Alba Casado V.
Engels Taalkunde
Nouns
Classification Example Comment
Count nouns University (universities), student → have plural
(students) → need determiner
Uncount nouns Butter, bread, air →no plural
→ usually no determiner
Singular nouns Cattle, police → no plural
→ plural verb
Plural nouns Clothes → No singular
Collective nouns Government, family Either singular or plural verb
Proper nouns The NY Times, Amy, England → no determiner
→ capital letter
Proper nouns :
• Unique reference (places, people, events)
• No adnominals (articles, adjectives,…)
• No plural
• Capitalized
Use of the + proper noun: distinguish 2 or more things/people of the same name
bv. ‘the Emily next door‘
Proper name + the + new (= adnominals) bv. ‘the new Casado‘
→ proper names become common nouns: patterns like an ordinary noun (adjective, number, poss.
Determiners, articles,…) = syntax
Characteristics of proper name/unique referent = semantics
Common nouns :
• Reference to 1 or more referents
• Can have adnominals
• +/- plural
Word which you use to name things,
Word which refers to things, people and abstract ideas such as feelings and qualities
(class, student, research, cars, ….)
Head of the Noun phrase → vers, pronouns, determiners
Nouns, as a word class, are characterized by :
➢ Number : a cat – two cats
➢ Gender : - he, she, it
➢ Case : student’s (= genetive)
Semantic properties :
➢ Animate vs. Inanimate (→ gender) – student, child, birg, buildig, car
➢ Human vs. Non-human (→ relative pronoun + interrog)
➢ Individuating vs. Collective (→ PRO + verb)
➢ Countable vs. Uncountable (→ determiner/quant + verb)
1
, Alba Casado V.
Countable = things which can be counted, collocatable with number, determiner when sg. , plural
form and SV-agreement1
Plural form :
➢ Open class nouns + <s> or <es> → 3 allomporphs : beds /z/ - lips /s/ - kisses /Iz/
➢ Closed class nouns: vowel change /feet/, invarianle nouns /sheep/, foreign nouns /formulae/,…
Uncountable = things not usually counted
Group 1 :
• Abstract ideas, qualities, processes (advice, beauty)
• Mass nouns (solid, gas, liquid)
• Subjects of study, activities, diseases (measles, darts, linuistics)
→ verb in the singular
→ normally no indefinite article/number
→ countable reference = quantifier nouns (loaf of broad, piece of advice)
Group 2 :
• Morphologically sg. nouns : people, clergy, cattle
• Morphologically plural nouns
o Pluralia tantum : surroundings, clothes, oats
o Summuation plurals = tools or articles of clothes that consist of 2 equald parts (scissors, jeans,
tweezers)
→ verb in the plural
→ not collocatble with number (two trousers – two pair of trousers)
Collective nouns = refer to a group of people or things
➢ Singular verb = group as a whole, as a single unit (pronouns, determiners are singular)
➢ Plural verb = individuated items, members constituting the group (pro., determiners are plural)
Some collective nouns are always plural bv. Police, clergy, cattle, people, youth… → morphologically
unmarked (as a plural) but plural verb (syntactically plural)
SV agreement
- Countable (dog):
o Unmarked = sg. Verb; marked = plural verb
- Collective nouns: sg or plural (police, cattle, people,…)
- Non-countable nouns, unmarked: sg
- Non-countable nouns, marked (-ics): sg
o Pluralia tantums, summation plurals: plural
- Invariable nouns, unmarked ; sg or plural
Gender
Pronouns: he, she, who, what, which,…
Gender scale: +/- human, +/- animate
Gender neutral: they
1
Subject-Verb agreement: when the verb is adjusted to the subject (pl./sg.)
2
Engels Taalkunde
Nouns
Classification Example Comment
Count nouns University (universities), student → have plural
(students) → need determiner
Uncount nouns Butter, bread, air →no plural
→ usually no determiner
Singular nouns Cattle, police → no plural
→ plural verb
Plural nouns Clothes → No singular
Collective nouns Government, family Either singular or plural verb
Proper nouns The NY Times, Amy, England → no determiner
→ capital letter
Proper nouns :
• Unique reference (places, people, events)
• No adnominals (articles, adjectives,…)
• No plural
• Capitalized
Use of the + proper noun: distinguish 2 or more things/people of the same name
bv. ‘the Emily next door‘
Proper name + the + new (= adnominals) bv. ‘the new Casado‘
→ proper names become common nouns: patterns like an ordinary noun (adjective, number, poss.
Determiners, articles,…) = syntax
Characteristics of proper name/unique referent = semantics
Common nouns :
• Reference to 1 or more referents
• Can have adnominals
• +/- plural
Word which you use to name things,
Word which refers to things, people and abstract ideas such as feelings and qualities
(class, student, research, cars, ….)
Head of the Noun phrase → vers, pronouns, determiners
Nouns, as a word class, are characterized by :
➢ Number : a cat – two cats
➢ Gender : - he, she, it
➢ Case : student’s (= genetive)
Semantic properties :
➢ Animate vs. Inanimate (→ gender) – student, child, birg, buildig, car
➢ Human vs. Non-human (→ relative pronoun + interrog)
➢ Individuating vs. Collective (→ PRO + verb)
➢ Countable vs. Uncountable (→ determiner/quant + verb)
1
, Alba Casado V.
Countable = things which can be counted, collocatable with number, determiner when sg. , plural
form and SV-agreement1
Plural form :
➢ Open class nouns + <s> or <es> → 3 allomporphs : beds /z/ - lips /s/ - kisses /Iz/
➢ Closed class nouns: vowel change /feet/, invarianle nouns /sheep/, foreign nouns /formulae/,…
Uncountable = things not usually counted
Group 1 :
• Abstract ideas, qualities, processes (advice, beauty)
• Mass nouns (solid, gas, liquid)
• Subjects of study, activities, diseases (measles, darts, linuistics)
→ verb in the singular
→ normally no indefinite article/number
→ countable reference = quantifier nouns (loaf of broad, piece of advice)
Group 2 :
• Morphologically sg. nouns : people, clergy, cattle
• Morphologically plural nouns
o Pluralia tantum : surroundings, clothes, oats
o Summuation plurals = tools or articles of clothes that consist of 2 equald parts (scissors, jeans,
tweezers)
→ verb in the plural
→ not collocatble with number (two trousers – two pair of trousers)
Collective nouns = refer to a group of people or things
➢ Singular verb = group as a whole, as a single unit (pronouns, determiners are singular)
➢ Plural verb = individuated items, members constituting the group (pro., determiners are plural)
Some collective nouns are always plural bv. Police, clergy, cattle, people, youth… → morphologically
unmarked (as a plural) but plural verb (syntactically plural)
SV agreement
- Countable (dog):
o Unmarked = sg. Verb; marked = plural verb
- Collective nouns: sg or plural (police, cattle, people,…)
- Non-countable nouns, unmarked: sg
- Non-countable nouns, marked (-ics): sg
o Pluralia tantums, summation plurals: plural
- Invariable nouns, unmarked ; sg or plural
Gender
Pronouns: he, she, who, what, which,…
Gender scale: +/- human, +/- animate
Gender neutral: they
1
Subject-Verb agreement: when the verb is adjusted to the subject (pl./sg.)
2
