لخّصلي

FOUR NOUNS, PRONOUNS, AND THE BASIC NOUN PHRASE 4.1 The basic noun phrase The noun phrase typically functions as subject, object, complement of sentences, and as complement in prepositional plrrases. Consider the different subjects in the following: (a) The girl (b) The pretty girl (c) The pretty girl in the corner (d) The pretty girl who became angry (e) She is Mary Smith Since noun phrases of the types illustrated in (b-d) include elements that will be dealt with in later chapters (adjectives, prepositional phrases, etc), it will be convenient to postpone the treatment of the . noun phrase incorporating such items. We shall deal here with the elements found in those noun phrases that consist of pronouns and numerals, and of nouns with articles or other closed-system items that can occur before the noun head, such as predeterminers like all. Noun classes 4.2 It is necessary, both for grammatical and semantic reasons, to see nouns as falling into different subclasses. This is easily demonstrated by taking the four nouns John, bottle, furniture and cake and consid­ ering the extent to which it is possible for each to appear as head of the noun phrase operating as object in the following sentence (some in the fourth line is the unstressed determiner: 4.5): I saw (1) John *the John *a John some John *Johns 0 ) *bottle the bottle a bottle *some bottle bottles (3) furniture the furniture *a furniture some furniture *furnitures (4) cake the cake a cake some cake cakes The difference between column 1 (with its four impossible usages) and column 4 (with none) indicates the degree of variation between classes. Nouns that behave like John in column 1 (Paris, Mississippi, Gandhi, ...) are PROPER NOUNS, further discussed in 4.23. The nouns in columns 2, 3 and 4 are all COMMON NOUNS, but there are im- 58

portant differences within this class. Nouns which, behave like bottle in column 2 {chair, word, finger, remark, ...), which must be seen as individual countable entities and cannot be viewed as an undifferentiated mass, are called COUNT NOUNS. Those conforming like furniture to the pattern of column 3 {grass, warmth, humour, ...) must by contrast be seen as an undifferentiated mass or continuimi, and we call them NON-COUNT NOUNS. Finally in column 4 we have nouns which combine the characteristics of count and non-count nouns {cake, paper, stone, ...); that is, we can view stone as the non-count material (as in column 3) constituting the entity a stone (as in colimin 2) which can be picked up from a pile of stones and individually thrown. 4.3 It will be noticed that the categorization count and non-count cuts across the traditional distinction between ‘abstract’ (broadly, immaterial) nouns like warmth, and ‘concrete’ (broadly, tangible) nouns like bottle. But while abstract nouns may be count like remark or non-count like warmth, there is a considerable degree of overlap between abstract and non-count. This does not proceed from nature but is language- specific, and we list some examples which are non-count in English but count nouns in some other languages: anger, applause, behaviour, chaos, chess, conduct, courage, dancing, education, harm, homework, hospitality, leisure, melancholy, moon­ light, parking, photography, poetry, progress, publicity, research {as in do some research), resistance, safety, shopping, smoking, sunshine, violence, weather Note Another categorization that cuts across the count and non-count distinction will identify a small class of nouns that behave like most adjectives in being gradable. Though such degree nouns are chiefly non-count (‘His acts of great foolishness’= ‘His acts were very foolish’), they can also be count nouns: ‘The children are such thieves!’ 4.4 Nevertheless, when we turn to the large class of nouns, which can be both count and non-count, we see that there is often considerable difference in meaning involved and that this corresponds broadly to concreteness or particularization in the count usage and abstractness or generalization in the non-count usage.For example: COUNT I’ve had many difficulties He’s had many odd experiences Buy aa evening paper She was a beauty in her youth The talks will take place in Paris NON-COUNT He’s not had much difficulty This job requires experience W rap the parcel in brown paper She had beauty in her youth I dislike idle talk 59

There were bright lights and harsh Light travels faster than sound sounds The lambs were eating quietly There is lamb on the menu In many cases the type of distinction between lamb count and lamb non-count is achieved by separate lexical items: {a) sheep (some) mutton; (a) calf (some) veal\ (a) pig (some) pork\ (a) loaf (some) bread; (a) table ^ (some) furniture. Note Virtually all non-count nouns can be treated as count nouns when used in classificatory senses : There are several French wines available ( = kind? o f wine) This is a bread I greatly enjoy (=kind of bread) 4.5 Determiners There are six classes of determiners with occurrence with the noun classes singular count (such as bottle), plural count (such as bottles), and non-count nouns (such as furniture). The check marks in the figures that follow indicate which noun classes will co-occur with members of the determiner class concerned. SINGULAR PLURAL [C] [D] [B] V [E] [F] V a{n) every each either neither much 60 [A] n/ V V this that these those the possessive (my, our, etc: see 4.87) M^hose, which (ever), what (ever) some (stressed)! ^^4 9 2 / any (stressed) no zero article (as in‘They need furniture") some (unstressed) any (unstressed) enough COUNT NON-COUNT respect to their co­

Note [a] Many of the deterpiiners can be pronominal: Either book ~ Either of the books ^ You can have either [¿)] Every can co-occur with possessives: his every word ( = ‘each of his words’). 4.6 Closed-system premodifiers In addition to determiners, there is a large number of other closed- system items that occur before the head of the noun phrase. These form three classes (predeterminers, ordinals, and quantifiers) which have been set up on the basis of the possible positions that they can have in re­ lation to determiners and to each other. Within each of the three classes, we will make distinctions according to their patterning with the classes of singular count, plural count, and non-count nouns. Note We will also include here some open-class premodifiers that commute to a significant extent with closed-system items, eg: three times (cf: once, twice), a large quantity of (cf: much). Predeterminers 4.7 AU, both, half These predeterminers can occur only before articles or demonstratives but, since they are themselves quantifiers, they do not occur with the following ‘quantitative’ determiners: every {n)either each, some, any, no, enough. 61

All, both, and half have o/-constructions, which are optional with nouns and obligatory with personal pronouns: all (oO the meat both (of) the students half (of) the time all of it both of them half of it With a quantifier following, the o/-construction is preferred (especially in AmE): all of the many boys All three can be used pronominally: All/both/half passed their exams All and both (but not half) can occur after the head, either imniediately or within the predication: “iWTM The students were all hungry They may have all finished The predeterminer both and the determiners either and neither are not plural proper but ‘dual’, ie they can refer only to two. Compared with the numeral two, both is emphatic: Both (the) I students were excellent The two J All is rare with concrete count nouns {? I haven't used all the pencil) though it is less rare with contrastive stress: I haven t read ALL the book, where book is treated as a kind of divisible mass. The normal constructions would be all of the book or the whole book. Before certain temporal nouns, and especially in adjunct phrases, all is often used with the zero article: I haven't seen him all day. Note [d\ There is also an adverbial half (as in half wine, half water) which occurs in familiar emphatic negation and can precede enough: He hasn’t enough money! Added to numbers from one upwards, a half co-occurs with pkiral nouns: one and a half days. [6] The postposed all in ‘They were all hungry’ must not be confused with its use as an informal intensifying adverb in ‘He is all upset’. 4.8 Double, twice, three/four ... times The second type of predeterminer includes double, twice, three times, etc, which occur with non-count and plural count nouns, and with singular count nouns denoting number, amount, etc.: 62

double their salaries twice his strength three times this amount Three, four, etc times as well as once can co-occur with the determiners a, every, each, and (less commonly) per to form ‘distributive’ expres­ sions with a temporal noun as head: once twice (^ week three J every month four I times \ each ► year 4.9 One-third, two-fifths, etc The fractions one-third, two-fifths, three-quarters, etc, used with non-count and with singular and plural count nouns, can also be followed by determiners, and have the alternative ^/-construction: He did it in one-third (of) the time it took me Postdeterminers 4.10 Items 'which must follow determiners but precede adjectives in the pre- modification structure include numerals (ordinal and cardinal) and quantifiers. 4.11 Cardinal numerals Apart from one, which can co-occur only with singular count nouns, all cardinal numerals {two, three, ...) co-occur only with plural count nouns: He has cine sister and three brothers The two blue cars belong to the firm Note One may be regarded as a stressed form of the indefinite article: ‘I would like ajone large cigar’. In consequence, although the definite article may precede any cardinal, the indefinite can not. 4.12 Ordinal numerals and general ordinals In addition to the ordinals which have a one-for-one relation with the cardinals (fourth four; twentieth twenty), we consider here items like n^xt, last, {an)other, additional, which resemble them grammatically 1 (per) decade 63

and semantically. All ordinals co-occur, only with count nouns and usually precede any cardinal numbers in the noun phrase: The first three planes were American The general ordinals, however, may be used freely before or after cardi­ nals, according to the meaning required: His Note (two lastj books were novels Another has two functions. It can be the unstressed form of one other or it can have the same I don’t like Another A second) Quantisers 4.13 There are two small groups of closed-system quantifiers: (1) many, {a) few, and several co-occur only with plural count nouns: The few words he spoke were well chosen (2) much and {a) little co-occur only with non-count nouns: There hasn’t been much good weather recently Several is rarely (and much virtually never) preceded by a determiner, and in the case offew and little there is a positive/negative contrast according as the indefinite article is or is not used: 64 meaning, as ‘second’ withindefinite article: this house: I’d prefer anotherone Jblue car (two volumes of poetry ( a few biscuits few biscuits He took ^ a little butter little butter Since the first of these has a non-count noun, neither of which co-occurs with the indefinite article, it will be clear that in these instances a belongs to the quantifier alone. Note [а] The quantifier (a) little must be distinguished from the homonymous adjective as in A little bird was singing. [б] Many and few can be used predicatively in formal style (His faults were many), and many has the additional potentiality of functioning as a predeterminer with singular count nouns preceded by a(n): Many an ambitious student (= Many ambitious students) (= several) ( = n o t many) (= some) (= not much) plural count noun and the third a

(c] The quantifier enough is used with both count and non-count nouns: There are (not) enough chairs There is (not) enough furniture Occasionally it follows the noun (especially non-count) but this strikesmany people as archaic or dialcctal. 4.14 There is also a large open class of phrasal quantifiers. Some can co-occur equally with non-count and plural count nouns: C plenty of The room contained < a lot of Vlots of istudents [furniture These (especially lots) are chiefly used informally, though plenty of is styl­ istically neutral in the sense ‘sufficient’. Others are restricted to occurring with non-count nouns: The room contained or to plural count nouns: The room contained a \ (large) > number of students ( (good) J As these examples suggest, it is usual to find the indefinite article and a quantifying adjective, the latter being obligatory in Standard English with deal. 4.15 The phrasal quantifiers provide a means of imposing countability on non-count nouns as the following partitive expressions illustrate: rtwo pieces GENERAL PARTITIVES <a bit rnews of <infonpation (furniture TYPICAL PARTITIVES MEASURES 3 P. KeepK H ;ip. a slice of cake a roast of meat a few loaves of bread a bowl of soup a bottle of wine ra pint of beer (a spoonful of medicine la pound of butter igreatj deal of [good] |(large) j [(small)J money jquantityj of \ amount J [ (great) ] Ian item 65

Reference and the articles 4.16 Specific/generic reference In discussing the use of the articles, it is essential to make a distinction between specific and generic reference. If we say A lion and two tigers are sleeping in the cage the reference is specific, since we have inmind specificspecimens of the class ‘tiger’. If, on the other hand, we say Tigers are dangerous animals the reference is generic, since we are thinking of the class ‘tiger’ without special reference to specific tigers. The distinctions that are important for countnouns with spe reference disappear with generic reference. This is so because generic reference is used to denote what is normal or typical for members of a class. Consequently, the distinctions ofnumber and definiteness are neutralized since they are no longer relevant for the genericconcept. Singular or plural, definite or indefinite can sometimes be used without change in the generic meaning, though plural definite occurs chiefly with nationality names: The German] . j •• , ^ > is a good musician A German J The Germans] , . . ^ > are good musicians ^ Germans J At least the following three forms can be used generically with a count noun: The tiger I ^ dangerous animal A tiger J Tigers are dangerous animals But with non-count nouns, only the zero article is possible: Music can be soothing Note There is considerable (though by no means complete) interdependence between the dynam- ic/stative dichotomy in the verb phrase and the specific/gcnerie dichotomy in the noun phrase, as appears in the following examples: 66 generic reference/simple aspect r simple aspect specific reference^ i progressive aspect The tiger lives in the jungle The tiger at this circus performs twice a day The tiger is sleeping in the cage

generic reference/simple aspect {simple aspect . progressive aspect Systems of article usage The English drink beer in pubs The Englishmen (who live here) drink beer every day The Englishmen are just now drinking beer in the garden 4.17 We can thus set up two different systems of article use depending on the type SPECinC REFERENCE GENERIC REFERENCE o f reference: DEFINITE INDEFINITE the tiger the tigers the tiger a tiger tigers the ink a tiger (some) tigers ink (some) ink With definite specific reference, the definite article is used for all noun classes: Where is the pen Where are the pens I bought? Where is the ink With indefinite specific reference, singular count nouns take the indefenite article a(n), while non-count and pluraKcount nouns take zero article or unstressed some {any in non-assertive contexts, 4,93): I want a pen/some pens/some ink I don’t want a pen/any pens/any ink Generic reference 4.18 Nationality words and adjectives as head There are two kinds of adjectives that can act as noun-phrase head with generic reference: (a) PLURAL PERSONAL (for example: the French = the French nation: the rich = those who are rich) (b) SINGULAR NON-PERSONAL ABSTRACT (for example: the evil = that which is evil) 67

There is a lexical variation in a number of nationality words, as between an Englishman!several Englishmen!the English, depending on type of refer- ence. Where nationality words have no double form (like English, Englishman), +plural can be both generic and specific: The Greeks are musical [generic] The Greeks that I know are musical [specific] 4.19 Non-count and plural count nouns When they have generic reference, both concrete and abstract non-count nouns, and usually also plural count nouns, are used with the zero article: r wine, wood, cream cheese, ... He likes < music, chess, literature, history, skiing, ... ^ lakes, games, long walks, ... Postmodification by an o/-phrase usually requires the definite article with a head noun, which thus has limited generic (partitive) reference: the wine(s) ') He likes < the music ( the countryside j the lakes J Similarly, the wines of this shop is an instance of limited generic ref­ erence, in the sense that it does not refer to any particular wines at any one time. Postmodification with other prepositions is less dependent on a preceding definite article: Mrs Nelson adores NON-COUNT NOUNS PLURAL COUNT NOUNS Venetian glass the glass of Venice *glass of Venice the glass from Venice glass from Venice Canadian paper Chinese history American literature Restoration comedy Japanese cameras Oriental women ithe paper of Canada [paper from Canada the history of China the literature of America the comedy of the Res­ toration cameras from Japan the women of the Orient The zero article is used with plural nouns that are not unambiguously generic: Appearances can be deceptive Things aren’t what they used to be 68

Note Just as non-count nouns can be used as count (4.4 Note), so count nouns can be used as non-count in a generic sense: This bread tastes of onion\ has it been alongside onions'} Specific reference 4.20 Indefinite and definite Just as we have seen in 4.16 a correspondence between aspect and reference in respect of generic and specific, so we have seen in 3.23 a correspondence between the simple and perfective in respect of what must be regarded as the basic article contrast: An intruder has stolen a vase; the intruder stole the vase from a locked cupboard; the cupboard was smashed open. As we see in this (unusually explicit) example, the definite article presupposes an earlier mention of the item so determined. But in actual usage the relation between presupposition and the definite article may be much less overt. For example, a conversation may begin: The house on the corner is for sale and the postmodification passes for some such unspoken preamble as There is, as you know, a house on the comer Compare also What is the climate like?—ih?ii is, the climate of the area being discussed. Even more covert are the presuppositions which permit the definite article in examples like the following: John asked his wife to put on the kettle while he looked in the paper to see what was on the radio No prior mention of a kettle, a paper, a radio is needed, since these things are part of the cultural situation. On a broader plane, we talk of the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky as aspects of experience common to mankind as a whole. These seem to require no earlier indefinite reference because each term is so specific as to be in fact unique for practical human purposes. This gives them something approaching the status of those proper names which are based on common count nouns: the Bible, the United States, for example. Note [fl] The indefinite article used with a proper name means ‘a certain*, ‘one giving his name as*: A Mr Johnson wants to speak to you (¿)] The definite article given heavy stress is used (especially informally) to indicate superla­ tive quality: Chelsea is THE place for young people Are you THE Mr. Johnson (= the famous)? 69

4.21 Commoii nouns with zero article There are a number of count nouns that take the zero article in abstract or rather specialized use, chiefly in certain idiomatic expressions (with verbs like be and go and with prepositions): go by car be in bed but go to school (an institution) sit in/look at, ... the car make/sit on, ... the bed go into/take a look at, .. the school (a building) The following list gives a number of common expressions with zero article; for comparison, usage with the definite article is also illustrated. SEASONS: spring, summer, autumn (BrE), fall (AmE), winter Eg In winter, we go skiing. After the winter is over, the swallows will return. ‘INSTITUTIONS* (often with at, in, to, etc) be in| go to] bed church prison hospital (esp BrE) lie down on the bed admire the church walk round the prison redecorate the hospital drive past the school look out towards the sea be at/go to/study at the university (esp AmE) approach the towp sit on the bicycle be on the bus sleep in the car sit in the boat take the/a train be on the plane • travel'1 leave > by come J bus car boat train plane ,class (esp AmE) school be at college go to sea I university be at/go home be in/leave town MEANS OF TRANSPORT (with by) bicycle TIMES OF THE DAY AND NIGHT (particularly with at, by, after, before) at dawn/daybreak, when day breaks during the day at sunrise/sunset admire the sunrise/sunset at/around noon/midnight in the afternoon 70

at dusk/twilight at/by night (by) day and night before morning came evening came on after night fell 1 (rather formal style) see nothing in the dusk wake up in the night in the daytime in/during the morning in the evening in the night the breakfast was good he enjoyed the lunch prepare (the) dinner the dinner was, well cooked MEALS have before at after stay for breakfast brunch (esp AmE) lunch tea (esp BrE) cocktails (esp AmE) dinner supper dinner will be served soon ILLNESSES appendicitis anaemia diabetes influenza PARALLEL STRUCTURES arm in arm hand in hand day by day teaspoonful by teaspoonful he’s neither man nor boy husband and wife man to man face to face from dawn to dusk from beginning to end from right to left from west to north Note the plague (the) flu (the) measles (the) mumps he took her by the arm a paper in his hand from the beginning of the day to the end of it keep to the right he lives in the north Compare also familiar or peremptory vocatives: That's right, girl! Come here, man! Vocatives take neither definite nor indefinite article in English. 4.22 Article usage with common nouns in intensive relation Unlike many other languages, English requires the definite or indefinite article with the count noun complement in an intensive relation. 71

With indefinite reference, the indefinite article is used: (i) intensive complementation (ii) coniplex transitive complementation (active verb) (iii) complex transitive complementation (passive verb) John became a businessman Mary considered John a genius John was taken for a linguist The complement of turn and go, however, has zero article: John started out a music student before he turned linguist Definite reference requires the definite article: (i) John became 'j ( ii) Mary considered John \ the genius of the family (iii) John was taken for However, the zero article may be used with the noun complement after copulas and ‘naming verbs’,such as appoint, declare, elect, when the noun designates a unique office or task: (i) John is (the) captain of the team (ii) They elected him) (ill) He was elected J Unique reference Proper nouns 4.23 Proper nouns are names of specific people {Shakespeare), places {Mil- waukee), countries {Australia), months {September), days {Thursday), holi­ days {New Year's Day), magazines {Vogue), and so forth. Names have ‘unique’ reference, and do not share such characteristics of common nouns as article contrast. But when the names have restrictive modi­ fication to give a partitive meaning to the name, proper nouns take the (cataphoric) definite article. UNIQUE MEANING during August in England in Denmark Chicago PARTITIVE MEANING during the August of that year in the England of Queen Elizabeth in the Denmark of today the Chicago I like (= ‘the aspect of Chicago’) 72 Shakespeare the young Shakespeare

Proper names can be converted into common nouns: fa Shakespeare (‘an author like S.’) Shakespeare (the author) «(Shakespeares (‘authors like S.’ or ^copies of the works of S.’) Note Proper nouns are written with initial capital letters. So also, frequently, are a number of common nouns with unique reference, which are therefore close to proper nouns, eg: fate, fortyne, heaven, hell, nature, paradise. 4.24 The following list exemplifies the main classes of proper nouns: Personal names (with or without titles) Calendar items: (a) Festivals (b) Months and days of the week Geographical names: (a) Continents (b) Countries, counties, states, etc (c) Cities, towns, etc (d) Lakes (e) Mountains Name -f common noun. 4.25 Personal names Personal names with or without appositive titles: Dr Watson President Lincoln Mr and Mrs Johnson Lady Bracknell Colonel Jackson Judge Darling (mainly AmE) Note the following exceptions: the Emperor (Napoleon) (the) Czar (Peter I) The Duke (of Wellington) The article may also precede some other titles, including Lord and Lady in formal use. Family relations with unique reference behave like proper nouns: Father (Daddy, Dad, familiar) is here Mother (Mummy, Mum, familiar) is out Uncle will come on Saturday Compare: The father was the tallest in the family 73

4.26 Calendar items (a) Names of festivals: New Year’s Day Independence Day Boxing Day Memorial Day (b) Names of the months and the days of the week: January, February, ... Monday, Tuesday, . Note Many such items can readily be used as count nouns: I hate Mondays There was an April in my childhood I well remember 4.27 Geographical names (a) Names of continents: (North) America (Medieval) Europe (Central) Australia (East) Africa Note Antarctica but the Antarctic, like the Arctic. (b) Names of countries, counties, states, etc (normally no article with premodifying adjective): (modern) Brazil (industrial) Staffordshire (west) Scotland (northern) Arkansas Note Argentina but the Argentine, the Ruhr, the Saar, the Sahara, the Ukraine, the Crimea, (the) Lebanon, the Midwest; the Everglades (and other plural names, see 4.30). (c) Cities and towns (normally no article with premodifying word): (downtown) Boston (ancient) Rome (suburban) London Note The Hague; the Bronx; the City, theWest End, the East End (of London). (d) Lakes: Lake Windermere Silver Lake (e) Mountains: M ount Everest Vesuvius 74 Note the Mount of Olives.

4.2S Name -f common noun Name + common noun denoting buildings, streets, bridges, etc. There is a regular accentuation pattern as in Hampstead HEATH., except that names ending in Street have the converse: LAMB Street. Madison Avenue Park Lane Portland Place Westminster Bridge Kennedy Airport Westminster Abbey Oxford Street Greenwich Village Note the Albert Hall, the Mansion House; the Haymarket, the Strand, the Mall (street names in London); the Merrit Parkway, the PennsyU vania Turnpike; {the) London Road as a proper name but only the London road to denote ‘the road leading to London’. Note Names of universities where the first part is a place-name can usually have two forms; the University of London (which is the official name) and London University. Universities named after a person have only the latter form: eg: Yale University, Brown Uni- versity. 4.29 Proper nouns with definite article The difference between an ordinary common noun and a common noun turned name is that the unique reference of the name has been insti­ tutionalized, as is made overt in writing by the use of initial capi­ tals. The following structural classification illustrates the use of such proper nouns which retain the phrasal definite article: WITHOUT MODIFICATION The Guardian WITH PREMODIFICATION the Suez Canal The Washington Post WITH POSTMODIFICATION the House of Commons the Institute of Pediatrics the Bay of Biscay ELLIPTED ELEMENTS The Times the British Broadcasting Corporation (the BBC) the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology the District of Columbia The original structure of a proper noun is sometimes unclear when one element has been dropped and the elliptic form has become institution­ alized as the full name: the Tate (Gallery) the Mermaid (Theatre) ' the Atlantic (Ocean) the (River) Thames 75

Note When the ellipted item is a plural or a collective implying plurality, the truncated name is pluralized: the Canary Islands the Canaries the Pennine Range (or Chain) ~ the Pennines 4.30 The following classes of proper nouns are used with the definite article: (a) Plural names the Netherlands the M idlands the Hebrides, the Shetlands, the Bahamas the Himalayas, the Alps, the Rockies, the Pyrenees . So also, more generally, the names of woods, families, etc: the Wilsons ( = the Wilson family). (b) Geographical names Rivers: the Avon, the Danube, the Euphrates Seas: the Pacific (Ocean), the Baltic, the Mediterranean Canals: the Panama (Canal), the Erie Canal (c) Public institutions, facilities, etc Hotels and restaurants: the Grand (Hotel), the Savoy, the Hilton Theatres, cinemas, clubs, etc: the Globe, the Athenaeum Museums, libraries, etc: the Tate, the British Museum, the Huntingdon Note Drury Lane, Covent Garden. (d) Newspapers: the Economist, the NewYork Times,the Observer After genitives and possessives the article is dropped: today’s New York Times. Note that magazines and periodicals normally have the zero article: Language, Life, Time, Punch, New Scientist. Number Invariable nouns 4.31 The English number system comprises SINGULAR, which denotes ‘one’, and PLURAL, which denotes ‘more than one’. The singular category includes common non-count nouns and proper nouns. Count nouns are VARIABLE, occurring with either singular or plural number {boy boys), or have INVARIABLE plural {cattle). Fig. 4: 1 provides a summary, with relevant section references. 76

s singular invariables plural invariables _regular plurals r-VOICING---- ^MUTATION - --ÆiVPLURAL- — ZERO --------- irre- -guiar plurals •US •a -ae •um -a •ex, -ix -ices -is -^-es ^FOREIGN •on -a •eau -^-eaux zero (spelling only) -o radius larva stratum matrix thesis criterion tableau chassis tempo cherub .base + -/m Fig 4:1 Number classes Note non-count nouns: concrete non-count nouns: abstract proper nouns some nouns ending in -s abstract adjectival heads summation plurals other pluralia tantum in some plural proper nouns unmarked plural nouns personal adjectival heads gold, furniture music, homework Henry, the Thames news the beautiful, the true scissors thanks the Netherlands cattle the rich boys calves feet oxen sheep radii larvae strata m atrices theses criteria tableaux chassis tempi cherubim In addition to singular and plural number, we may distinguish dual number in the case of both, either, and neither since they can only be used with reference to two. 4.32 Invariable nouns ending in ‘-s’ Note the following classes which take a singular verb, except where otherwise mentioned: (a) news: The news is bad today (b) SOME DISEASES: measles, German measles, mumps, rickets, shingles, Som^ speakers also accept a plural verb. (c) SUBJECT NAMES IN -ICS (usually with singular verb): das- iics, linguistics, mathematics, phonetics, etc -boy . calf foot ox sheep 77

(d) SOME GAMES: billiards, bowls (esp BrE), darts, dominoes, draughts (BrE), checkers (AmE), fives, ninepins (e) SOME PROPER NOUNS: Algiers, Athens, Brussels, Flanders, Marseilles, Naples, Wales; the United Nations and the United States have a singular verb when considered as units. Plural invariable nouns 4.33 SUMMATION PLURALS Tools and articles of dress consisting of two equal parts which are joined constitute summation plurals. Countability can be imposed by means of a pair of: a pair of scissors, three pairs of trousers. Note bellows binoculars pincers pliers scales scissors shears tongs tweezers glasses spectacles braces (BrE) flannels knickers pants pyjamas (BrE), pajamas (AmE) shorts suspenders tights trousers [а] Many of the summation plurals can take the indefinite article, especially with premo­ dification: a garden shears, a curling-tongs, etc; obvious treatment as count nouns is not infrequent: several tweezers. [б] Plural nouns commonly lose the inflection in premodification: a suspender belt. 4.34 OTHER ‘PLURALIA TANTUM’ IN -5 Among other ‘pluralia tantum’ (ie nouns that only occur in the plural), the following nouns end in ~s. In many cases, however, there are forms without -j, sometimes with difference of meaning. the Middle Ages amends (make every/all possible amends) annals brain(s) (‘intellect’, he’s got good brains, beside a good brain) clothes (cf cloths, /s/, plural of cloth) the Commons (the House of Com­ mons) the Antipodes archives arms (‘weapons’, an arms depot) contents (but the silver content of arrears ashes (but tobacco ash) auspices banns (of marriage) bowels the coin) customs (customs duty) dregs (coffee d«gs) earnings entrails 78

fireworks {but he let off a firework) funds (‘money’; but a fund, ‘a source of money’) goods (a goods train) greens guts (‘bowels’; but cat-gut) heads (heads or tails?) holidays (summer holidays, BrE, but he’s on holiday, he’s taking a holiday in Spain) letters (a man of letters) lodgings looks (he has good looks) the Lords (the House of Lords) manners means (a man of means) oats odds (in betting) outskirts pains (take pains) particulars (note the particulars) Note premises (‘building’) quarters, headquarters {but the Latin quarter) regards {but win his regard) remains riches savings (a savings bank) spirits (‘mood’; but he has a kindly spirit) spirits (‘alcohol’; but alcohol is a spirit) stairs (a flight of stairs) suds surroundings thanks troops {but a troop of scouts) tropics {but the Tropic of Cancer) valuables wages {but he earns a good wage) wits (she has her wits about her; but he has a keen wit) Cf also pence in ‘a few pence’, ‘tenpence’, beside the regular penny ~ pennies. 4.35 UNMARKED PLURALS cattle clergy {but also singular) folk {but also informal folks) gentry man’) people {but regular when = ‘nation’) Variable nouns 4.36 Regular plurals Variable nouns have two forms, singular and plural, the singular being the form listed in dictionaries. The vast majority of nouns are variable in this way and normally the plural {s suffix) is fully predictable both in sound and spelling by the same rules as for the -s inflection of verbs. Spelling creates numerous exceptions, however. (a) Treatment of -y: Beside the regular spy spies, there are nouns in -y to which s is added: police vermin youth {but regular when = young 79

with proper nouns: the Kennedys, the two Germanys after a vowel (except the u of -quy): days, boys, journeys in a few other words such as stand-bys. (b) Nouns of unusual form sometimes pluralize in 's: letter names: dot your /5 numerals: in the 18Ws (or, increasingly, 1890s) abbreviations: two MP's (or, increasingly, MPs) (c) Nouns in -o have plural in -os, with some exceptions having either optional or obligatory -oes
Plurals in -os and -oes: archipelago, banjo, buffalo, cargo, commando, flamingo, halo, motto, tornado, volcano Plurals only in -oes: echo, embargo, hero, Negro, potato, tomato, torpedo, veto 4.37 Compounds Compounds form the plural in different ways, but (c) below is the most usual. (a) PLURAL IN FIRST ELEMENT 80 attorney general notary public passer-by mother-in-law grant-in-aid man-of-war coat of mail mouthful spoonrul attorneys general,but more usually as (c) notaries public passers-by mothers-in-law, butalso as (c) informally grants-in-aid men-of-war coats of mail mouthsfull ^ I !>"al» » w (b) PLURAL IN BOTH FIRST AND LAST ELEMENT gentleman farmer manservant woman doctor gentlemen farmers menservants women doctors (c) PLURAL IN LAST ELEMENT {ie normal) assistant director assistant directors So also: boy friend, fountain pen, woman-hater, breakdown, grown-up, sit-in, stand-by, take-off, forget-me-not, etc

Irregular plurals 4.38 Irregular plurals are by definition unpredictable and have to be learned as individual items. In many cases where foreign words are involved, it is of course helpful to know about pluralization in the relevant languages particularly Latin and Greek. Thus, on the pattern of analysis analyses we can infer the correct plurals: axis- axes basis- bases crisis-> crises, etc But we cannot rely on etymologicalcriteria: plurals like areas and villas, for example, donot conform to theLatin pattern {areae, villae). 4.39 VOICING + -5 PLURAL Some nouns which in the singular end in the voiceless fricatives spelled •th and -/ have voiced fricatives in theplural, followed by /z/. In one case the voiceless fricative is /s/ and the plural has /ziz/: house houses. (a) Nouns in -th There in no change in spelling. With a consonant before the -th, the plural is regular: berth, birth, length, etc. With a vowel before the -th, the plural is again often regular, as with cloth, death, faith, moth, but in a few cases the plural has voicing {mouth, path), and in several cases there are both regular and voiced plurals: bath, oath, sheath, truth, wreath, youth. (b) Nouns in -f{e) Plurals with voicing are spelled -ves. Regular plural only: belief, chief, cliff, proof, roof, safe. Voiced plural only: calf elf, half, knife, leaf life, loaf, self, sheaf, shelf, thief, wife, wolf. Both regular and voiced plurals: dwarf, handkerchief, hoof, scarf, wharf Note The painting term still life has a regular plural: still Hfes. 4.40 MUTATION Mutation involes a change of vowel in the following seven nouns: foot ~ feet tooth teeth goose geese man louse mouse mice men woman women lice /u/ /i/ 81

Note With womanjwomen, the pronunciation differs in the first syllable only, while postmanlpost- men, Englishmanl-men, etc have no difference in pronunciation at all between singular and plural. 4.41 THE -EN PLURAL This occurs in three nouns: brother child ox brethrenbrethren (with mutation) = ‘fellow members of a religious society’; otherwise regular brothers children (with vowel change /ai/ /1/) oxen ZERO PLURAL 4.42 Some nouns have the same spoken and written form in both singular and plural. Note the difference here between, on the one hand, in­ variable nouns, which are either singular (This music is. too loud) or plural (All the cattle are grazing in the field), and, on the other, zero plural nouns, which can be both singular and plural (This sheep looks small; All those sheep are mine). 4.43 Animal names Animal names ften have zero plurals. They tend to be used partly by people who are especially concerned with animals, partly when the animals are referred to as game. Where there are two plurals, the zero plural is the more common in contexts of hunting, etc, eg: We caught only a few fish, whereas the regular plural is used to denote different individuals or species: the fishes of the Mediterranean. 4.44 The degree of variability with animal names is shown by the following lists: Regular plural: bird, cow, eagle, hen, rabbit, etc Usually regular: elk, crab, duck (zero only with the wild bird) Both plurals: antelope, reindeer, fish, flounder, herring Usually zero: pike, trout, carp, deer, moose Only zero: grouse, sheep, plaice, salmon 4.45 Quantitative nouns The numeral nouns hundred, thousand, and usually million have zero plurals except when unpremodified; so too dozen, brace, head (of cattle), yoke (rare), gross, stone (BrE weight). 82

He always wanted to have hundreds¡thousands of books and he has recently bought four hundred!thousand Other* quantitative and partitive nouns can be treated similarly, though the zero plurals are commoner in informal or technical usage: Dozens of glasses; tons of coal He is six foot/feet (tall) He bought eight ton(s) of coal Note Plural measure expressions are normally singularized when they premodify: a fivc-pound note, a ten-second pause. 4.46 Nouns’in -(e)s A few nouns in -(e)s can be treated as singular or plural: He gave one series!two series of lectures So too species. With certain other nouns such as barracks, gallows, headquarters, means, {steel) works, usage varies; they are sometimes treated as variable nouns with zero plurals, sometimes as ‘pluralia tantum’. FOREIGN PLURALS 4.47 Foreign plurals often occur along with regular plurals. They are commoner in technical usage, whereas the -s plural is more natural in everyday language; thus formulas (general) formulae (in mathematics), antennas (general and in electronics) antennae (in biology). Our aim here will be to survey systematically the main types of foreign plurals that are used in present-day English and to consider the extent to which a particular plural form is obligatory or optional. Most (but by no means all) words having a particular foreign plural orig­ inated in the language mentioned in the heading. 4.48 Nouns in ’US (Latin) The foreign plural is -/, as in stimulus ^ stimuli. Only regular plural {-uses): bonus, campus, chorus, circus, virus, etc Both plurals: cactus, focus, fungus, nucleus, radius, terminus, syllabus Only foreign plural: alumnus, bacillus, locus, stimulus Note The usual plurals of corpus and genus are corpora, genera, 83

4.49 Nouns in -a (Latin) The foreign plural is -ae, as in alumna ^ alumnae. Only regular plural {-as): area, arena, dilemma, diploma, drama, etc Both plurals: antenna, formula, nebula, vertebra Only foreign plural: alga, alumna, larva 4.50 Nouns in -um (Latin) The foreign plural is -a, as in curriculum ^ curricula Only regular plural: album, chrysanthemum, museum, etc Usually regular: forum, stadium, ultimatum Both plurals: aquarium, medium, memorandum, symposium Usually foreign plural: curriculum Only foreign plural: addendum, bacterium, corrigendum, desideratum, erratum, ovum, stratum Note Media with reference to press and radio and stratawith rcfcrenceto socicty are sometimes used informally as singular. In the case of data, reclassincation as a sin­ gular non-count noun is widespread, and the technical singular datum is rather rare. 4.51 Nouns in -ex, -ix (Latin) The foreign plural is -ices, as in index ^ indices. Both regular and foreign plurals: apex,index, vortex, appendix, matrix Only foreign plural: codex 4.52 Nouns in ’is (Greek) The foreign plural is -es, as in basis ^ bases Regular plural (-ises): metropolis Foreign plural: analysis, axis, basis, crisis, diagnosis, ellipsis, hypothesis, oasis, parenthesis, synopsis, thesis 4.53 Nouns in -on (Greek) The foreign plural is -a, as in criterion ^ criteria. Only regular plurals: demon, electron, neutron, proton Chiefly regular: ganglion 84

Both plurals: automaton Only foreign plural: criterion, phenomenon Note Informally, criteria and phenomena are sometimes used as singulars. 4.54 French nouns A few nouns in -e{a)u retain the French -x as the spelling of the plural, beside the commoner -5, but the plurals are almost always pronounced as regular, /z/, irrespective of spelling, eg\ adieu, bureau, tableau, plateau, 4.55 Some French nouns in -s or -k are pronounced with a final vowel in the singular and with a regular /z/ in the plural, with no spelling change: chamois, chassis, corps, faux pas, patois. 4.56 Nouns in ’O (Italian) The foreign plural is -/ as in tempo ^ tempi. Only regular plural: soprano Usually regular plural: virtuoso, libretto, solo, tempo Note Graffiti is usually a ‘pluralia tantum’, confetti, spaghetti non-count singular. 4.57 Hebrew nouns The foreign plural is -im, as in kibbutz ^ kibbutzim. Usually regular: cherub, seraph Only foreign plural: kibbutz Gender 4.58 English makes very few gender distinctions. Where they are made, the connection between the biological category ‘sex’ and the grammatical category ‘gender’ is very close, insofar as natural sex distinctions de­ termine English gender distinctions. It is further typical of English that special suffixes are not gen­ erally used to mark gender distinctions. Nor are gender distinctions made in the article. Some pronouns are gender-sensitive (the personal he, she, it, and the relative who, which), but others are not {they, 85

some, these, etc). The patterns of pronoun substitutions for singular nouns give us a set of ten gender classes as illustrated in Fig 4:2. animate 'non­ personal I inanimate • , E collective family GENDER EXAM­ PRONOUN CLASSES PLES SUBSTITUTION ^A masculine ,Bfeminine uncle who - he aunt who- she doctor who - he/she Cdual , D common baby {who - helshel?it which -it {which - it who - they Vsomeone, somebody {some people E) something {some- where H, J) masculine ,Fhigher animal feminine G higher animal Hhigher organism bull {which- it Cwho) - he cow {which - it Owho) - she France which - it/she I lower animal ant J inanimate box which - it Fig 4:2 Gender classes 4.59 |A/B] Personal masculine/feminine nouns These nouns are of two types. Type (i) has no overt marking that suggests morphological correspondence between masculine and feminine, whereas in Type (ii) the two gender forms lationship. have a derivational re­ (i) morphologically bachelor spinster sister mother lady bride duchess empress goddess heroine king man monk uncle • host steward waiter waitress widower widow usher usherette unmarked for gender (ii) morphologi­ cally marked for gender brother father gentleman bridegroom duke emperor ,5od lero queen woman nun aunt 86 hostess stewardess

Some nlasculine/feminine pairs denbting kinship have common (dual) generic terms, for example, parent for fatherlmother, and child for sonjdaughter as well as for boylgirl. Some optional feminine forms (poetess, authoress, etc) are now rare, being replaced by the dual gender forms (poet, author, etc). 4.60 (CJ Personal dual gender This is a large class including, for example, the following: artist fool chairman foreigner musician servant neighbour speaker novelist student parent teacher person writer professor cook criminal doctor enemy friend guest inhabitant librarian For clarity, it is sometimes necessary to use a ‘gender marker’: boy friend girl friend man student woman student The dual class is on the increase, but the expectation that a given activity is largely male or female dictates the frequent use of sex mark­ ers: thus a nurse, but a male nurse\ an engineer but a woman engineer. Note Where such nouns are used gcnerically, neither gender is relevant though a masculine reference pronoun may be used: If any student calls, leW him Fll be back soon When they arc used with specific reference, they must of course be either masculine or feminine and the context may clearly imply the gender in a given case: I met a {handsome) student (and he ...) I met a {beautifut) student (and she ...)

FOUR
NOUNS, PRONOUNS, AND THE BASIC NOUN PHRASE
4.1
The basic noun phrase
The noun phrase typically functions as subject, object, complement of sentences, and as complement in prepositional plrrases. Consider the different subjects in the following:
(a) The girl
(b) The pretty girl
(c) The pretty girl in the corner
(d) The pretty girl who became angry (e) She
is Mary Smith
Since noun phrases of the types illustrated in (b-d) include elements that will be dealt with in later chapters (adjectives, prepositional phrases, etc), it will be convenient to postpone the treatment of the . noun phrase incorporating such items. We shall deal here with the elements found in those noun phrases that consist of pronouns and numerals, and of nouns with articles or other closed-system items that can occur before the noun head, such as predeterminers like all.
Noun classes
4.2
It is necessary, both for grammatical and semantic reasons, to see nouns as falling into different subclasses. This is easily demonstrated by taking the four nouns John, bottle, furniture and cake and consid­ ering the extent to which it is possible for each to appear as head of the noun phrase operating as object in the following sentence (some in the fourth line is the unstressed determiner: 4.5):
I saw
(1) John
*the John *a John ♦some John *Johns
0 )
*bottle
the bottle
a bottle *some bottle bottles
(3)
furniture
the furniture *a furniture some furniture *furnitures
(4)
cake
the cake
a cake
some cake cakes
The difference between column 1 (with its four impossible usages) and column 4 (with none) indicates the degree of variation between classes. Nouns that behave like John in column 1 (Paris, Mississippi, Gandhi, ...) are PROPER NOUNS, further discussed in 4.23. The nouns in columns 2, 3 and 4 are all COMMON NOUNS, but there are im-
58

portant differences within this class. Nouns which, behave like bottle in column 2 {chair, word, finger, remark, ...), which must be seen as individual countable entities and cannot be viewed as an undifferentiated mass, are called COUNT NOUNS. Those conforming like furniture to the pattern of column 3 {grass, warmth, humour, ...) must by contrast be seen as an undifferentiated mass or continuimi, and we call them NON-COUNT NOUNS. Finally in column 4 we have nouns which combine the characteristics of count and non-count nouns {cake, paper, stone, ...); that is, we can view stone as the non-count material (as in column 3) constituting the entity a stone (as in colimin 2) which can be picked up from a pile of stones and individually thrown.
4.3
It will be noticed that the categorization count and non-count cuts across the traditional distinction between ‘abstract’ (broadly, immaterial) nouns like warmth, and ‘concrete’ (broadly, tangible) nouns like bottle. But while abstract nouns may be count like remark or non-count like warmth, there is a considerable degree of overlap between abstract and non-count. This does not proceed from nature but is language- specific, and we list some examples which are non-count in English but count nouns in some other languages:
anger, applause, behaviour, chaos, chess, conduct, courage, dancing, education, harm, homework, hospitality, leisure, melancholy, moon­ light, parking, photography, poetry, progress, publicity, research {as in do some research), resistance, safety, shopping, smoking, sunshine, violence, weather
Note
Another categorization that cuts across the count and non-count distinction will identify a small class of nouns that behave like most adjectives in being gradable. Though such degree nouns are chiefly non-count (‘His acts of great foolishness’= ‘His acts were very foolish’), they can also be count nouns: ‘The children are such thieves!’
4.4
Nevertheless, when we turn to the large class of nouns, which can be both count and non-count, we see that there is often considerable difference in meaning involved and that this corresponds broadly to concreteness or particularization in the count usage and abstractness or generalization in the non-count usage.For example:
COUNT
I’ve had many difficulties
He’s had many odd experiences Buy aa evening paper
She was a beauty in her youth
The talks will take place in Paris
NON-COUNT
He’s not had much difficulty
This job requires experience
W rap the parcel in brown paper She had beauty in her youth
I dislike idle talk
59

There were bright lights and harsh Light travels faster than sound sounds
The lambs were eating quietly There is lamb on the menu
In many cases the type of distinction between lamb count and lamb non-count is achieved by separate lexical items: {a) sheep (some) mutton; (a) calf (some) veal\ (a) pig (some) pork\ (a) loaf (some) bread; (a) table ^ (some) furniture.
Note
Virtually all non-count nouns can be treated as count nouns when used in classificatory senses :
There are several French wines available ( = kind? o f wine) This is a bread I greatly enjoy (=kind of bread)
4.5
Determiners
There are six classes of determiners with
occurrence with the noun classes singular count (such as bottle), plural count (such as bottles), and non-count nouns (such as furniture). The check marks in the figures that follow indicate which noun classes will co-occur with members of the determiner class concerned.
SINGULAR
PLURAL
[C]
[D]
[B]
V
[E]
[F]
V a{n) every
each either neither
much
60
[A]
n/
V
V
this that
these those
the
possessive (my, our, etc: see 4.87) M^hose, which (ever), what (ever)
some (stressed)! ^^4 9 2 /
any (stressed) no
zero article (as in‘They need furniture") some (unstressed)
any (unstressed)
enough
COUNT NON-COUNT
respect to
their co­

Note
[a] Many of the deterpiiners can be pronominal:
Either book ~ Either of the books ^ You can have either
[¿)] Every can co-occur with possessives: his every word ( = ‘each of his words’).
4.6
Closed-system premodifiers
In addition to determiners, there is a large number of other closed- system items that occur before the head of the noun phrase. These form three classes (predeterminers, ordinals, and quantifiers) which have been set up on the basis of the possible positions that they can have in re­ lation to determiners and to each other. Within each of the three classes, we will make distinctions according to their patterning with the classes of singular count, plural count, and non-count nouns.
Note
We will also include here some open-class premodifiers that commute to a significant extent with closed-system items, eg: three times (cf: once, twice), a large quantity of (cf: much).
Predeterminers
4.7
AU, both, half
These predeterminers can occur only before articles or demonstratives but, since they are themselves quantifiers, they do not occur with the following ‘quantitative’ determiners: every {n)either each, some, any, no, enough.
61

All, both, and half have o/-constructions, which are optional with nouns and obligatory with personal pronouns:
all (oO the meat
both (of) the students half (of) the time
all of it
both of them
half of it
With a quantifier following, the o/-construction is preferred (especially in AmE):
all of the many boys
All three can be used pronominally:
All/both/half passed their exams
All and both (but not half) can occur after the head, either imniediately or within the predication:
“iWTM The students were all hungry
They may have all finished
The predeterminer both and the determiners either and neither are not plural proper but ‘dual’, ie they can refer only to two. Compared with the numeral two, both is emphatic:
Both (the) I students were excellent The two J
All is rare with concrete count nouns {? I haven't used all the pencil) though it is less rare with contrastive stress: I haven t read ALL the book, where book is treated as a kind of divisible mass. The normal constructions would be all of the book or the whole book.
Before certain temporal nouns, and especially in adjunct phrases, all is often used with the zero article: I haven't seen him all day.
Note
[d\ There is also an adverbial half (as in half wine, half water) which occurs in familiar emphatic negation and can precede enough:
He hasn’t enough money!
Added to numbers from one upwards, a half co-occurs with pkiral nouns: one and a half days.
[6] The postposed all in ‘They were all hungry’ must not be confused with its use as an informal intensifying adverb in ‘He is all upset’.
4.8
Double, twice, three/four ... times
The second type of predeterminer includes double, twice, three times, etc, which occur with non-count and plural count nouns, and with singular count nouns denoting number, amount, etc.:
62

double their salaries twice his strength
three times this amount
Three, four, etc times as well as once can co-occur with the determiners a, every, each, and (less commonly) per to form ‘distributive’ expres­ sions with a temporal noun as head:
once
twice (^ week three J every month four I times \ each ► year
4.9
One-third, two-fifths, etc
The fractions one-third, two-fifths, three-quarters, etc, used with non-count and with singular and plural count nouns, can also be followed by determiners, and have the alternative ^/-construction:
He did it in one-third (of) the time it took me
Postdeterminers
4.10
Items 'which must follow determiners but precede adjectives in the pre- modification structure include numerals (ordinal and cardinal) and quantifiers.
4.11
Cardinal numerals
Apart from one, which can co-occur only with singular count nouns, all cardinal numerals {two, three, ...) co-occur only with plural count nouns:
He has cine sister and three brothers The two blue cars belong to the firm
Note
One may be regarded as a stressed form of the indefinite article: ‘I would like ajone large cigar’. In consequence, although the definite article may precede any cardinal, the indefinite can not.
4.12
Ordinal numerals and general ordinals
In addition to the ordinals which have a one-for-one relation with the cardinals (fourth four; twentieth twenty), we consider here items like n^xt, last, {an)other, additional, which resemble them grammatically
1 (per) decade
63

and semantically. All ordinals co-occur, only with count nouns and usually precede any cardinal numbers in the noun phrase:
The first three planes were American
The general ordinals, however, may be used freely before or after cardi­ nals, according to the meaning required:
His
Note
(two lastj
books were novels
Another has two functions. It can be the unstressed form of one other or it can
have the same I don’t like
Another
A second)
Quantisers
4.13
There are two small groups of closed-system quantifiers:
(1) many, {a) few, and several co-occur only with plural count nouns:
The few words he spoke were well chosen
(2) much and {a) little co-occur only with non-count nouns: There hasn’t been much good weather recently
Several is rarely (and much virtually never) preceded by a determiner, and in the case offew and little there is a positive/negative contrast according as the indefinite article is or is not used:
64
meaning, as ‘second’ withindefinite article: this house: I’d prefer anotherone
Jblue car
(two volumes of poetry
( a few biscuits few biscuits
He took ^ a little butter little butter
Since the first of these has a
non-count noun, neither of which co-occurs with the indefinite article, it will be clear that in these instances a belongs to the quantifier alone.
Note
[а] The quantifier (a) little must be distinguished from the homonymous adjective as in A little bird was singing.
[б] Many and few can be used predicatively in formal style (His faults were many), and many has the additional potentiality of functioning as a predeterminer with singular count nouns preceded by a(n):
Many an ambitious student (= Many ambitious students)
(= several)
( = n o t many) (= some)
(= not much)
plural count noun and the third a

(c] The quantifier enough is used with both count and non-count nouns: There are (not) enough chairs
There is (not) enough furniture
Occasionally it follows the noun (especially non-count) but this strikesmany people as
archaic or dialcctal.
4.14
There is also a large open class of phrasal quantifiers. Some can co-occur equally with non-count and plural count nouns:
C plenty of The room contained < a lot of
Vlots of
istudents [furniture
These (especially lots) are chiefly used informally, though plenty of is styl­ istically neutral in the sense ‘sufficient’. Others are restricted to occurring
with non-count nouns:
The room contained
or to plural count nouns:
The room contained a \ (large) > number of students
( (good) J
As these examples suggest, it is usual to find the indefinite article and a quantifying adjective, the latter being obligatory in Standard English with deal.
4.15
The phrasal quantifiers provide a means of imposing countability on non-count nouns as the following partitive expressions illustrate:
rtwo pieces GENERAL PARTITIVES <a bit
rnews
of infonpation
(furniture
TYPICAL PARTITIVES
MEASURES
3 P. KeepK H ;ip.
a slice of cake
a roast of meat
a few loaves of bread a bowl of soup
a bottle of wine
ra pint of beer
(a spoonful of medicine la pound of butter
igreatj deal of [good]
|(large) j [(small)J
money jquantityj of
\ amount J
[ (great) ]
Ian item
65

Reference and the articles
4.16
Specific/generic reference
In discussing the use of the articles, it is essential to make a distinction between specific and generic reference. If we say
A lion and two tigers are sleeping in the cage
the reference is specific, since we have inmind specificspecimens of the class ‘tiger’. If, on the other hand, we say
Tigers are dangerous animals
the reference is generic, since we are thinking of the class ‘tiger’ without special reference to specific tigers.
The distinctions that are important for countnouns with spe reference disappear with generic reference. This is so because generic reference is used to denote what is normal or typical for members of
a class. Consequently, the distinctions ofnumber and definiteness are neutralized since they are no longer relevant for the genericconcept. Singular or plural, definite or indefinite can sometimes be used without change in the generic meaning, though plural definite occurs chiefly
with nationality names:
The German] . j ••
, ^ is a good musician
A German J
The Germans] , . .
^ > are good musicians ^ Germans J
At least the following three forms can be used generically with a count noun:
The tiger I ^ dangerous animal A tiger J
Tigers are dangerous animals
But with non-count nouns, only the zero article is possible: Music can be soothing
Note
There is considerable (though by no means complete) interdependence between the dynam- ic/stative dichotomy in the verb phrase and the specific/gcnerie dichotomy in the noun phrase, as appears in the following examples:
66
generic reference/simple aspect
r simple aspect
specific reference^
i progressive aspect
The tiger lives in the jungle
The tiger at this circus performs
twice a day
The tiger is sleeping in the cage

generic reference/simple aspect {simple aspect
.
progressive aspect
Systems of article usage
The English drink beer in pubs
The Englishmen (who live here) drink beer every day
The Englishmen are just now drinking beer in the garden
4.17
We can thus set up two different systems of article use depending
on the type
SPECinC REFERENCE
GENERIC REFERENCE
o f
reference:
DEFINITE INDEFINITE
the tiger the tigers
the tiger a tiger tigers
the ink
a tiger (some) tigers
ink
(some) ink
With definite specific reference, the definite article is used for all noun classes:
Where is the pen
Where are the pens I bought? Where is the ink
With indefinite specific reference, singular count nouns take the indefenite article a(n), while non-count and pluraKcount nouns take zero article or unstressed some {any in non-assertive contexts, 4,93):
I want a pen/some pens/some ink
I don’t want a pen/any pens/any ink
Generic reference
4.18
Nationality words and adjectives as head
There are two kinds of adjectives that can act as noun-phrase head with generic reference:
(a) PLURAL PERSONAL (for example: the French = the French nation: the rich = those who are rich)
(b) SINGULAR NON-PERSONAL ABSTRACT (for example: the evil = that which is evil)
67

There is a lexical variation in a number of nationality words, as between an Englishman!several Englishmen!the English, depending on type of refer- ence.
Where nationality words have no double form (like English, Englishman), +plural can be both generic and specific:
The Greeks are musical [generic]
The Greeks that I know are musical [specific]
4.19
Non-count and plural count nouns
When they have generic reference, both concrete and abstract non-count nouns, and usually also plural count nouns, are used with the zero article:
r wine, wood, cream cheese, ...
He likes < music, chess, literature, history, skiing, ...
^ lakes, games, long walks, ...
Postmodification by an o/-phrase usually requires the definite article with a head noun, which thus has limited generic (partitive) reference:
the wine(s) ')
He likes < the music ( the countryside j
the lakes J
Similarly, the wines of this shop is an instance of limited generic ref­ erence, in the sense that it does not refer to any particular wines at any one time. Postmodification with other prepositions is less dependent on a preceding definite article:
Mrs Nelson adores
NON-COUNT NOUNS
PLURAL COUNT NOUNS
Venetian glass
the glass of Venice *glass of Venice
the glass from Venice glass from Venice
Canadian paper
Chinese history American literature Restoration comedy
Japanese cameras Oriental women
ithe paper of Canada [paper from Canada
the history of China
the literature of America the comedy of the Res­
toration
cameras from Japan
the women of the Orient
The zero article is used with plural nouns that are not unambiguously generic:
Appearances can be deceptive Things aren’t what they used to be
68

Note
Just as non-count nouns can be used as count (4.4 Note), so count nouns can be used as non-count in a generic sense:
This bread tastes of onion\ has it been alongside onions'}
Specific reference
4.20
Indefinite and definite
Just as we have seen in 4.16 a correspondence between aspect and reference in respect of generic and specific, so we have seen in 3.23 a correspondence between the simple and perfective in respect of what must be regarded as the basic article contrast:
An intruder has stolen a vase;
the intruder stole the vase from a locked cupboard; the cupboard was smashed open.
As we see in this (unusually explicit) example, the definite article presupposes an earlier mention of the item so determined. But in actual usage the relation between presupposition and the definite article may be much less overt. For example, a conversation may begin:
The house on the corner is for sale
and the postmodification passes for some such unspoken preamble as
There is, as you know, a house on the comer
Compare also What is the climate like?—ih?ii is, the climate of the area being discussed. Even more covert are the presuppositions which permit the definite article in examples like the following:
John asked his wife to put on the kettle while he looked in the paper to see what was on the radio
No prior mention of a kettle, a paper, a radio is needed, since these things are part of the cultural situation.
On a broader plane, we talk of the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky as aspects of experience common to mankind as a whole. These seem to require no earlier indefinite reference because each term is so specific as to be in fact unique for practical human purposes. This gives them something approaching the status of those proper names which are based on common count nouns: the Bible, the United States, for example.
Note
[fl] The indefinite article used with a proper name means ‘a certain*, ‘one giving his name as*:
A Mr Johnson wants to speak to you
(¿)] The definite article given heavy stress is used (especially informally) to indicate superla­ tive quality:
Chelsea is THE place for young people
Are you THE Mr. Johnson (= the famous)?
69

4.21
Commoii nouns with zero article
There are a number of count nouns that take the zero article in abstract or rather specialized use, chiefly in certain idiomatic expressions (with verbs like be and go and with prepositions):
go by car
be in bed but go to school (an
institution)
sit in/look at, ... the car make/sit on, ... the bed
go into/take a look at, .. the
school (a building)
The following list gives a number of common expressions with zero article; for comparison, usage with the definite article is also illustrated.
SEASONS: spring, summer, autumn (BrE), fall (AmE), winter Eg In winter, we go skiing. After the winter is over, the swallows will return.
‘INSTITUTIONS* (often with at, in, to, etc)
be in| go to]
bed
church
prison
hospital (esp BrE)
lie down on the bed admire the church walk round the prison redecorate the hospital
drive past the school
look out towards the sea be at/go to/study at the university (esp AmE)
approach the towp
sit on the bicycle be on the bus sleep in the car sit in the boat take the/a train be on the plane •
travel'1 leave > by come J
bus car boat train plane
,class (esp AmE)
school be at college
go to sea
I university
be at/go home be in/leave town
MEANS OF TRANSPORT (with by) bicycle
TIMES OF THE DAY AND NIGHT (particularly with at, by, after, before)
at dawn/daybreak, when day breaks during the day
at sunrise/sunset admire the sunrise/sunset at/around noon/midnight in the afternoon
70

at dusk/twilight
at/by night
(by) day and night before morning came evening came on
after night fell 1
(rather formal style)
see nothing in the dusk wake up in the night
in the daytime
in/during the morning in the evening
in the night
the breakfast was good he enjoyed the lunch
prepare (the) dinner
the dinner was, well cooked
MEALS
have before at
after stay for
breakfast
brunch (esp AmE) lunch
tea (esp BrE) cocktails (esp AmE) dinner
supper
dinner will be served soon
ILLNESSES
appendicitis anaemia diabetes influenza
PARALLEL STRUCTURES
arm in arm
hand in hand
day by day
teaspoonful by teaspoonful he’s neither man nor boy husband and wife
man to man
face to face
from dawn to dusk from beginning to end
from right to left from west to north
Note
the plague (the) flu (the) measles (the) mumps
he took her by the arm a paper in his hand
from the beginning of the day to the end of it
keep to the right
he lives in the north
Compare also familiar or peremptory vocatives: That's right, girl! Come here, man! Vocatives take neither definite nor indefinite article in English.
4.22
Article usage with common nouns in intensive relation
Unlike many other languages, English requires the definite or indefinite article with the count noun complement in an intensive relation.
71

With indefinite reference, the indefinite article is used:
(i) intensive complementation
(ii) coniplex transitive complementation
(active verb)
(iii) complex transitive
complementation (passive verb)
John became a businessman
Mary considered John a genius
John was taken for a linguist
The complement of turn and go, however, has zero article: John started out a music student before he turned linguist
Definite reference requires the definite article:
(i) John became 'j
( ii) Mary considered John \ the genius of the family (iii) John was taken for
However, the zero article may be used with the noun complement after copulas and ‘naming verbs’,such as appoint, declare, elect, when the noun designates a unique office or task:
(i) John is (the) captain of the team
(ii) They elected him) (ill) He was elected J
Unique reference
Proper nouns
4.23
Proper nouns are names of specific people {Shakespeare), places {Mil- waukee), countries {Australia), months {September), days {Thursday), holi­ days {New Year's Day), magazines {Vogue), and so forth. Names have ‘unique’ reference, and do not share such characteristics of common nouns as article contrast. But when the names have restrictive modi­ fication to give a partitive meaning to the name, proper nouns take the (cataphoric) definite article.
UNIQUE MEANING
during August in England
in Denmark Chicago
PARTITIVE MEANING
during the August of that year
in the England of Queen Elizabeth in the Denmark of today
the Chicago I like (= ‘the aspect of Chicago’)
72
Shakespeare
the young Shakespeare

Proper names can be converted into common nouns:
fa Shakespeare (‘an author like S.’) Shakespeare (the author) «(Shakespeares (‘authors like S.’ or
^copies of the works of S.’)
Note
Proper nouns are written with initial capital letters. So also, frequently, are a number of common nouns with unique reference, which are therefore close to proper nouns, eg: fate, fortyne, heaven, hell, nature, paradise.
4.24
The following list exemplifies the main classes of proper nouns:
Personal names (with or without titles) Calendar items:
(a) Festivals
(b) Months and days of the week Geographical names:
(a) Continents
(b) Countries, counties, states, etc (c) Cities, towns, etc
(d) Lakes
(e) Mountains
Name -f common noun. 4.25
Personal names
Personal names with or without appositive titles:
Dr Watson
President Lincoln
Mr and Mrs Johnson
Lady Bracknell
Colonel Jackson
Judge Darling (mainly AmE)
Note the following exceptions:
the Emperor (Napoleon) (the) Czar (Peter I) The Duke (of Wellington)
The article may also precede some other titles, including Lord and Lady in formal use. Family relations with unique reference behave like proper nouns:
Father (Daddy, Dad, familiar) is here Mother (Mummy, Mum, familiar) is out Uncle will come on Saturday
Compare:
The father was the tallest in the family
73

4.26
Calendar items
(a) Names of festivals:
New Year’s Day Independence Day Boxing Day Memorial Day
(b) Names of the months and the days of the week: January, February, ... Monday, Tuesday, .
Note
Many such items can readily be used as count nouns:
I hate Mondays
There was an April in my childhood I well remember
4.27
Geographical names
(a) Names of continents:
(North) America (Medieval) Europe (Central) Australia (East) Africa
Note Antarctica but the Antarctic, like the Arctic.
(b) Names of countries, counties, states, etc (normally no article with
premodifying adjective):
(modern) Brazil (industrial) Staffordshire (west) Scotland (northern) Arkansas
Note Argentina but the Argentine, the Ruhr, the Saar, the Sahara, the Ukraine, the Crimea, (the) Lebanon, the Midwest; the Everglades (and other plural names, see 4.30).
(c) Cities and towns (normally no article with premodifying word):
(downtown) Boston (ancient) Rome (suburban) London
Note The Hague; the Bronx; the City, theWest End, the East End (of London).
(d) Lakes:
Lake Windermere Silver Lake
(e) Mountains:
M ount Everest Vesuvius
74
Note the Mount of Olives.

4.2S
Name -f common noun
Name + common noun denoting buildings, streets, bridges, etc. There is a regular accentuation pattern as in Hampstead HEATH., except that names ending in Street have the converse: LAMB Street.
Madison Avenue Park Lane Portland Place
Westminster Bridge Kennedy Airport Westminster Abbey Oxford Street Greenwich Village
Note the Albert Hall, the Mansion House; the Haymarket, the Strand, the Mall (street names in London); the Merrit Parkway, the PennsyU vania Turnpike; {the) London Road as a proper name but only the London road to denote ‘the road leading to London’.
Note
Names of universities where the first part is a place-name can usually have two forms; the University of London (which is the official name) and London University. Universities named after a person have only the latter form: eg: Yale University, Brown Uni- versity.
4.29
Proper nouns with definite article
The difference between an ordinary common noun and a common noun turned name is that the unique reference of the name has been insti­ tutionalized, as is made overt in writing by the use of initial capi­ tals. The following structural classification illustrates the use of such proper nouns which retain the phrasal definite article:
WITHOUT MODIFICATION
The Guardian
WITH PREMODIFICATION the Suez Canal
The Washington Post
WITH POSTMODIFICATION
the House of Commons the Institute of Pediatrics the Bay of Biscay
ELLIPTED ELEMENTS
The Times
the British Broadcasting Corporation (the BBC)
the Cambridge College of Arts and Technology
the District of Columbia
The original structure of a proper noun is sometimes unclear when one element has been dropped and the elliptic form has become institution­ alized as the full name:
the Tate (Gallery) the Mermaid (Theatre) ' the Atlantic (Ocean) the (River) Thames
75

Note
When the ellipted item is a plural or a collective implying plurality, the truncated name is pluralized:
the Canary Islands the Canaries
the Pennine Range (or Chain) ~ the Pennines
4.30
The following classes of proper nouns are used with the definite article: (a) Plural names
the Netherlands
the M idlands
the Hebrides, the Shetlands, the Bahamas
the Himalayas, the Alps, the Rockies, the Pyrenees .
So also, more generally, the names of woods, families, etc: the Wilsons ( = the Wilson family).
(b) Geographical names
Rivers: the Avon, the Danube, the Euphrates
Seas: the Pacific (Ocean), the Baltic, the Mediterranean Canals: the Panama (Canal), the Erie Canal
(c) Public institutions, facilities, etc
Hotels and restaurants: the Grand (Hotel), the Savoy, the Hilton Theatres, cinemas, clubs, etc: the Globe, the Athenaeum Museums, libraries, etc: the Tate, the British Museum, the
Huntingdon
Note Drury Lane, Covent Garden.
(d) Newspapers: the Economist, the NewYork Times,the Observer After genitives and possessives the article is dropped: today’s
New York Times.
Note that magazines and periodicals normally have the zero article: Language, Life, Time, Punch, New Scientist.
Number
Invariable nouns
4.31
The English number system comprises SINGULAR, which denotes ‘one’, and PLURAL, which denotes ‘more than one’. The singular category includes common non-count nouns and proper nouns. Count nouns are VARIABLE, occurring with either singular or plural number {boy
boys), or have INVARIABLE plural {cattle). Fig. 4: 1 provides a summary, with relevant section references.
76

s
singular invariables
plural invariables
_regular plurals
r-VOICING---- ^MUTATION - --ÆiVPLURAL- — ZERO ---------
irre- -guiar plurals
•US
•a -ae •um -a •ex, -ix -ices -is -^-es
^FOREIGN •on -a •eau -^-eaux
zero (spelling only)
-o
radius larva stratum matrix thesis criterion tableau
chassis
tempo cherub
.base + -/m Fig 4:1 Number classes
Note
non-count nouns: concrete non-count nouns: abstract proper nouns
some nouns ending in -s abstract adjectival heads
summation plurals
other pluralia tantum in some plural proper nouns unmarked plural nouns personal adjectival heads
gold, furniture music, homework Henry, the Thames news
the beautiful, the true
scissors
thanks
the Netherlands cattle
the rich
boys
calves feet oxen sheep
radii larvae strata
m atrices theses criteria tableaux
chassis
tempi cherubim
In addition to singular and plural number, we may distinguish dual number in the case of both, either, and neither since they can only be used with reference to two.
4.32
Invariable nouns ending in ‘-s’
Note the following classes which take a singular verb, except where otherwise mentioned:
(a) news: The news is bad today
(b) SOME DISEASES: measles, German measles, mumps, rickets,
shingles, Som^ speakers also accept a plural verb.
(c) SUBJECT NAMES IN -ICS (usually with singular verb): das- iics, linguistics, mathematics, phonetics, etc
-boy
.
calf foot ox sheep
77

(d) SOME GAMES: billiards, bowls (esp BrE), darts, dominoes, draughts (BrE), checkers (AmE), fives, ninepins
(e) SOME PROPER NOUNS: Algiers, Athens, Brussels, Flanders, Marseilles, Naples, Wales; the United Nations and the United States have a singular verb when considered as units.
Plural invariable nouns
4.33
SUMMATION PLURALS
Tools and articles of dress consisting of two equal parts which are joined constitute summation plurals. Countability can be imposed by means of a pair of: a pair of scissors, three pairs of trousers.
Note
bellows binoculars pincers pliers scales scissors shears
tongs tweezers glasses spectacles braces (BrE) flannels knickers
pants
pyjamas (BrE), pajamas (AmE) shorts suspenders tights
trousers
[а] Many of the summation plurals can take the indefinite article, especially with premo­ dification: a garden shears, a curling-tongs, etc; obvious treatment as count nouns is not infrequent: several tweezers.
[б] Plural nouns commonly lose the inflection in premodification: a suspender belt.
4.34
OTHER ‘PLURALIA TANTUM’ IN -5
Among other ‘pluralia tantum’ (ie nouns that only occur in the plural), the following nouns end in ~s. In many cases, however, there are forms without -j, sometimes with difference of meaning.
the Middle Ages
amends (make every/all possible
amends) annals
brain(s) (‘intellect’, he’s got good brains, beside a good brain)
clothes (cf cloths, /s/, plural of cloth)
the Commons (the House of Com­ mons)
the Antipodes
archives
arms (‘weapons’, an arms depot) contents (but the silver content of
arrears
ashes (but tobacco ash) auspices
banns (of marriage) bowels
the coin)
customs (customs duty) dregs (coffee d«gs) earnings
entrails
78

fireworks {but he let off a firework) funds (‘money’; but a fund, ‘a source
of money’)
goods (a goods train)
greens
guts (‘bowels’; but cat-gut)
heads (heads or tails?)
holidays (summer holidays, BrE, but
he’s on holiday, he’s taking a
holiday in Spain)
letters (a man of letters)
lodgings
looks (he has good looks)
the Lords (the House of Lords) manners
means (a man of means)
oats
odds (in betting)
outskirts
pains (take pains)
particulars (note the particulars)
Note
premises (‘building’)
quarters, headquarters {but the Latin
quarter)
regards {but win his regard) remains
riches
savings (a savings bank)
spirits (‘mood’; but he has a kindly
spirit)
spirits (‘alcohol’; but alcohol is a
spirit)
stairs (a flight of stairs)
suds
surroundings
thanks
troops {but a troop of scouts) tropics {but the Tropic of Cancer) valuables
wages {but he earns a good wage) wits (she has her wits about her;
but he has a keen wit) Cf also pence in ‘a few pence’, ‘tenpence’, beside the regular penny ~ pennies.
4.35
UNMARKED PLURALS
cattle
clergy {but also singular)
folk {but also informal folks)
gentry man’) people {but regular when = ‘nation’)
Variable nouns
4.36
Regular plurals
Variable nouns have two forms, singular and plural, the singular being the form listed in dictionaries. The vast majority of nouns are variable in this way and normally the plural {s suffix) is fully predictable both in sound and spelling by the same rules as for the -s inflection of verbs. Spelling creates numerous exceptions, however.
(a) Treatment of -y:
Beside the regular spy spies, there are nouns in -y to which s is added:
police
vermin
youth {but regular when = young
79

with proper nouns: the Kennedys, the two Germanys
after a vowel (except the u of -quy): days, boys, journeys in a few other words such as stand-bys.
(b) Nouns of unusual form sometimes pluralize in 's:
letter names: dot your /5
numerals: in the 18Ws (or, increasingly, 1890s) abbreviations: two MP's (or, increasingly, MPs)
(c) Nouns in -o have plural in -os, with some exceptions having either optional or obligatory -oes

Plurals in -os and -oes:
archipelago, banjo, buffalo, cargo, commando, flamingo, halo,
motto, tornado, volcano Plurals only in -oes:
echo, embargo, hero, Negro, potato, tomato, torpedo, veto
4.37
Compounds
Compounds form the plural in different ways, but (c) below is the most usual.
(a) PLURAL IN FIRST ELEMENT
80
attorney general
notary public passer-by mother-in-law grant-in-aid man-of-war coat of mail mouthful spoonrul
attorneys general,but more usually as (c)
notaries public
passers-by
mothers-in-law, butalso as (c) informally grants-in-aid
men-of-war coats of mail
mouthsfull ^
I !>"al» » w
(b) PLURAL IN BOTH FIRST AND LAST ELEMENT
gentleman farmer manservant woman doctor
gentlemen farmers menservants women doctors
(c) PLURAL IN LAST ELEMENT {ie normal)
assistant director assistant directors
So also: boy friend, fountain pen, woman-hater, breakdown, grown-up, sit-in, stand-by, take-off, forget-me-not, etc

Irregular plurals
4.38
Irregular plurals are by definition unpredictable and have to be learned as individual items. In many cases where foreign words are involved, it is of course helpful to know about pluralization in the relevant languages particularly Latin and Greek. Thus, on the pattern of
analysis analyses
we can infer the correct plurals:
axis-♦ axes basis-♦ bases crisis-> crises, etc
But we cannot rely on etymologicalcriteria: plurals like areas and villas, for example, donot conform to theLatin pattern {areae, villae).
4.39
VOICING + -5 PLURAL
Some nouns which in the singular end in the voiceless fricatives spelled •th and -/ have voiced fricatives in theplural, followed by /z/. In one case the voiceless fricative is /s/ and the plural has /ziz/: house houses.
(a) Nouns in -th
There in no change in spelling.
With a consonant before the -th, the plural is regular: berth, birth, length, etc.
With a vowel before the -th, the plural is again often regular, as with cloth, death, faith, moth, but in a few cases the plural has voicing {mouth, path), and in several cases there are both regular and voiced plurals: bath, oath, sheath, truth, wreath, youth.
(b) Nouns in -f{e)
Plurals with voicing are spelled -ves.
Regular plural only: belief, chief, cliff, proof, roof, safe.
Voiced plural only: calf elf, half, knife, leaf life, loaf, self, sheaf, shelf, thief, wife, wolf.
Both regular and voiced plurals: dwarf, handkerchief, hoof, scarf, wharf
Note
The painting term still life has a regular plural: still Hfes.
4.40
MUTATION
Mutation involes a change of vowel in the following seven nouns:
foot ~ feet tooth teeth goose geese
man
louse
mouse mice
men woman women lice /u/ /i/
81

Note
With womanjwomen, the pronunciation differs in the first syllable only, while postmanlpost- men, Englishmanl-men, etc have no difference in pronunciation at all between singular and plural.
4.41
THE -EN PLURAL
This occurs in three nouns:
brother
child ox
brethrenbrethren (with mutation) = ‘fellow members of a religious society’; otherwise regular brothers
children (with vowel change /ai/ /1/) oxen
ZERO PLURAL
4.42
Some nouns have the same spoken and written form in both singular and plural. Note the difference here between, on the one hand, in­ variable nouns, which are either singular (This music is. too loud) or plural (All the cattle are grazing in the field), and, on the other, zero plural nouns, which can be both singular and plural (This sheep looks small; All those sheep are mine).
4.43
Animal names
Animal names ©ften have zero plurals. They tend to be used partly by people who are especially concerned with animals, partly when the animals are referred to as game. Where there are two plurals, the zero plural is the more common in contexts of hunting, etc, eg: We caught only a few fish, whereas the regular plural is used to denote different individuals or species: the fishes of the Mediterranean.
4.44
The degree of variability with animal names is shown by the following lists:
Regular plural: bird, cow, eagle, hen, rabbit, etc
Usually regular: elk, crab, duck (zero only with the wild bird) Both plurals: antelope, reindeer, fish, flounder, herring
Usually zero: pike, trout, carp, deer, moose
Only zero: grouse, sheep, plaice, salmon
4.45
Quantitative nouns
The numeral nouns hundred, thousand, and usually million have zero plurals except when unpremodified; so too dozen, brace, head (of cattle), yoke (rare), gross, stone (BrE weight).
82

He always wanted to have hundreds¡thousands of books and he has recently bought four hundred!thousand
Other* quantitative and partitive nouns can be treated similarly, though the zero plurals are commoner in informal or technical usage:
Dozens of glasses; tons of coal He is six foot/feet (tall)
He bought eight ton(s) of coal
Note
Plural measure expressions are normally singularized when they premodify: a fivc-pound note, a ten-second pause.
4.46
Nouns’in -(e)s
A few nouns in -(e)s can be treated as singular or plural:
He gave one series!two series of lectures
So too species. With certain other nouns such as barracks, gallows, headquarters, means, {steel) works, usage varies; they are sometimes treated as variable nouns with zero plurals, sometimes as ‘pluralia
tantum’.
FOREIGN PLURALS
4.47
Foreign plurals often occur along with regular plurals. They are commoner in technical usage, whereas the -s plural is more natural in everyday language; thus formulas (general) formulae (in mathematics), antennas (general and in electronics) antennae (in biology).
Our aim here will be to survey systematically the main types of foreign plurals that are used in present-day English and to consider the extent to which a particular plural form is obligatory or optional. Most (but by no means all) words having a particular foreign plural orig­ inated in the language mentioned in the heading.
4.48
Nouns in ’US (Latin)
The foreign plural is -/, as in stimulus ^ stimuli.
Only regular plural {-uses): bonus, campus, chorus, circus, virus, etc Both plurals: cactus, focus, fungus, nucleus, radius, terminus, syllabus Only foreign plural: alumnus, bacillus, locus, stimulus
Note
The usual plurals of corpus and genus are corpora, genera,
83

4.49
Nouns in -a (Latin)
The foreign plural is -ae, as in alumna ^ alumnae.
Only regular plural {-as): area, arena, dilemma, diploma, drama, etc Both plurals: antenna, formula, nebula, vertebra
Only foreign plural: alga, alumna, larva
4.50
Nouns in -um (Latin)
The foreign plural is -a, as in curriculum ^ curricula
Only regular plural: album, chrysanthemum, museum, etc Usually regular: forum, stadium, ultimatum
Both plurals: aquarium, medium, memorandum, symposium Usually foreign plural: curriculum
Only foreign plural: addendum, bacterium, corrigendum, desideratum, erratum, ovum, stratum
Note
Media with reference to press and radio and stratawith rcfcrenceto socicty are sometimes used informally as singular. In the case of data, reclassincation as a sin­ gular non-count noun is widespread, and the technical singular datum is rather rare.
4.51
Nouns in -ex, -ix (Latin)
The foreign plural is -ices, as in index ^ indices.
Both regular and foreign plurals: apex,index, vortex, appendix, matrix
Only foreign plural: codex
4.52
Nouns in ’is (Greek)
The foreign plural is -es, as in basis ^ bases
Regular plural (-ises): metropolis
Foreign plural: analysis, axis, basis, crisis, diagnosis, ellipsis, hypothesis,
oasis, parenthesis, synopsis, thesis
4.53
Nouns in -on (Greek)
The foreign plural is -a, as in criterion ^ criteria.
Only regular plurals: demon, electron, neutron, proton
Chiefly regular: ganglion 84

Both plurals: automaton
Only foreign plural: criterion, phenomenon
Note
Informally, criteria and phenomena are sometimes used as singulars. 4.54
French nouns
A few nouns in -e{a)u retain the French -x as the spelling of the plural, beside the commoner -5, but the plurals are almost always pronounced as regular, /z/, irrespective of spelling, eg\ adieu, bureau, tableau, plateau,
4.55
Some French nouns in -s or -k are pronounced with a final vowel in the singular and with a regular /z/ in the plural, with no spelling change: chamois, chassis, corps, faux pas, patois.
4.56
Nouns in ’O (Italian)
The foreign plural is -/ as in tempo ^ tempi. Only regular plural: soprano
Usually regular plural: virtuoso, libretto, solo, tempo Note
Graffiti is usually a ‘pluralia tantum’, confetti, spaghetti non-count singular.
4.57
Hebrew nouns
The foreign plural is -im, as in kibbutz ^ kibbutzim.
Usually regular: cherub, seraph Only foreign plural: kibbutz
Gender
4.58
English makes very few gender distinctions. Where they are made, the connection between the biological category ‘sex’ and the grammatical category ‘gender’ is very close, insofar as natural sex distinctions de­ termine English gender distinctions.
It is further typical of English that special suffixes are not gen­ erally used to mark gender distinctions. Nor are gender distinctions made in the article. Some pronouns are gender-sensitive (the personal he, she, it, and the relative who, which), but others are not {they,
85

some, these, etc). The patterns of pronoun substitutions for singular nouns give us a set of ten gender classes as illustrated in Fig 4:2.
animate
'non­ personal I
inanimate •
, E collective family
GENDER EXAM­ PRONOUN CLASSES PLES SUBSTITUTION
^A masculine ,Bfeminine
uncle who - he aunt who- she doctor who - he/she
Cdual
, D common baby
{who - helshel?it which -it
{which - it who - they
Vsomeone, somebody {some people E)
something {some- where H, J)
masculine ,Fhigher
animal
feminine G higher
animal
Hhigher organism
bull {which- it Cwho) - he
cow {which - it Owho) - she
France which - it/she
I lower animal ant J inanimate box
which - it
Fig 4:2 Gender classes
4.59
|A/B] Personal masculine/feminine nouns
These nouns are of two types. Type (i) has no overt marking that suggests morphological correspondence between masculine and feminine,
whereas in Type (ii) the two gender forms lationship.
have a derivational re­
(i)
morphologically bachelor
spinster sister mother lady
bride duchess empress goddess heroine
king man monk uncle •
host
steward
waiter waitress widower widow usher usherette
unmarked for gender
(ii)
morphologi­ cally marked for gender
brother father gentleman
bridegroom duke emperor ,5od
lero
queen woman nun aunt
86
hostess
stewardess

Some nlasculine/feminine pairs denbting kinship have common (dual) generic terms, for example, parent for fatherlmother, and child for sonjdaughter as well as for boylgirl. Some optional feminine forms (poetess, authoress, etc) are now rare, being replaced by the dual gender forms (poet, author, etc).
4.60
(CJ Personal dual gender
This is a large class including, for example, the following:
artist fool chairman foreigner
musician servant neighbour speaker novelist student parent teacher person writer professor
cook criminal doctor enemy
friend guest inhabitant librarian
For clarity, it is sometimes necessary to use a ‘gender marker’:
boy friend girl friend
man student woman student
The dual class is on the increase, but the expectation that a given activity is largely male or female dictates the frequent use of sex mark­ ers: thus a nurse, but a male nurse\ an engineer but a woman engineer.
Note
Where such nouns are used gcnerically, neither gender is relevant though a masculine reference pronoun may be used:
If any student calls, leW him Fll be back soon
When they arc used with specific reference, they must of course be either masculine or
feminine and the context may clearly imply the gender in a given case: I met a {handsome) student (and he ...)
I met a {beautifut) student (and she ...)