Chapter 4: Nouns, pronouns and the simple noun phrase

Nouns

Types of nouns

1. Common nounsa) Abstract

and

Concrete

b) Countable

and

Uncountable2. Proper nouns3. Package nouns

1.

Collective

nouns2.

Unit

nouns

3.

Quantifying

nouns4.

Species

nouns

1. Common

nounsa) Abstract and Concrete nouns

•

Both

Count

and

Uncount

nouns

can be divided into

abstract

and

concrete types.

•

Concrete nouns

refer

to

entities

which

can be observed

and

measured, such

as horse,

butter, car.•

Abstract nouns

refer

to

unobservable

notions,

such

as difficulty, idea, certainty, remark.•

The

distinction

seems

straighforward, but

in

fact

it

can be quite difficult

deciding

whether

a word

is

being

used

in a purely

abstract

or

concrete way.•

Nouns

such

as structure, version, music,

permit

both abstract

and

concrete interpretations.

1. Common

nounsb) Countable: they have a sing. & a plural form;

they can be counted. They refer to persons, objects, places … specific quantities of substances, materials, liquids, gases; specific realizations of abstract realities.This category includes, in addition to the easily identifiable words such as book, dog:

•

Plural invariable nouns (Quirk et al. 5.76) which include:

1.

‘summation plurals’2. ‘pluralia tantum’3. unmarked plural nouns

Plural invariable nouns1- ‘summation plurals’ denote tools, instruments and articles of dress

consisting of 2 equal parts which are joined together

e.g. glasses, binoculars, scissors, tweezers, scales, jeans, pants, pyjamas, shorts, trousers …How much are those pyjamas? They are 65 euros

You can also say ‘a pair of’:I like this pair. How much are they/ is it?

2- ‘pluralia tantum’ ending in -s [= nouns that in a given sense occur only in the plural] e.g. brains, clothes, congratulations, customs, guts, looks, outskirts, regards, remains, thanks … They have plural concord.These are the minutes of the meeting (= el acta

de una

reunión).

I like the clothes you wear. (= la ropa)You’ve got some guts, (= narices

(valor)

you should use your brains (=la cabeza, el cerebro)Go through customs (=aduana)

3- unmarked plural nouns: They have no plural marking (no inflection) BUT are used as plurals.

people, folk, police, cattle,

The police are coming

1. Common nounsb) Uncountable: they cannot be counted. They refer

to substances (steel), materials (paper) , liquids (water), gases (air), abstract realities (love, poverty, expectation) …

This category includes singular invariable nouns:•

notably news:That’s the best piece of news I’ve heard in a long time!No news is good news

•

nouns ending in -ics (linguistics, athletics …),•

diseases ending in -s (measles, mumps, shingles)

“Two loves I have of comfort and despair” by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 144Two loves I have of comfort and despair, Which like two spirits do suggest me still: The better angel is a man right fair, The worser spirit a woman colour'd ill. To win me soon to hell, my female evil, Tempteth my better angel from my side, And would corrupt my saint to be a devil, Wooing his purity with her foul pride. And whether that my angel be turn'd fiend, Suspect I may, yet not directly tell; But being both from me, both to each friend, I guess one angel in another's hell: Yet this shall I ne'er know, but live in doubt, Till my bad angel fire my good one out.

1. Common nouns

•

THREE POINTS:–

Many nouns are both C and NC.

–

NC nouns cannot be used in the plural.–

Certain determiners cannot be used with NC nouns.

“I saw…” The test for noun classes (Quirk et al.5.2) * not valid

Peter, book, furniture, brick

1Proper noun

2Count noun

3Uncount

2+3Either count or uncount

Zero article/No

article

Peter book furniture brick

the the Peter the book the furniture the brick

a A Peter a book a furniture a brick

some some Peter some book some furniture

some brick

plural Peters books furnitures bricks

Count and Noncount nouns•

The

clear

grammatical

differences

are:

1. Count

nouns

cannot

stand alone

in the

singular (*I saw book), but

noncounts

can (chess is fun, music is my life).

2. Count

nouns

allow

a plural (I like books), noncount

nouns do not. (*furnitures, *musics).

3. Count

nouns

occur

in the

singular with

‘a’ (a book); noncount nouns with ‘some’ (we need some furniture). Both types can occur with ‘the’ (the book, the furniture)

4. Some

nouns

can be either

count

or

noncount, depending

on their

meaning:

I’ve had many odd experiences (something that happens to you)I’ve not had much experience (knowledge or skill obtained)

Ex 4.1 Test these words in order to see whether they are countable or uncountable. Translate the Spanish sentence using the English word given.

Eg. Tengo un mueble que quiero vender. (furniture)*I have a furniture that I want to sell.I have a piece of furniture I want to sell.√Conclusion: mueble is c.; furniture is unc.Do the same with these pairs of words:1 Tengo una noticia

que te va a sorprender. (news)

2 No me des más consejos. (advice)3 Prefiero el arroz al pan. (rice)4 No puedes salir con esos pelos. (hair)5 Sus conocimientos

de África … (knowledge)

6 Se distinguen varios comportamientos

según la edad. (behaviour)

7 Había un tráfico

denso. (traffic)8 Deja las compras

en la mesa por favor. (shopping)

9 Ha hecho varios trabajos

para el Ayuntamiento. (work)10 Algunas informaciones

no eran correctas. (information)

1 Tengo una noticia

que te va a sorprender. (news)I have got a piece of / an item of news which is going to surprise you. (some)2 No me des más consejos. (advice)Do not give me any more pieces of advice. (a piece of advice)3 Prefiero el arroz al pan. (rice)I prefer rice to bread.4 No puedes salir con esos pelos. (hair)You can’t go out with that hair.5 Sus conocimientos

de África … (knowledge)

His knowledge of / about Africa6 Se distinguen varios comportamientos

según la edad. (behaviour)

Several types / kinds of behaviour are distinguished according to /depending on the age.

7 Había un tráfico

denso. (traffic)The traffic was (horrendous) / dense / heavy. There was / heavy traffic.8 Deja las compras

en la mesa por favor. (shopping)

Leave the shopping on the table.9 Ha hecho varios trabajos

para el Ayuntamiento. (work)

He has done a lot / some work for the City Hall / Council10 Algunas informaciones

no eran correctas. (information)

Some of the information was not correct.Some of the items of information were not correct.

2. Proper

nouns•

Most proper nouns take capital letters:

1.

names of people: John Brown2.

names of places: Spain

3.

names of organizations, institutions, religions: the Town Hall; the University of Zaragoza; Catholicism …

4.

names of periods of time: Saturday, July, Christmas …5. address terms for family members: Hey, Mum! Uncle

Fred! …6.

people or bodies with unique public function: the Pope, the President, the King …

7. languages, nationalities & ethnic groups: English, Aragonese, the Irish …

8.

nouns (and adjectives) derived from proper nouns: Marxism, a Londoner, Victorian …

2. Proper nouns•

Proper nouns do not usually have contrasts of singular/plural

or

definite/indefinite. But note the difference bet. Spanish & English:Los Pérez (unmarked plural); the Smiths (plural marked with -s).

•

Proper nouns can act as common nouns:

•

He believes he is a Shakespeare (an author like Shakespeare)•

I used to know a Juan Pérez

•

A Mr White was trying to contact you•

That Mr White has phoned you again

•

I used to know John Lennon quite well. Surely you can mean the John Lennon?

•

In the England of Shakespeare•

Poor old Charles

•

The beautiful Princess Diana (but

Princess Diana)•

The Dr Brown I know comes from Australia

•

The Zaragoza I grew up in has changed a lot.

3. Package

nouns

They include the 4 categories of countable common nouns:

1. Collective nouns2. Unit (or

Partitive) nouns

3. Quantifying nouns4. Species nouns

All package nouns are followed by of-phrases.

3. Package nouns3.1. Collective nounsNouns that refer to groups of people, animals or things; They behave like countable nouns (2+3).•

some are general or neutral (group, crowd …)

•

others have specific connotations (bunch, flock, gang …).

•

Set of is used for abstract nouns: a set of assumptions, conditions, but also for group of things.

•

Some collective nouns have rigid collocations* (cf. a pack of lies/ una sarta de mentiras)

*collocations (Glossary) a combination of lexical words which frequently co-occur in texts

Herd

of

cows, host

of

stars, series of

accidents, shoal

of

fish, swarm

of

bees, troop of

inspectors.

3.

Package

nouns/1.collective

nouns

•

Ex 4.2 Decide whether the collective noun is ‘neutral’, whether it colours the noun that it goes with or whether it is a hard-and-fast collocation.

•

a group of children•

a gang of boys

•

a set of spoons•

a herd of tourists

•

a swarm of bees •

a flight of stairs

3.

Package

nouns/1.collective

nouns•

Ex 4.2 Decide whether the collective noun is ‘neutral’, whether it colours the noun that it goes with or whether it is a hard-and-fast collocation.

•

a group of children (neutral)•

a gang of boys (colours: boys=criminals)

•

a set of spoons (neutral? colloc?)•

a herd of tourists (colours: tourists=characterless animals)

•

a swarm of bees (rigid colloc.)•

a flight of stairs (rigid colloc., a set of stairs, usu. between two floors of a building) we live up three flights of stairs

3. Package nouns3. 2. Unit (or Partitive) nounsThese nouns are usually used to refer to a

unit of something designated by an uncountable noun: a bit of wood/ a piece of cheese / an item of information.

Unit noun (Count)+ of + Uncountable.Singular partitives Plural PartitivesA piece of cake two pieces of cakeA bit of chalk some bits of chalkAn item of news several items of news

a lump of sugar but also two sugars

3. Package

nouns

/Unit (or Partitive) nouns

•

Ex 4.3 Provide suitable ‘unit nouns’ that collocate with the following nouns:

1. a _ of paper2. a _ of advice3. a _ of coal4. a _ of bread5. a _ of string6. a_ of water7. a_ of bacon8. a_ of dust9. a _ of chocolate10. a_ of applause

3.Package

nouns

/Unit (or Partitive) nouns

•

Ex 4.3 Provide suitable ‘unit nouns’ that collocate with the following nouns:

1. a sheet of paper2. a piece/word of advice3. a lump of coal4. a loaf /slice of bread5. a ball/piece/foot of string6. a drop of water7. a rasher/ slice of bacon8. a speck of dust9. a chunk/bar of chocolate10. a round of applause

3. Package

nouns3.3. Quantifying Nouns•

These nouns refer to quantities: a kilo of pears.

•

Structure: QN + of + Count or Uncount

Noun. a pile of bricks / a pile of rubbish•

Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish them from unit nouns: a roll of cloth could very well refer to a ‘unit’ or to a ‘quantity’. Biber

distinguishes 7 kinds:

i) nouns that quantify by referring to a container: a basket of fruit/ a box of matches /a cup of tea …

ii) nouns that quantify by referring to shape: a heap of leaves/ a mountain of work /a pile of money…

iii) nouns that quantify in officially recognized measures: a gallon of petrol/ three miles of motorway …

3. Package

nouns•

3.3. Quantifying Nouns (cont.)

iv) nouns that are plural numerals: dozens/ hundreds/ thousands/ millions of stars

v) nouns that refer to large quantities: loads/ masses/ heaps/ tons of fans (mogollón) (unga bunga things to do)

vi) nouns ending in -ful: two teaspoonfuls of olive oil.

-ful can be added to virtually any container: glass, cup, bottle, fist, hand, mouth, room, house, classroom, church

(handful= puñado)vii) the nouns pair &

couple are used differently. Pair often

implies that the items are joined (a pair of scissors/ glasses);

couple usually means a few (wait a couple of

minutes)

in conversation.

3. Package

nouns3.4. Species Nouns•

These refer to the species or type rather than the quantity of the following noun: two types of novel, this sort of character, that kind of film

•

Species nouns can be followed by uncountable nouns (an excellent class of beer) or by countable nouns, in which case there is a choice of singular or plural for both nouns:

I don’t like this kind of question (sg

+ sg)I don’t like this (or these) kind of questions (sg

+ pl)

I don’t like these kinds of question (pl + sg)I don’t like these kinds of questions (pl + pl)•

students are advised to use their Spanish instinct here, where the rules of concord are much more logical: no me gusta este tipo de pregunta/ hay dos tipos de pregunta que no me gustan.

3. Package

nouns

•

3.4. Species NounsSort of and

kind of are the

most

common, but

do

not confuse with

the

stance

adverbs, used

to convey

imprecision, very

common

in

conversation

(they

are called

‘hedges’)It was kind of strangeI just sort of managed to do what the teacher

wanted

Noun v. Determiner (LGSWE 4.3.8)

It is not always easy to distinguish the head of an NP, esp. with quantifying nouns and species nouns. Cf.

We drank our bottle of champagne. (How much champagne did we drink?) and

He uncorked the bottle of Chablis. (What did he uncork?)

It could be argued that champagne is the head in the 1st & bottle in 2nd.

A bottle of X could be interpreted either way depending on the circumstances

Noun v. Determiner (LGSWE 4.3.8)Combinations of quantifying nouns + of specify the reference of a

following noun in much the same way as quantifying determiners. Cf

We knew masses of people (QN)Loads of people go out there (QN)AndThere were lots of people going through the hills (QD)A number of people said to me how much they enjoyed the party (QD)

It is not possible to draw a clear borderline bet. QN and QD in these cases.

Variation in form

(use of adjective modifiers) may indicate a noun instead of a determiner, as in

a great mass of or a large mass of.

But even combinations generally analysed

as determiners have possibilities of expansion:

a mere few / a select few / a whole lot of etc.

Noncounts

and

their

Count

equivalents•

Apart

from

a tendency

for

concrete nouns

to

be count and

for

abstract to

be noncount, there

is

no necessary

connection between

the

classes

of

nouns

and

the

entities

to

which

they

refer. Many

noncount

have

an

equivalent

countable

expression. Examples:

NONCOUNT NOUN COUNT EQUIVALENT

This is important information a piece / bit / word of informationHave you any news? a piece /a bit / an item of good newsSome good advice a piece / word of good adviceWarm applause a round of applauseHow’s business? a piece/ bit of businessExpensive furniture a piece / an article/a suite of furnitureWhat (bad/good) luck! a piece of (bad/good) luckThe interest is only 5 per cent a (low) rate of interestThere is evidence that… a piece of evidence