Mutually exclusive / in complementary distribution – if elements are mutually exclusive it means that if you use one element you cannot use any other = if we use one determiner we cannot use any other e.g. a this boy

External dependant in a NP – (the)

Internal dependants in a NP – all modifiers that are part of a NOM

Pre-head dependants (internal)

• adjective – not mutually dependent

  • a beautiful girl

• Nominals

  • a car factory

NOUN CLASSES

Nouns

• Proper (written with capital letter)

• Common

  • Countable (count)

    • concrete

    • abstract

  • Uncountable (non-count)

    • concrete

    • abstract

Not every Proper Noun means proper name

Not every proper name contains proper noun

Proper Noun has just one reference (sth unique) Kraków

Common Noun refers to group of things (sth common) City

Proper Nouns refer to unique things the do not take articles

Uncountable noun may have only singular form or only plural form

If something is uncountable we cannot use numerals with it

If nouns are countable, they can be used with numerals

Concrete nouns – refer to identities which we can verified with our senses, or can be proved scientifically

Abstract noun – refer to mental processes and their products

concrete uncountable nouns:

• liquids (tea)

• gases

• substances (cheese)

• materials (wood)

abstract countable nouns:

• thoughts, ideas, believes

• names of abstract scientific notions (sentence, triangle, phrase)

Dual class membership

Reclassification – the noun which is considered to be uncountable is reclassified to countable to fulfil specific needs or another way round

→ notes

Determiners

Singular count nouns vs. singular non-count nouns

1. Both groups – this / that, the, some, possessives (my), Tom's, any / no

2. only with non-counts – (a) little, much, enough

3. only with count – a/an, one, each, every, either/neither, another,

all money

*all book

all the money

*all the book

with countable we use whole

Gender

In English gender of the nouns reflects nature (2 biological sexes)

• single gender nouns – may be just she or he or it

• dual gender nouns – may be she & he

• triple gender nouns – may be she & he & it

→ notes

Number

Variable (singular, plural)

Nouns

singular

Invariable

plural

→ notes

Subject-verb concord

• Overrides are optional with collective nouns

• The plural verb with collective nouns is considered informal

• Override is much more common in BrEng than in AmEng

• Notional concord – it follows more our idea than grammar

• Overrides are obligatory with transparent nouns

• With coordinated abstracts we use plural if we treat the separately, and singular when we treat them together

• Each, every – distributive meaning of determiner

→ notes

Determiners

determiners specify reference of the noun

Definite / Indefinite

Determiners

1. Pre-determiners

2. central determiners

3. post-determiners

Pre-determiners are mutually exclusive

Central determiners are mutually exclusive

Post-determiners are NOT mutually exclusive (can stand one after the other)

All, both, half

+ articles half a day, half the day

+ demonstratives half that time,

+ possessives both my books, half my holidays

+ cardinal numbers all three books

+ multipliers twice, double (the amount), (five) times

+ fractions assert your salary

→ notes

Determiners which denounce negative or individual amount

• any

• no

• either

• neither

Case

Case – system of inflectional endings which mark the function of element in the structure it contains

Personal pronouns distinguish 3 cases:

• nominative case – associated with the function of the subject

  • he loves her

• Accusative case – associated with the function of the object

  • she loves him

• Genitive case

Subject pronouns – personal pronouns in nominative case

Object pronouns – personal pronouns in the accusative case

In English position signals function.

Common case – no case endings

standard genitive inflectional ending is 's – Saxon genitive = s-genitive

when the nouns is sing and when the noun is plural but it doesn't end in s we add: 's

when it's plural we add: '

phrasal genitive = group genitive

typically s genitive in the collective understanding and of-genitive in the unit understanding

Double Genitive - the same noun is marked with genitive in two different ways

double genitive marks the author or the possession

Independent genitive - The genitive that appears without the head noun

If personal pronoun functions as the subject we have to use the nominative case

subject verb concord is only possible if the subject is in the nominative case

If the verb cannot form the concord with the subject the verb will be in 3rd person singular

Relative clauses

Fused relatives (nominal relatives) – no head noun

Sentential relatives – relative clauses which do not modify the noun but the whole clause

Relative clauses

• restrictive (defining)

  • that gives us essential information about a noun, it cannot be committed without changing the meaning of the sentence

• non-restrictive (non-defining)

  • give additional information, not necessary to understand the meaning of the sentence. If we remove it, the meaning is still clear

Relative clauses

• finite

  • they have finite verb (when it's in a given tense)

• non-finite

  • (when it's not in any tense)

Participles does not indicate tense (are non-finite)

-ed participle – non-finite, -ed participles are not inflected for tense

to do – relative clause which contains infinitive

Finite relative clause is/may be introduced by a relative pronoun (who)

When the clause is non-finite you cannot use a relative pronoun

Finite relative clauses – introduced by a pronoun which is called a relative pronoun

Relative pronoun

• can distinguish gender

  • + personal

    • who

  • - personal

    • which

some nouns can be double gender

collective nouns who/which

• can distinguish

  • case

    • relative pronoun in nominative case (who, which) can function as

      • subject

    The man [who lives next door] has an ape ← who = subject

Relative clause is the compound of 2 sentences

If relative pronoun replaces the subject it will function as the subject.

If the relative pronoun is immediately followed by verb it functions as the subject.

If after who(m)/which, you have a NP it means it functions as the object.

Whom....sentence....for – what moves is just whom = prepostion stranded

preposition comes before pronon Pied-piping ← formal

Relative pronoun in Genitive case: whose

Adverbial – element which answers specific question

of place, manner, reason,

in restrictive relative clauses instead of who & which we can use the pronoun that

who, whom, which → that

That can be omitted in all relative clauses apart from relative clauses in which it is a subject.

if that does not function as the subject it is optional

A relative pronoun cannot be omitted in pied-piping.

sentential relative clause – refers to the whole previous sentence

Sentential relatives

• always non-restrictive

  • can be omitted

  • comma

• must be introduced by which, cannot be introduced by that

• 'what' is not used!

who/which functions as subject when it is in front of the verb, and as object when it's after the verb