Контрольная работа: Сategory of number of nouns
3. A number of nouns which express both singular and plural (countable) may with a change of meaning are used only in the singular (thus becoming uncountable). This is the case:
a) When the name of an animal is used to denote its flesh used as food:
A fat brown goose lay at one end of the table… [11] (a countable noun) – While Gabriel and Miss Daly exchanged plates of goose and plates of ham and spiced beef, Lily went from guest to guest… [11] (an uncountable noun) Two white swans came majestically by… [21] (a countable noun) «I have n-never eaten roast swan b-before,» I stammered… [24] (an uncountable noun)
b) When the names of trees are used to indicate the corresponding kind of wood as material or as live plants:
And among the oaks the bluebells stood in pools of azure… [22] (a countable noun) – «Oak», he exclaimed. «All carved oak, right up the ceiling…» [11] (an uncountable noun)… beautiful woods of birch, fir, and pine cast their shadows through the carriage window as we speed along. [19] (an uncountable noun)… a narrow strip of larch and beech… stretched out towards the valley… [21] (uncountable nouns)… I come into a lane, which winds upwards between grassy slopes to… woods of noble beech. [21] (an uncountable noun)
c) When the nouns tree, bush, twig, etc. do not indicate separate objects but an indivisible whole (compare with the meaning of such nouns as leafage, blossom, brushwood, also with the Russian листва, цвет, кустарник– собирательныесуществительные):
It (the tree) was covered with young blossoms, pink and t white…; and on this entire blossom! The sunlight glistened. [21] (1. a countable noun; 2. an uncountable noun) – … the may-flower, both pink and white, was in full bloom. [21] (a countable noun)… an old orchard of apple-trees just breaking into flower, stretched down to a stream and a long wild meadow. [21] (an uncountable noun)… a few gold leaves are still hanging… [21] (a countable noun) The apple-tree was in leaf, and all but in flower – its crimson buds just bursting. [7] (uncountable nouns) In that early spring a few buds were showing already. [7] (a countable noun) – He leaned against one of the satin-smooth stems, under the lacery of twig and bud. [7] (uncountable nouns)
d) When the name of an object is used to denote substance, that is, when it becomes the name of a material:
The summits of these vast mountains were enveloped in clouds… [1] (a countable noun)… the sky was lined with a uniform sheet of dripping cloud… [9] (an uncountable noun) Gemmy… presently returned with an egg beaten up in milk. [22] (a countable noun) – Egg is on your coat, (an uncountable noun) A load that lay on Hood's mind like a rock suddenly rose like an eagle… [9] (a countable noun) – Grass ceases to grow, and the track is almost lost to view among piles of loose slate rock. [20] (an uncountable noun)
The plural forms developed (some of them lose) in connection with a change of meaning of the noun. The cases are following: a number of nouns in English which are used only in the singular may through a change or variation of meaning acquire the forms of both numbers, singular and plural, sometimes material nouns and abstract nouns are used in the plural with emphatic force, a number of nouns which express both singular and plural (countable) may with a change of meaning are used only in the singular.
3. Modes and means of expression grammatical meaning of number in Russian language
The categories of number form one opposition – singular and plural. Russian language hasn’t special forms, which express only meaning of number. Six cases forms express each of two meaning of number. Forms of case – it simultaneously forms of gender and nouns.
Compare: sing. – лес, леса, лесу, лес, лесом, о лесе; pl. – леса, лесов, лесам, леса, лесами, о лесах1 .
The inflexion of nouns emerges as indicator of number express simultaneously grammatical meaning of gender (singular) and case.
In separate groups of name of nouns opposite singular and plural number express with the help of suffixes – я, – овья, – ec, which is additional grammatical means, because it emerge together with the inflexion: зять – зя[тя], князь – кня[зя], сын – сын-о[вья], небо – неб-ес-а,…
In nouns with compound suffix – ан/ин (-ян/ин), чан/чин, which express meaning together with inflexion, in plural this suffix is absent and meaning of number express only with the help of inflexion: граждан/ин/Ø – граждан/е, северян/ин/Ø – северян/е,…
In names of animals’ baby singular number express with the help of suffix – онок (-енок), which in plural interchange with suffix – ат-а(-ят-а): буйволёнок – буйволята, скворчонок – скворчата, страусёнок – страусята…
Correlations in the names of children meet seldom: казачонок – казачата, батрачонок – батрачата, барчонок – барчата. In the names of mushrooms more seldom: опёнок – опята, маслёнок – маслята.
Interchange consonants and transference of stress used for generated of form of number by way of additional means.
Compare: 1) друг – дру[зья] (г-з'); ухо – уши (х-ш); клин – клинья (н-н'). 2) место-места, местам, местами, о местах.
In such a way, meaning of number express syntactically, that is to say with the help of inner resources of word: inflexions, suffixes, interchange of consonants, stress. Used more analytical means – forms agreement.
Compare: забавныйлисёнок – забавныелисята, моёухо – моиуши, летитгусь – летятгуси.
Just analytically (syntactically) express the category of number – indeclinable nouns, which haven’t their inflexion.
Compare: красивое кашне – красивые кашне, кафе закрыто – все кафе были закрыты. Separate words have suppletive forms of number: человек – люди, ребёнок – дети.
Figurative used forms of the category of nouns.
Used form of singular number meet often in the meaning of plural number. Example: Речь идет о настоятельной необходимости создать для детей новую, советскую, социалистическую популярно-научную и художественно яркую книгу. В поездке мы встретились с широким массовым зрителем наших национальных республик.
Forms of plural number in the meaning of singular used in oral speech (вуниверситетахнеучился, институтовнекончал) it is have in view one university and one institute.
3.1 Nouns Used Only in the Singular
Nouns which have only singularform and not used in plural belong to a group «Singularia Tantum». They are: