1.1. Sd based on the use of nouns

            The invariant grammatical meaning of the noun, that of substance, is realized through grammatical categories of number, case definiteness/ indefiniteness which can be used for stylistic purposes.

            Such SD may be based on a) repeating the same words in a syntactical construction, e.g. women are women, or b) using metaphorically nouns which belong to different lexico-grammatical classes, e.g.He is a devil with the women (S.Barstow).

            In the opposition of singular :: plural the latter is a marked member, and, accordingly, the possibilities of its stylistic use are greater. Nevertheless, singular forms can also acquire stylistic meaning, e.g. to shoot dark, to hunt pig. The formant ‘s’ as the marker of the category of possessiveness constantly widens the sphere of its usage and its combinability. It frequently combines with inanimate and abstract nouns, e.g. kitchen’s work, the plan’s failure. Sometimes it refers to a word group or a sentence, e.g. The blonde I had been dancing with’s name was Bemice Crabs or Krebs (J. Salinger). As a result, the opposition N1 of N2 :: N2’s N1 loses its stylistic character.

 

1.2. Sd based on the use of articles

            Articles which form the nucleus of the category of definiteness / indefiniteness in modern English may be regarded as analytical formants that might impact to the noun a stylistic coloring.

            There are two ways of achieving a stylistic effect through the usage or non-usage of  articles:

1) the violation of usual combinability of the definite and indefinite articles with proper names and the nouns denoting unique objects (sun, moon, sky, earth). The indefinite article with proper names might acquire evaluative meaning. While the definite article indicates a temporary or permanent quality of the person in question. Names of unique objects while used with the indefinite article acquire the meaning "one of many”;

2) the transposition of the meaning of an article in context. In this case the objects or phenomena are introduced by the narrator as if they are familiar to the reader. This device is sometimes called in medias res (the beginning from the middle).

 

1.3. Sd based on the use of adjectives

In contrast with nouns, adjectives have only one grammatical category, that of comparison. The violation of morphemic combinability in adjectives which express different degree of comparison are typical of advertising techniques, e.g. the most Italian car. The meaning of comparison can be also expressed lexically through equonisms, e.g. senior – junior, and adjectives with the –ish suffix, e.g. mannish, womanish, which are occasional words which sound less categoric.   

 

1.4. Sd based on the use of pronouns

 

Being very abstract, pronouns in contrast with nouns and adjectives are rarely used stylistically, which makes their stylistic usage especially expressive.

Pronouns may acquire stylistic value if they denote persons or objects that have not been named or introduced but are still represented as familiar. This device, in media res plunges the reader into the midst of  events, making the author’s narrative more intimate (see E. Hemingway’s stories Now I Lay Me and In Another Country).

A particular stylistic effect may be created due to the usage of archaic (thee, thou, thy) or low colloquial forms of pronouns. While archaic forms make the speech sound official, solemn, or poetical, low colloquial forms usually render some speech characteristics. Pronouns can also undergo various contextual transpositions:

1) when we is used instead of I (I → we transposition):

a) Pluralis Auctoris ("editorial we”), when the author speaks on behalf of a certain group, party, or class;

b) Pluralis Majestatis, when we is used as a symbol of royal power;

c) Pluralis Modestial, when we is used as a means of involving the reader or listener into the author’s thoughts. It is typical of oral or written scientific prose;

d) when we is employed to impart to the utterance a jocular unceremonious coloring;

            2) I  → one transposition which gives an utterance a more general, impersonal character;

            3) I → you transposition which frequently occurs in reported speech and some descriptions;

            4) I → he/she transposition that takes place when:

                        a) the speaker tells his/her life story as an onlooker;

                        b) the speaker addresses himself/herself as an interlocuter;

                        c) the speaker overstresses his/her relevance;

                        d) the speaker laughs away what is said about him/her by the others;

            5) you → we ("clinical we”) transposition, which conveys a patronizing attitude of the senior superior to the junior/inferior. It can also create a humorous effect.