SEMINAR 5B -- NOUNS - NUMBER - Three main number classes of nouns: singular invariable, plural invariable, variable nouns; irregular plurals; foreign plurals; Compounds; Collective nouns The grammatical category of number (operating for example through subject-verb concord) requires that every noun form be understood grammatically as either singular (=denotes `one') or plural (denotes `more than one'). - singular = `one' for C nouns; most proper nouns and undifferentiated mass for U nouns e.g. This suit fits me and I'll buy it. - plural = `two or more' for C nouns; some proper nouns (the Alps), and individual units that are seen as reflecting plural composition (binoculars, goods) e.g. Three students are hoping you will see them. We distinguish three main number classes of nouns: I. Singular invariable nouns = they have only singular form, i.e. U nouns (gold, music) and most proper nouns (Thomas, Henry) II. Plural invariable nouns = they occur only in the plural), i.e. people, scissors; also some proper nouns (the Alps); adjective heads -- the rich III. Variable nouns = occur with either singular or plural number; they form the plural either regularly (-s) or are irregular (foot -- feet; child -- children), esp. nouns with foreign plurals -v I. SINGULAR INVARIABLE NOUNS - abstract nouns normally have no plural -- dirt, homework, music (but there are exceptions: regrets, pleasures, etc.) - some can be reclassified as C nouns with specific meanings, e.g. beer -- a beer (=a glass) - some plurals express intensity, great quantity, e.g. the snows of Kilimanjaro - proper nouns -- the Thames, Jane - these nouns take a singular verb i) news -- always sg e.g. What's the news today? / Here is the news from the BBC. ii) nouns ending in --ics denoting subjects, sciences e.g. mathematics ethics phonetics athletics gymnastics linguistics classics physics But! some can be sg or pl --they can denote both one's knowledge of the subject and the practical application of results, as in: e.g. Politics is said to be the art of the impossible. His politics are rather conservative. (= his political views) Acoustics is a branch of physics. The acoustics in the Festival Hall are very good. Statistics is useful in language testing. The unemployment statistics are disturbing. iii) names of certain diseases ending in --s are usually treated as sg e.g. measles, mumps, shingles iv) names of games ending in --s + a sg verb e.g. billiards, darts, draughts Darts is becoming very popular. v) names of cities -- Athens / Brussels/ Naples has grown rapidly. II. PLURAL INVARIABLE NOUNS A) the so-called `summation plurals' -- denote tools, instruments, some clothing consisting of two equal parts i) tools and instruments -- e.g. glasses, spectacles, binoculars, scissors, tweezers, pincers, shears, compasses, ii) articles of dress -- e.g. braces, briefs, jeans, knickers, pants, pyjamas, shorts, tights, trousers, trunks We can count them using e.g. a pair of........, two pairs of.... e.g. I like these trousers. They are just my size. I have a new pair of jeans. -- How much was it? / were they? B) the so-called `pluralia tantum' -- nouns that, in a given sense, occur only in the plural and end in --s; they have plural concord! e.g. archives funds minutes (=the m. of a meeting) arms (=weapons) goods savings belongings looks spirits (=be in good spirits) clothes manners surroundings congratulations odds thanks ashes outskirts valuables contents premises customs remains earnings C) Unmarked plural nouns: people, police, etc. i) people e.g. How many people are there in the world today? There was only one person in the room. There were many people in the room. !! When `people' means `nation' it is a regular C noun: e.g. The Japanese are an industrious people. The English speaking peoples share a common language. ii) folk -- used in certain phrases (e.g. country folk, island folk) and in casual style (That's all, folks.) iii) police + pl e.g. The police have caught the burglar. He wants to join the police. But! individual police officers: a police officer a policeman / policemen a policewoman / policewomen iv) cattle -- e.g. All his cattle are grazing in the field. v) livestock (=animals kept on a farm) - e.g. Our livestock are not as numerous as they used to be. vi) vermin -- e.g. These vermin cause disease. III. VARIABLE NOUNS A) REGULAR PLURAL - regular --s -- three pronunciations (z, s, iz) - spelling -es -- e.g. boxes, churches - nouns in --y with a preceding consonant -- e.g. sky -- skies but day -- days (exception -- the two Germanys -- proper nouns have pl --ys)) - the apostrophe + -s is used in some nouns of unusual form or numerals: e.g. in the 1980's, some PhD's - nouns in --o have plurals: a) --os -- e.g. bamboos, embryos, kangaroos, radios, studios, zoos, pianos, dynamos, kilos, solos, sopranos, photos b) --oes -- e.g. dominoes, echoes, heroes, potatoes, tomatoes, torpedoes, vetoes, embargoes, negroes c) --os or --oes -- both plurals -- banjo, cargo, motto, volcano, tornado, buffalo B) IRREGULAR PLURALS 1) Voicing and --s plural - / th/ -> / d-z/ e.g. path / th / - paths / d-z/ mouth / th / - mouths / d-z / ! but with a consonant before --th the pronunciation is regular / ths / - births, berths, lengths - nouns in --f or --fe -> / vz/ e.g. calf -- calves life -- lives thief - thieves half -- halves loaf -- loaves wife - wives knife -- knives self -- selves wolf - wolves leaf -- leaves shelf - shelves ! both regular and irregular pl. are possible with: dwarf wharf scarf hoof handkerchief ! other nouns ending in --f (fe) have regular pl.: belief, chief, proof, safe, roof, cliff 2) Mutation (=change of vowel) e.g. man -- men woman - women foot -- feet tooth - teeth goose -- geese louse - lice mouse - mice !! Compounds Englishman / Englishmen -- have no difference in pronunciation = / * / !! German is not a compound -- pl Germans 3) The --en plural e.g. child -- children ox -- oxen brother -- brethren -- only in a religious context = a fellow member of a religious society 4) Zero plural - these nouns have the same spoken and written form in both sg and pl -- the verb is singular or plural e.g. This sheep is ours. These sheep are ours. i) animal names - regular plural -- bird, hen, monkey - usually reg. plural -- crab, duck - both reg. and zero pl. -- fish, herring, reindeer - usually zero -- bison, salmon - always zero -- sheep, deer, cod ii) nationality nouns in -ese e.g. one Chinese -- five Chinese or Japanese, Vietnamese iii) quantitative nouns (e.g. dozen, hundred, thousand, million) e.g. three dozen glasses, two hundred people !! but dozens of glasses, hundreds of people, millions of inhabitants iv) nouns which plural same as singular -- some words ending in --s do not change in the plural e.g. barracks - This barracks is new. These barracks are new. crossroads -- This is a busy crossroads. There are several crossroads here. series -- This new series is good. These new series are good. species -- This species is now extinct. These species are now extinct. works = factory (e.g. steelworks) means = The quickest means of travel is by plane. There are several means of transport on the island. C) FOREIGN PLURALS - from Latin, French, Greek, Italian,.... i) nouns in --us /*s/ -> plural --i /ai/ e.g. stimulus, alumnus, bacillus, locus, focus, fungus, syllabus, nucleus, cactus some can both plurals: focus, fungus, cactus ii) nouns in --a /*/ -> plural --ae /i:/ or /ai/ e.g. alumna, formula, antenna, vertebra, alga iii) nouns in --um /*m/ -> plural --a /*/ e.g. curriculum, bacterium, erratum, stratum, some can have both plurals: maximum, medium, memorandum, symposium, millennium iv) nouns in --ex, -ix -> plural --ices /isi:z/ e.g. appendix, index, matrix !! appendix -- appendixes or appendices index -- indexes or indices v) nouns in -is -> plural --es /i:z/ e.g. analysis, basis, crisis, hypothesis, thesis, axis, diagnosis, synopsis vi) nouns in --on /*n/ -> plural --a /*/ e.g. criterion, phenomenon, automaton vii) French nouns either retain their French plural or have regular English plurals: e.g. bureau -- bureaux /*u/ or bureaus /*uz/ viii) Italian nouns in --o -> plural --i /i/ e.g. tempo, virtuoso, libretto ix) Hebrew nouns e.g. kibbutz -- kibbutzim or kibbutzes cherub -- cherubim or cherubs seraph -- seraphim or seraphs COMPOUNDS - consist of more than one base -- these nouns form the plural in different ways a) plural in the last element e.g. babysitters take-offs breakdowns forget-me-nots close-ups spoonfuls grown-ups merry-go-rounds sit-ins lay-bys b) plural in the first element e.g. commanders-in-chief mothers-in-law men-of-war coats-of-arm coats-of-mail lookers-on passers-by runners-up c) appositional compounds either both elements are plural if the second is man, woman e.g. a woman doctor -- women doctors a manservant - menservants or just the last element is plural e.g. a lady singer -- lady singers a boy friend - boy friends COLLECTIVE NOUNS Singular words such family, team, government (refer to groups of people) can be use with singular or plural verbs. e.g. This team is / are going to lose. Plural forms -- when the group is considered as a collection of people doing certain personal things (deciding, hoping, wanting) Singular forms -- when the group is seen as an impersonal unit e.g. The government, who are hoping to ease export restrictions, ........... The government, which is elected ........... My family have decided to move to ..... The average British family has 3 -- 6 members. Other collective nouns: choir, class, club, committee, firm, jury, orchestra, public, staff, union Football teams: Arsenal is / are playing on Saturday. Some nouns have in the plural another meaning! e.g. colour -- colours (barvy v. prapor) custom -- customs (zvyky v. clo) iron -- irons (žehličky v. pouta) pain -- pains (úsilí) minute -- minutes (minuty v. zápis ze schůze) manner -- manners (způsoby v. společenské chování) picture -- pictures (obrázky v. kino) spirit -- spirits (nálada) Further notes: Numbers - singular forms (hundred, thousand, million etc.) have plural meanings -- they have no final --s and of is not used: e.g. five hundred pounds (but hundreds of pounds) a few million years (but millions of years) three thousand people (but thousands of people) Also: a five-pound note (not pounds) six two-hour lessons Also: dozen -- three dozen cookies half a dozen eggs (but dozens of times) Quantifying expressions - many can be used with plural nouns, pronouns; plural verbs are normally used: e.g. A number of people have tried to find the treasure, but they have failed. A group of us are going to travel about Europe. The majority of criminals are non-violent. Half of his students don't understand a word he says. Careful about the influence of Czech! e.g. There were a hundred people. (not was) Amounts and quantities - we usually use sg determiners, verbs, pronouns e.g. Where is that five pounds I lent you? Twenty miles is a long way to walk. Two hundred pounds is a lot to spend on a dress. Countries - The United States is anxious to improve its image in Latin America.