LECTURE 8

1. Nouns:

• proper nouns,

• common nouns,

• count nouns:

• concrete: cat, doll,

• abstract: limit, difficulty,

• noncount nouns:

• concrete: milk, bread,

• abstract: music.

2. Partitive constructions:

Both count and noncount nouns can enter constructions denoting part of a whole, which relate to the quantity and quality:

• a piece/kind/sort of furniture,

• a piece of a leather belt,

• a blade of glass.

3. Three classes of determiners:

• central determiners (the, a, this),

• predeterminers,

• postdeterminers.

We also distinguish:

• a negative determiner no: no smoking,

• a negative dual determiner: neither: neither of the paintings.

4. Articles:

• the definite article:

• marks a NP as definite,

• the use of the depends on shared knowledge of the world (situational reference) and of English grammar, e.g.: Do you see the bird sitting on the lower branch?

• the zero article:

• occurs with noncount and plural count nouns before indefinite NP,

• occurs in fixed phrases such as: in turn, with intent to, by heart,

• the indefinite articles:

• is used when a reference cannot be regarded as uniquely identifiable from the shared knowledge of speaker and addressee, e.g.: She has a son.

5. Abstract nouns and articles:

• abstract nouns are typically countable when they refer to unitary phenomena/events and as noncount when they refer to activities, states, qualities, e.g.:

• We are conducting a research.,

• Research has to be done thoroughly.

6. Proper nouns:

• are names,

• they are not typically preceded by determiners or numerals (with some expectations); the precedes:

• some titular names: The Prince of Wales,

• geographical names in plural:

• mountain ranges: the Himalayas,

• rivers (but NOT lakes): the Thames,

• names of ships: The Mayflower,

• theatres, galleries, major buildings: The National Gallery,

• journals: The Economist, The Sun.

7. Number - plural forms:

• /iz/ = watch - watches, house - houses,

• /s/ = book - books,

• /z/ = floor - floors.

Voicing: knife - knives.

Vowel change: mouse - mice, goose - geese.

Zero plural: many sheep, five hundred (however, such nouns of quantity have normal plural forms when not preceded by numerals: hundreds of people).

Singular nouns: news.

Plural nouns: police, trousers.

8. Gender:

• inanimate nouns,

• animate nouns:

Animate nouns

Personal Nonpersonal

dual (police officer) female common (baby) familiar animal (F/M/D)

male collective (family) less

familiar

animal