Classification of nouns
The car roof (general characteristics)
General characteristics of the noun
Classification of nouns.
General characteristics of the noun.
THE NOUN
LECTURE 4.
Plan:
The categorial meaning of the noun is “substance” or “thingness”. Nouns directly name various phenomena of reality. Nouns denote things and objects proper (tree), abstract notions (love), various qualities (bitterness), and even actions (movement). All these words function in speech in the same way as nouns denoting things proper.
The only category of nouns, which is generally accepted, is the category of number. Many scholars think that the notion of case applies to English pronouns, but not to nouns. Gender distinctions are not marked morphologically.
Nouns are related by conversion with verbs: to walk – a walk; an eye – to eye, and the adjectives: native – a native.
Nouns are premodified by nouns in the possessive and in the common case:
the car’s roof (individual characteristics)
Nouns fall under two classes: (A) proper nouns; (B) common nouns.
A. Proper nouns are things. Regarding to their meaning proper nouns may be personal names (Mary, Peter, Shakespeare), geographical names (Moscow, London, the Caucasus), the names of the months and of the days of the week (February, Monday), names of ships, hotels, clubs etc.
A large number of nouns now proper were originally common nouns (Brown, Smith, Mason).
Proper nouns may change their meaning and become common nouns:
George went over to the table and took a sandwich and a glass of champagne.(Aldington).
B. Common nouns are names that can be applied to any individual of a class of persons or things (e.g. man, dog, book), collections of similar individuals or things regarded as a single unit (e.g. peasantry, family), materials (e.g. snow, iron, cotton) or abstract notions (e.g. kindness, develoment).
Thus there are different groups of common nouns: class nouns (однородные существительные), collective nouns (собирательные существительные), nouns of material (вещества) and abstract nouns (отвлеченные понятия).
Nouns may also be classified from another point of view: nouns denoting things (the word thing is used in a broad sense) that can be counted are called countable nouns; nouns denoting that cannot be counted are called uncountable nouns.
1. Class nouns denote persons or things belonging to a class. They are countables and have two numbers: singular and plural. They are generally used with an article.
“Well, sir,” said Parker, “I wasn’t in the shop above a great deal.” (Mansfield)
He goes to the part of the town where the shops are. (Lessing)
2.Collective nouns denote a number or collection of similar individuals or things regarded as a single unit.
Collective nouns fall under the following groups:
(a) nouns used only in the singular and denoting a number of things collected together and regarded as a single object: foliage (листва), machinery.
It was not restful, that green foliage. (London)
Machinery new to the industry in Australia was introduced for preparing land. (Agricultural Gazette)
(b) nouns which are singular in form through plural in meaning: police, poultry (домашняя птица), cattle, people, gentry. They are usually called nouns of multitude (множество). When the subject of the sentence is a noun of multitude the verb used as predicated is in the plural:
I had no idea the police were so devilishly prudent. (Shaw)
Unless cattle are in good condition in calving, milk production will never reach a high level. (Agricultural Gazette)
The weather was warm and the people were sitting at their doors. (Dickens)
(c) nouns that may be both singular and plural: family, crowd, fleet, nation. We can think of a number of crowds, fleets or different nations as well as of a single crowd, fleet, etc.
A small crowd is lined up to see the guests arrive. (Shaw)
Accordingly they were soon afoot, and walking in the direction of the scene of action, towards which crowds of people were already pouring from a variety of quarters. (Dickens)
3. Nouns of material denote material: iron, gold, paper, tea, water. They are uncountables and are generally used without any article.
There was a scent of honey from the lime-trees in flower. (Galsworthy)
There was coffee still in the urn. (Wells)
Nouns of material are used in the plural to denote different sorts of a given material.
… that his senior counted upon him in this enterprise, and had consigned a quantity of select wines to him… (Thackeray)
Nouns of material may turn into class nouns (thus becoming countables) when they come to express an individual object of definite shape.
Compare:
To the left were clear panes of glass. (Ch. Bronte)
“He came in here,” said the waiter looking at the light through the tumbler, “ordered a glassof this ale.” (Dickens)
But the person in the glass made a face at her, and Miss Moss went out. (Mansfield)
4. Abstract nouns denote some quality, state, action or idea: kindness, sadness, fights. They are usually uncountables, through some of them may be countables (e.g. idea, hour).
Therefore when the youngsters saw that mother looked neither frightened nor offended, they gathered new courage. (Dodge)
Accustomed to John Reed’s abuse – I never had an idea of replying to it. (Ch. Bronte)
It’s these people with fixed ideas. (Galsworthy)
Abstract nouns may change their meaning and become class nouns. This change is marked by the use of the article and of the plural number:
beauty a beauty beauties
sight a sight sights
He was responsive to beauty and here was cause to respond. (London)
She was a beauty. (Dickens)
… but she isn’t one of those horrid regular beauties. (Aldington)