General characteristics of the noun as a part of speech. The problem of gender. Means of expressing gender.

 The N  as part of speech is recognized by all libguists. A notional POS. Semantically, n-s have the m-ng of substance (express substantivity), names of objects. Morphologically, the n has 2 grammatical categories: № & case(common & genitive); possesses typical word-building suffixes (friendship, freedom,, whiteness) Syntactically, Funct-ns: a) comb-ng with Ws to form phrases, with preceding & follow. Adj (large room; times immemorial), with a preceding N in common & g-ve case (iron bar; boy’s map), with Vs (play games), Adv (the man there; the then president), prep (in a house, house of rest), is preceded by art (the/a map). In a sent can be the subj or the pred-ve or an obj, an attr & adv. modif. It can also make part of each of thesePOS preceded by a prep. Right-hand combinability: infinitives, a finite verb form (a n and a finite verb form build a clause when taken together).

Gender (G). In En is not richly developed, some say it doesn’t exist. It is defined in terms of the proN substitute he, she, it, which may be used in its place. G involves not only substit-n but also concord. G– a set of syntactic subclasses of Ns controlling concordance. G is based on 2 oppos-ns: 1 functions in the whole set of Ns, dividing’em into person/non-pers Ns; 2^nd – in the subdivision of pers Ns- masc & feminine Ns.Þ 3 G-s: the neuter (non-pers), the masc ( man, boy), femin ( woman, bride). Person Ns-boy , non-pers – tree, love, cat, crowd). Pers Ns can have common G (person, friend, doctor). En Ns can show sex of the referent either by means of being combined with certain notional Ws used as sex-indicators or by suffixal deriv-n (boy-fr, washer-man; he-bear, she-bear, actor, actress).

The category of number of nouns. The meaning of the singular and the plural number in Modern English.

The category of number is represented by the opposition of 2 forms: Sq vs PI.

They show whether the noun denotes one object or more. Formally the category of number is expressed by the opposition of 2 morphemes:

1) The morpheme of singularity = the zero morpheme

2) The morpheme of plurality => there are variants:

a) productive morphemes: the phonologically conditioned allomorphs

b) non-productive: oxen, children

THE MEANING OF Sg AND PI

The meaning of the category of number is often described as "oneness or

more than oneness". BUT:

Grammarians agree that the grammatical meaning of a plural form is more than oneness:boys, boys, boys.

But a singular form doesn't always denote oneness:Silence fell. He doesn 't like tea. The telephone was invented by me. -> Though the nouns are used in the Sg they don't denote one object. They denote abstract notions/ materials which cannot be counted (= uncountable).

=> It is more logical to say that the gr. meaning of a noun in the Sg is not oneness, but it is opposite to plurality. => Бархударов suggested

the term "non-plurality".Good for him.

So the meaning of non-plurality includes the following meanings:

1.oneness proper a boy, a man, a club

2.uncountability love, sex, profit

3.generalization The lion roars and eats lazy girls.

=> The meaning of the unmarked form in the category of number (Sg) is very broad and less definite than the meaning of the marked form (Pl).