章振邦英语语法教程-Lecture-7-Number-and-Genitive

Lecture7NumberandGenitive

7.1Number

Inthebroadestsenseoftheword,NUMBERreferstoagrammaticalclassificationusedintheanalysisofwordclasseswhichhavecontrastsbetweensingularandplural.NumbercontrastsinEnglishareseeninnouns(boy,boys),pronouns(she,they,this,these),determiners(this,these,each,all),andverbs(say,says,was,were).Butinthepresentlecture,thesenseofNUMBERisrestrictedonlytothenumberformsinnouns.

1)Regularandirregularplural

Individualnounsareallcountableandthereforehavesingularandpluralforms.Thesingularformofanindividualnoun,whichsharesthesameformasthebaseoftheword,cantakesuchdeterminersasa(n)andone(e.g.:a/onedesk,an/onearticle).Thepluralformofanindividualnouncanberegularorirregular.Theregularpluralisformedbyadding–sor–estothebase(e.g.:days,houses,donkeys,tomatoes,boxes,churches,brushes,classes,babies,countries,loaves,wives,etc/),whiletheirregularpluralisnotformedinthesamewaybutbyothermeanssuchasbychangingtheinternalvowelsorbychangingtheendingofthenoun(e.g.:tooth—teeth,man—men,mouse—mice,child—children,ox—oxen).

Irregularpluralsalsoincludesomewordsofforeignorigin,borrowedfromGreek,LatinorFrench.Thepluralformsoftheseborrowedwordsareknownas“foreignplurals”,e.g.:

basis—basescriterion—criteria

stratum—strataalumnus—alumni

Someborrowedwordshavetwoplurals—aforeignpluralandanEnglishplural,e.g.:

medium—media—mediums

index—indices—indexes

formula—formulae—formulas

curriculum—curricula—curriculums

Forsomenouns,theirsingularandpluralnumberssharethesameform,e.g.:

adeer—tendeer

onefish—severalfish

aJapanese—agroupofJapanese

anaircraft—ahundredaircraft

2)Numberformsofthecollective,material,abstractandpropernoun

a)Numberformsofthecollectivenoun

Somecollectivenounsarecountable,somearenot.Countablecollectivenounsbehavejustlikeindividualnouns.Anuncountablecollectivenounhasnopluralform.Ifwewanttocountthenumber,westillhavetouseakindofindividualnounrelatedsemanticallytothecollective(e.g.:apieceoffurniture,twoarticlesofequipment).Thereisalsoakindofcollectivenounwhichcanbeusedeitherinthesingularorinthepluralsense.Whenviewedasasingleunit,thecollectiveissingularinmeaningandistobefollowedbyasingularverb.When,ontheotherhand,thenounisusedtorefertotheindividualsthatformthecollective,itispluralinmeaningandshouldbefollowedbyapluralverb.

b)Numberformsofthematerialnoun

Materialnounsaregenerallyuncountableandhavenopluralforms.Buttherearesomesuchitemsthatcanbeusedeitheruncountablyorcountably.Whenusedtomeanthematerialitself,theyareuncountable,butwhenusedinothersenses,forexample,twocoffeesinthesenseof“twocupfulsofcoffee”,theyarecountable,behavingjustlikeindividualnouns.Therearealsomaterialnounsthatcantakepluralendings,forexample,sands/watersinthesenseof“largeexpanseofsandorwater”andfoods/fruitsinthesenseof“avarietyoffoodorfruit”;thesenouns,thoughendingin-s,remainuncountable.

c)Numberformsoftheabstractnoun

Abstractnounsaremostlyuncountable.Theycannottakesuchdeterminersasa(n)/oneorpluralforms.Butthereareafewabstractnouns(e.g.:“avictory”,“twovictories”)thatarecountablelikeindividualnouns.Therearealsoabstractnounsthathavepluralendingsbutwhichareuncountable.Wecansay,forinstance,“Heisinfinancialdifficulties”,butnot“Heisinseveraldifficulties.”Inthecaseofsomeabstractnouns,themereadditionofapluralendinghastheeffectofchangingthemeaningofthebase.Forinstance,thewordexperiencein“Wemeetonceayeartoexchangeourteachingexperience”isusedinthesenseof“经验”,whilethepluralformexperiencesmeans“经历”in“Wetoldeachotherourexperiencesinforeigncountries”.Someabstractnoncountnounshavesemanticallyrelatedindividualnounsastheircountableequivalents.Thisisclearwhenweusephotosorphotographsinsteadofphotographytoexpresstheideaof“takingalotofpictures”.

d)Numberformsofthepropernoun

Propernounsareuniqueinreferenceandthereforehavenopluralforms,exceptforsuchpropernamesastheUnitedStates,thePhilippines,theNetherlands,etc.whicharethemselvespluralinform.Whenapropernountakesapluralending,ittakesonsomecharacteristicsofacommonnoun,e.g.:

HaveyouinvitedtheBrowns?

TherearetwoMissSmiths/MissesSmithinourclass.

3)Partitives

Partitives,alsocalledunitnouns,arecommonlyusedtodenoteapartofawholeorthequantityofanundifferentiatedmass.Bothcountandnoncountnounscanenterpartitiveconstructions.Withpluralcountnouns,partitiveconstructioncandenotetheideaof“agroup”,“apack”,etc.Withnoncountnouns,suchconstructionscanachievecountability.Partitivesfallintothefollowingcategories:

a)Generalpartitives

Withnoncountnounstheexpressionofquantitycanbeachievedbymeansofcertaingeneralpartitives,particularlypiece,bit,article,anditem,followedbyanof-phrase,e.g.:

apieceofadvice

abitoftrouble

anitemofnews

anarticleoffurniture

severalpiecesofbread

threeitemsofnews

b)Partitivesrelatedtotheshapeofthings

Therearepartitivesthatsemanticallyrelatedtotheshapeofthingsbuttheirpowerofcollocationisquitelimited,e.g.:

acakeofsoap

abarofchocolate

twoearsofcorn

tenheadofcattle/cabbage(headcanbetreatedasplural)

c)Partitivesrelatedtovolume

Athirdclassofpertitivesarethosethatsemanticallyrelatedtovolume,allofwhicharecommonnouns.Theycanfreelycollocatewithrelatednoncountnouns,e.g.:

abottleofink/oil

twobowlsofrice

severalpailsofwater

aglassofbeer

d)Partitivesrelatedtothestateofaction

Theuseofthesepartitivesislimitedtocertainsetphrases,e.g.:

afitofanger/coughing/laughter/fever

apealofapplause/laughter/thunder

aflashofhope/light/lightning

adisplayofcourage/force/power/skill/fireworks

e)Partitivesdenotingpairs,groups,flocks,etc.

Thesepartitivescommonlyoccurwithpluralcountnouns,e.g.:

apairofshoes/scissors/trousers

aflockofbirds/chickens/sheep/goats

aherdofelephants/cattle

aswarmofbees/flies/animals/people

atroupeofactors

agangofhooligans/criminals

apackofhounds/cards/thieves

abenchofjudges

7.2Genitives

Genitiveistheonlycaseforminitselfofnounsandpronounsthatindicatespossession.As“possession”isjustoneofthemeaningsexpressedbythegenitive,weprefertouse“genitivecase”insteadofthetraditionalterm“possessivecase”.

Caseisagrammaticaltermthatshowsthefunctionalroleofanoun,anounphrase,orapronouninrelationtootherwordsintheclauseorsentence.ModernEnglishdoesnothaveacomplicatedcasesystem.Thegenitive,therefore,maybeviewedasarelicpasseddownfromoldEnglish.

1)Formationofthegenitive

Rulesofformationareasfollows:

a)Thegenitiveisformedinwritingbyadding’stosingularnounsandtothosepluralnounsthatdonotendin–s,e.g.:

mymother’sarrival

women’sclothes

b)Pluralnounsendingin–stakeanapostropheasgenitivemarker,e.g.:

thegirls’dormitory

ateachers’college

c)Incompoundnounsorapostmodifiednounphrase,thegenitiveendingisaddedtotheendofthecompoundortotheendofthenounphrase,eg:

mymother-in-law’sdeath

anhourandahalf’stalk

somebodyelse’sopinion

theUniversityofMinnesota’spresident

d)Incoordinatenouns,thegenitiveendingisaddedtoeachofthecoordinateelementswhendenotingrespectivepossesion,andonlytothelastcoordinateelementwhendenotingcommonpossession.Compare:

Mary’sandBob’sbooks

MaryandBob’sbooks

e)Intheconstructionof“nounphrase+appositive”,thegenitiveendingisaddedtotheendoftheappositive,orbothtotheendofthenounphraseandtotheappositive,eg:

Baselthebookseller’s

Basel’s,thebookseller’s

f)Inpersonalnamesendinginsibilant/z/,thegenitiveendingcaneitherbe’soranapostropheonly,butitcanonlybe’swhenpersonalnamesendinothersibilantsounds,eg:

Dickens’/Dickens’snovels

Jones’/Jones’spoems

Marx’sdoctrine

Ross’sdiscoveries

2)Meaningsofthegenitives

Thegenitiveischieflyusedtodenote“possession”,andtherefore,istraditionallycalled“possessivecase”.Butgenitivemeaningsarebynomeansrestrictedtopossession.Theycanbesummedupasfollows:

a)Possessivegenitive,eg:

Mr.Brown’ssuitcasehasbeentakenupstairs.

TaiwanispartofChina’sterritory.

b)Suubjectivegenitive,eg:

ThePrimeminister’sarrivalwasreportedinthemorningpaper.

EverybodywaspleasedatDavid’squickrecoveryfromillness.

c)Objectivegenitive,eg:

Theenemy’sdefeatbroughtthewartoanend.

Thecriminalspunishmentwillbetenyearsinprison.

d)Genitiveoforigin,eg:

Ihaven’treceivedmysister’sletteryet.

Newton’slawwasdevelopedinthe17thcentury.

e)Descriptivegenitive,eg:

Ifirstmetheronasummer’sday

Thisworkshopmakesmen’sshoes.

f)Genitiveoftime,distance,measure,value,etc,eg:

twohours’delay

300kilometres’distance

fivedollars’worthofstamps

50kilograms’weight

3)Usesofthegenitive

Genitivenounsaremostlyusedascentraldeterminersandthereforeperformthesame

Functionas“possessivedeterminers”(traditionallycalled“possessivepronouns”),eg:

theboy’sfather=hisfather

thewoman’shusband=herhusband

thestudents’essays=theiressays

theprimeminister’sarrival=his/herarrival

thecriminal’spunishment=his/herpunishment

mary'sletter=herletter

thestranger’sstory=hisstory

Ascentraldeterminer,genitivenounscan’tcollocatewithothercentraldeterminers,norcantheybeprecededbyapremodifier.Forinstance,wecansay“Mary’sletter”,butnot“aMary’sletter”;wecansay“Mary’sinterestingletter”insteadof“interestingMary’sletter”.

This,however,doesnotapplytosomeothergenitivenounssuchasthedescriptivegenitive

andthegenitivethatdenotestime,distance,valueormeasure.Thesegenitivenounsarenotusedasdeterminersbutaspremodifiersinthenounphrase,eg:

achildren’sbook

thesechildren’sbooks

aninterestingchildren’sbook

someothernewchidren’sbooks

thenewlypublishedchildren’sbook

a/anotherthreedays’journey

apleasantthreedays’journey

anotherveryboringthreedays’journey

Ascentraldeterminer,genitivenounsaresometimesinterchangeablewithof-phrases,eg:

China’sforeignpolicy=theforeignpolicyofChina

anelephant’strunk=thetrunkofanelephant

theprimeminister’sarrival=thearrivaloftheprimeminister

thecriminal’spunishment=thepunishmentofthecriminal

Newton’slaw=thelawofNewton

Shakespeare’stragedies=thetragediesofShakespeare

Butinsomecases,wecanonlyusegenitivenounsinsteadofof-phrases,eg:

atone’swit’send

atswords’points

ahair’sbreadth

awolfinsheep’sclothing

abird’s-eyeview

atastone’sthrow

Insomeothercases,however,wecanonlyuseof-phrasesinsteadofgenitivenouns,eg:

theopinionofthechairmanappointedamonthago

thesuggestionsofthosepresentatthemeeting

theincomeoftherich

thestruggleoftheexploited

thecityofRome

4)Independentgenitive

Ashasbeenmentionedintheprevioussection,agenitivenouncansometimesbeusedindependently,thatis,withoutafollowingnoun.Thisuseofthegenitivemaybetermedasindependentgenitive.Independentgenitiveisused:

a)whenthemissingnounhasoccurredsomewhereinthecontextandcanbeeasilyretrieved:

Hermemoryislikeanelephant's.

Mary’sisthelargestapartmentinthebuilding.

b)whenthemissingnounreferstosomebody'shouseorresidence:

I’mgoingtodineatmybrother’s.

Thedoctor’sisontheothersideofthestreet

c)whenthemissingnounreferstochurch,school,orotherpublicbuildings:

JoelivesnearSt.Paul's(Cathedral)inLondon.

HewaseducatedatMerchantTaylor’s(school).

d)whenthemissingnounreferstoacommercialfirm:

Pickledvegetablesareavailableatthegrocer’s.

ChinesetoysaresoldbothatSmith'sandatBrown’s.

5)Doublegenitive

Anindependentgenitivecansometimesbeusedasprepositionalcomplementation(traditionallyknownasprepositional“object”).Theprepositionalphrase(usuallyanof-phrase)thattakesanindependentgenitiveascomplementationiscalleda“doublegenitive”,eg:

Heisafriendofmyfather’s.=Heisoneofmyfather’sfriends.

Thisisapaintingofmyroommate’s.=Thisisoneofthepainti