Lecture 3. The NOUN 1. The grammatical meaning,

Lecture 3. The NOUN 1. The grammatical meaning, functional properties and structure. 2. The grammatical category of Number. 3. The grammatical category of Case. 4. Gender. 5. Article determination. Краснопёрова Ю. В. К. ф. н. , доцент кафедры первого ин. яз. и переводоведения

Meaning The NOUN is a notional part of speech which has the categorial meaning of substance and thingness. It can also mean state, quality, and property, action. There are nouns derived from verbs and adjectives (e. g. : actor, happiness). I. The grammatical meaning, functional properties and structure.

Form The NOUN Structural properties of an English noun are determined by few inflexions: -s; ‘; -en, but by a great amount of lexical suffixes: -er; -ness; -ist; -ette; -tion; etc. I. The grammatical meaning, functional properties and structure.

The NOUN Function The categorial functional properties of the noun are determined by its syntactic properties. The most characteristic functions of the noun Subject Object Predicative NB: Other syntactic functions are performed by the noun by equal ease but are not immediately characteristic of its substantive quality. I. The grammatical meaning, functional properties and structure.

The NOUN The noun is characterized by some special types of combinability: Ø The prepositional combinability with another noun, a verb, an adjective or an adverb. E. g. : to turn round the corner, red in the face. Ø The casal combinability. E. g. : The President’s speech. Ø Combinability with one another by contact. In the contact group the noun in pre-position plays the role of a semantic qualifier to the noun in pastposition. E. g. : a cannon ball. I. The grammatical meaning, functional properties and structure.

The NOUN Combinability with one another by contact. The lexico-grammatical status of such combinations ? ? ? “the cannon ball problem” (Burlakova) one separate compound word I. The grammatical meaning, functional properties and structure. a word-group

“the cannon ball problem” The NOUN Such combinations can not be regarded as a separate compound word. Crucial for this point of view is the isolability test which is performed by transformation. E. g. : a progress report – a report about progress. The compound nouns can not undergo the isolability test with the equal ease. The transformations are reduced to explanations of their etymological motivation. E. g. : a fire-place, a theatre-goer – compound nouns. I. The grammatical meaning, functional properties and structure.

“the cannon ball problem” The NOUN Due to the comprehensive analysis in this field we may define this combination as an attributive word-group with the noun in the function of an attribute. NOTE: Contact-noun attributes are characteristic of professional language. E. g. : space shuttle trajectory optimization problem. I. The grammatical meaning, functional properties and structure.

The category of number NUMBER is expressed by the opposition of the plural form of the noun to the singular form. BOY : BOYS II. The grammatical category of Number.

The productive way of expressing the number opposition NUMBER - (e)s The non-productive way of expressing the number opposition Vowel interchange (tooth-teeth, man-men). • The archaic suffix “-en” supported by phonemic interchange (child-children, ox-oxen). • The correlation of individual singular and plural inflexions in some borrowed words (phenomenon – phenomena). • In some cases the plural form is homonymous to the singular one: fish, sheep, deer. • II. The grammatical category of Number.

The semantic nature of the difference between singular and plural NUMBER plural singular (one) : plural (more than one) • (the potentially dismembering reflexion of the structure of the referent) : singular (referent in its indivisible entireness) E. g. : “paper and papers” II. The grammatical category of Number.

The semantic nature of the difference between singular and plural NUMBER Ø the plural forms can express a definite set of objects, various types of the referent (wine – wines, tea – teas); Ø intensity of the presentation of the idea (years and years, thousands upon thousands); Ø the extreme point is the lexicalization of the plural form (colour – colours (a flag), custom-customs). II. The grammatical category of Number.

NUMBER Quantative characteristics serve as a basis for dividing nouns into countable II. The grammatical category of Number. uncountable

Uncountable nouns Singularia Tantum (absolute singular) It excludes the use of the modifying numeral “one” as well as the indefinite article. II. The grammatical category of Number. NUMBER Pluralia Tantum (absolute plural) It can not directly combine with numerals.

Singularia Tantum (absolute singular) is characteristic of NUMBER Ø The names of abstract notions (e. g. : peace, love). Ø The names of the branches of professional activity (e. g. : linguistics, stylistics). Ø The names of mass materials (e. g. : hair, rice). Ø The names of collective inanimate objects (e. g. : furniture, news, money). II. The grammatical category of Number.

Pluralia Tantum (absolute plural) NUMBER is characteristic of the uncountable nouns Ø Objects, consisting of two halves (e. g. : trousers, spectacles). Ø The nouns expressing some sort of collectives meaning (e. g. : police, cattle, clothes). Ø The nouns denoting some diseases and abnormal states of the body and mind (e. g. : measles, creeps, hysterics). II. The grammatical category of Number.

NUMBER !!! A disputable question is the existence of a third member opposed to singular and plural. multitude plural recognized in collective nouns which agree with the verb either in the singular or in the plural (family, jury, team, police, etc. ) E. g. : The jury consists of 12 members. The jury were divided concerning the verdict. II. The grammatical category of Number.

NUMBER singular : multitude plural : plural BUT!!! the meaning of collectiveness is lexical and not grammatical. II. The grammatical category of Number.

NUMBER Plural and singular forms are asymmetrical Singular form has several meanings: ü Quantity ü The uniqueness ü It means type or class. II. The grammatical category of Number. Plural form has one meaning of quantity, although indefinite.

CASE a morphological category of the noun showing the relations of the noun referent to other objects or phenomena. III. The grammatical category of Case.

Controversial opinions about this category: CASE q some grammarians say that there is no category of case in English; others argue that there is. Then the question is if there is such category, how many cases there are in English q historically the term “case” was connected with the morphological properties of the noun (with inflexions). But some grammarians tried to define case in the syntactical structure of the sentence III. The grammatical category of Case.

CASE The approaches to the category of Case q MORPHOLOGICAL approach III. The grammatical category of Case. q SYNTACTIC approach

CASE The SYNTACTIC Approach offers different theories within it: 1. The theory of prepositional cases (analytical case forms) 2. The theory of positional cases. 3. Case grammar theory 4. A 3 -case system theory III. The grammatical category of Case.

1. The theory of prepositional cases The SYNTACTIC Approach (analytical case forms) The foundation of this theory is the function of noun combinations with prepositions; prepositions serve to distinguish different relations between the substances. Some grammarians find it possible to speak about analytical cases in Modern English. III. The grammatical category of Case.

1. The theory of prepositional cases The SYNTACTIC Approach (analytical case forms) To + N Dative Case For + N Dative Case Of + N Genitive Case (has parallel forms with ‘s ) By + N With + N III. The grammatical category of Case. Instrumental case

1. The theory of prepositional cases The SYNTACTIC Approach (analytical case forms) Disadvantages: 1. The number of cases according to this theory can be unlimited. 2. In order to treat such combinations as analytical cases, prepositions should be regarded as grammatical form-words, i. e. deprived of their lexical meaning. But prepositions have their own lexical meaning, which is revealed in the sentence, that’s why they can not be regarded as form-words. III. The grammatical category of Case.

2. The theory of positional cases. The SYNTACTIC Approach The unchangeable forms of the noun are differentiated as different cases according to their position in the sentence. This theory includes word-order. Idea: ü all nouns appearing in the position of the Subject and of the Predicative are in the Nominative case; ü nouns placed after the verb and used in the function of direct and indirect object – in the Dative or Accusative case. III. The grammatical category of Case.

2. The theory of positional cases. The SYNTACTIC Approach A 4 case system exists in Modern English: ü Nominative case ü Dative case ü Accusative case ü Inflexional genitive case ü Vocative case (added by some linguists) III. The grammatical category of Case.

2. The theory of positional cases. The SYNTACTIC Approach Disadvantages: 1. It is based on the Latin (synthetical) case system, where the category of case is treated within morphology. 2. The syntactical functions of the noun and word-order should deal with syntax. III. The grammatical category of Case.

3. Case grammar theory The SYNTACTIC Approach (developed by Filmore in his book “Case for Case”) This theory represents the whole sentence as a Verb with a set of cases. E. g. : John cut it with the knife. The verb “cut” opens vacancies for different cases: John – agentive, it – objective, with a knife – instrumental. Disadvantage: It is more theory of valency, not of case. III. The grammatical category of Case.

4. A 3 -case system theory The SYNTACTIC Approach 1. Nominative 2. Objective 3. Possessive This system is built on the analogy with the cases of pronouns; the cases are differentiated with the help of substitutions: E. g. : The boy (he) sees a girl (her). Disadvantage: Some add two more cases: Containtive (a cup of water). Exceptive (everybody except the king himself). III. The grammatical category of Case.

It appeared in the 17 th century. It was described by classical grammarians H. Sweet, O. Jerperson. The MORPHOLOGICAL Approach Henry Sweet underlined: ”English has only one inflected case – Genetive; and Common case, which is equivalent to the Nominative, Dative, Accusative and Vocative in Latin. ” Thus a 2 -case system was singled out. This idea was developed by Smirnitsky, Barkhudarov, Blokh. III. The grammatical category of Case.

The MORPHOLOGICAL Approach In modern presentation in the terms of oppositional theory the category of case is a binary, privative opposition: featured and unfeatured Boy common (zero morpheme) III. The grammatical category of Case. : Boy’s : possessive case (‘s, a strong member)

The problems of this approach: The MORPHOLOGICAL Approach v It’s difficult to state the meaning of the common case because it’s broad and indefinite and peculiarities of the possessive case. v The problem of the use of the possessive case. This usage is lexically limited. It’s used: 1. with nouns denoting chiefly living beings; 2. with nouns denoting a part of the whole. E. g. : the officer’s face. 3. With nouns denoting time, distance, price. E. g. : a 3 hours’ delay. III. The grammatical category of Case.

The problems of this approach: The MORPHOLOGICAL Approach v The problem concerning the paradigm of the possessive case: boy’s book – boys’ book. Thus the singular and the plural forms in oral speech coincide. v Possessive case refers to a group of nouns, not only to a single noun. E. g. : Brown and Smith’s office. It also occurs not only with nouns. E. g. : Somebody else’s room. The man I saw yesterday’s son. III. The grammatical category of Case.

Ilyish, Arakin, Ivanova, Vorontsova, Burlakova deny the existence of possessive case in English. NO-CASE SYSTEM Ilyish defines his policy as such: “ ‘s constantly develops into a form element, a kind of a particle which serves to express the meaning of “possession”. This form can no longer be described as a case inflexion. A new category begins to develop with a broad meaning of possessivity, thus there appeared the category of possessivity”. III. The grammatical category of Case.

Ilyish, Arakin, Ivanova, Vorontsova, Burlakova deny the existence of possessive case in English. NO-CASE SYSTEM Burlakova and Ivanova are of the opinion : that within “’s-case” exists the category of attributiveness. E. g. : the car’s roof (individual attributiveness) – the car roof (general/common attributiveness). III. The grammatical category of Case.

CONCLUSION CASE Grammatical categories should be interpreted in the light of modern linguistics which considers the syntax to be primary as to morphology. Morphology can be regarded only as one of the means to define the syntactical relationships between the words in the sentence III. The grammatical category of Case.

Different points of view upon the category of gender GENDER 1. Some grammarians consider that this category is expressed in English by the obligatory correlation of nouns with the personal pronouns of the 3 d person singular. E. g. : he – an actor – masculine, she – an actress – feminine, it – a table – neuter. IV. The grammatical category of Gender.

Different points of view upon the category of gender GENDER 2. Ilyish B. does not admit the existence of the category of grammatical gender “gender” is a lexical difference IV. The grammatical category of Gender.

Different points of view upon the category of gender GENDER 3. Professor Ivanova thinks that in O. E. “gender” was regarded as lexicogrammatical category, because of inflexions. Modern English words don’t have gender as a grammatical category, it’s a lexical feature, so gender is the matter of lexicology. IV. The grammatical category of Gender.

CONCLUSION GENDER The grammatical category of gender disappeared by the end of the Middle English period. Only names of people and animals have gender (he-cat, she-cat). Lifeless things are neutral (neuter). Sometimes things are personified: E. g. : time – he - Father time; “ship” for the English is “she”. Different words can be used to distinguish between male and female (ex: cow – bull). IV. The grammatical category of Gender.

ARTICLE a determining unit of specific nature accompanying the English noun. The problem of the article is one of the most difficult in Grammar. The disputable questions are: 1. What is the nature of the article? 2. How many articles are there? 3. What is its categorical meaning? V. Article determination.

ARTICLE The nature of the article There are 2 main theories about the nature of the article The analytical form theory V. Article determination. Article as a functional word

1. The analytical form theory The nature of the article treats the article as a part of an analytical noun and an auxiliary part of it, a specific morpheme which is attached from the word, because it has no lexical meaning and is the morphological signal of a noun. V. Article determination.

1. The analytical form theory The nature of the article Disadvantages: v Although an article really accompanies a noun and it is its main function in the language, it doesn’t form an inseparable unit with it as the analytical form of the verb. v The article can be replaced by pronouns (this, that, some), but the auxiliary form of the verb can not be replaced. v Having no lexical meaning the article does have a grammatical meaning and even more than one. V. Article determination.

The nature of the article Thus, we can’t treat it as an auxiliary part of an analytical form of the noun. Theory 2. Article as a functional word. It is the functional word and a component of a word-combination. V. Article determination.

The number of articles The theory of 3 articles • definite, • indefinite, • zero. An article is a functional word so we can’t speak about a zeroword. V. Article determination. • definite, • indefinite, • meaningful absence of an article.

The grammatical meaning of an article the actualization of a concept. It helps to refer a concept to the situation and therefore it should be chosen with accordance to the contextual condition. V. Article determination.

The grammatical meaning of an article The definite article as the indicator of the information already known, i. e. the starting point of the communication. V. Article determination.

The grammatical meaning of an article The indefinite article or the meaningful absence of the article introduces the central communicative part of the sentence, i. e. the part rendering the new information to be conveyed from the speaker to the listener or reader. V. Article determination.

The grammatical meaning of an article The definite article Function: identification. e. g. : I’m afraid the oxygen is out. The train hooted. The indefinite article or the meaningful absence of the article Function: non – identification, generalization e. g. : Oxygen is vital. A train hooted as a signal. V. Article determination.