The gram.Category of number is expressed through the opposition of the singular form of the noun to the plural form of the noun.

The only productive formal marker of the category in modern English is the inflexion – (e) s.

Besides regular marking of the gram.category of number, modern English also has some irregular (non-productive) ways of expressing the number opposition. (the vowel interchange: tooth – teeth; the archaic suffix – en; specific suffixes for singular and plural forms in words (mainly terms) of Latin and Greek origin and also in some words of French origin: datum – data; the formal coincidence of singular and plural forms of the noun: fish – fish)

All uncountable nouns are generally classified into two major subgroups:

• Singularia tantum (only singular): happiness, milk,money

• Pluralia tantum (only plural): trousers, recources

The category of case is expressed in English by the opposition of the common case to the possessive case.

The formal marker of this gram.category in modern English is the formant – ‘s.

The formant – ‘s is preferably added to animate nouns (girl’s legs, the legs of the table)

Textually the formant – ‘s occurs only in the subject, never in the object syntactic position: My mother’s choice of flowers

The problem of gender

Some English nouns can show gender distinctions, reflecting the gender of their referents – males and females.

But this gender expression is done lexically (not grammatically), by the following linguistic means:

• The use of different lexemes: father – mother

• The combination with a notional word that bearing a gender differentiation, is used as the gender indicator: boy-friend – girl-friend.

• The use of suffixal derivation, which is lexico-gram.linguistic means: actor – actress

The article

The article is a functional part of speech that serves to determine the noun by accompanying it.

The definite article expresses the identification or individualization of the nounal referent.

The indefinite article expresses the classifying generalization of the nounal referent.

The correlation of the articles meanings with other English determiners meanings makes it possible to group all noun determiners as centered around the definite/indefinite article, which results in obtaining of the following two sets of noun determiners.

A

(generalizing semantics)

Any some another every no

The

(individualizing semantics)

This/these my his

That/those our her

Same your its

Their

Coordination. The notion of parataxis.

Coordination is the SR of independence.

In syntax it is called parataxis.

Conjunction is SR between two or more homogeneous coordinate units called conjunts.

Her blue (and) shining eyes

Time he has, (but) money he has not

Adnection is SR intermediate between coordination and subordination.

If the adnect is a nominal unit, the SR is called the apposition and the adnect is called the appositive

Book cover

The appositive is used to give another name to the object nominated by the head-noun.

Types of apposition:

• Determining

Aunt Polly – head

• Descriptive

• Indentifying

President, Mr. Obama, was there.

• Explanatory

She had the feeling that she wasn’t expected.

• Obligatory

We found him in a place, where he was having lunch

• Optional

We live in Cherkasy, in our native town.

Subordination. The notion of hypotaxis.

• The head – a main unit

• The adjunct – a dependent unti

Adjunction is extention

Extention

• Modification (blue eyes)

• Complementation – verbal head

To read a book – complement

Modification

It is a syntactic process of adjunction type, when the adjunct (a modifier) stands in attributive relations to its head ( the nominal)

Complementation

Is a syntactic process of the adjunction type, due to which SR of subordination between a ver-head and its adjunct (the compliment) is established.

Syntactic process

• Expansion – adding units of the same status.

1. Apposition

2. Specification

3. Enumeration (repetition)

• Extension – adding one or more dependent unit(s)

1. Modification

2. Complementation

• Complication

the predicate

the object

the subject

the predicative

• Contamination – the process of formation of a “double predicate”

The moon rose red

• Adjoinment – the process of the use of particles

• Enclosure

• Substitution

• Ellipsis