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U13 - Coggle Diagram
U13
4. DETERMINERS
Predeterminers
Quantifiers
:check: positive characteristics of being able to occur
before articles, demonstratives & possessives
(all/both/half the/these/our students).
:red_cross: Negative: not occurring before quantitative determiners (as they are quantifiers themselves): every, each, (n)either, some, any, no, enough
both
all
half
what they have in common
all, both, half
Multipliers
once, twice, three times
Intensifiers
SUCH: "It's such a nice day"
WHAT: "What a suprise"
Fractions
(one-thid/a third of)
the structure ‘of a + singular noun’ (two sixths of a centimetre) or ‘decimals’+ plural noun (2,8 millimetres=two point eight millimetres)
mutually exclusive
, preceding those central determiners with which they can co-occur.
Central determiners
Sg count
Pl count
Non-count
Definite article (
the
)
Possesive pronouns (
my, your, his...
)
Wh-determiners in
-ever
Interrogative determiners (
what, which, whose
)
Negative determiner (
no
)
all contexts
Pl count
Non-count
Zero article (
-
)
Assertive & Nonassertive det (
some, any
)
Quantitative determiner (
enough
)
Sg count
Non-count
Demonstrative determiners (
this/that
)
Pl count
Demonstrative determiners (
these/those
)
Sg count
Indefinite article (
a/an
)
Universal determiners (
every, each
)
Nonassertive determiner (
either
)
Negative determiner (
neither
)
divided into five types regarding their co-occurrence with the Noun classes
Postdeterminers
Numerals
Ordinals
(first, second, third)
General ordinals: next, last, past,
(an)other, additional & further
The first 3 ordinals are “first, second, third”. Other ordinals are formed by adding “th” to the cardinal numerals
Cardinals
Sg: one
Pl: two, three...
Numbers 1-13 are unsystematic, whereas numbers 14-99 are systematic, formed by adding regular elements to the other numbers
Quantifiers
Open-class
consist of a N of quantity (
lot
, deal, amount …) often preceded by the indefinite art
a/an
& followed by
of
.
a lot of, a great, deal of, a large number of, a small amount of …
Closed-class
Many, (a) few & several
Much & (a) little
cooccur only with plural count Ns
co-occur only with noncount Ns
there is a positive/negative contrast according to whether the indefinite article is used or not
follow Pre- or central determiners (if such
occur) but precede any adjectives or other premodifying items
on the basis of their position in the NP
The kind of reference a particular NP has depends on its
DETERMINATIVE elements (the item which determines it)
2. NOUNS
Singular vs. Plural
Singular
the quantity "one" for count nouns
Plural
the quantity "more than one" for count nouns
Invariable
Singular (5)
Abstract adjectival heads
(the best, the unknown)
Adjectives that function as Noun-Phrase (NP) heads with abstract reference. This class concords with the verb (just as Ns do) in singular
Some nouns
ending in –s
(news, dominoes, measles Mathematics, Physics)
always take a
sing Verb
: News is always sing. Names of games, diseases & names in -ics
Abstract
non-count nouns (music, homework, justice)
normally have no plural
Concrete
non-count nouns (cheese, gold, furniture, beer)
can be
partitives
: a slice of cheese, a glass of beer
Proper
nouns (John, the Thames, Wales, Brussels)
have a
unique reference
, so number contrast is not possible
occurring only in the Sg: noncount Ns, most proper Ns & abstract adj heads
Plural (5)
Pluralia tantum
in –s (thanks, outskirts)
nouns that
in a given sense, only occur in the plural
and refer to entities which comprise
an indefinite number of parts
: The Middle Ages (=Medieval Times), arms (=weapons), spirits (=mood), steps (outside of a building)
Plural proper nouns
(the Netherlands, the Alps)
Some proper nouns are pluralized when a title applies to more than one succeeding name: the Kennedys’, ‘the two Germanys’
Binary nouns
/ Summation plurals (trousers, scissors, shorts)
consisting of
2 equal parts joined together
such as tools, instruments, or articles of dress. Countability is usually achieved through quantity partition (
partitives
): ‘a pair of’, ‘several pairs of’
they differ from ordinary plural Ns in that they are not generally thought of as denoting plural
Unmarked
plural nouns (people, cattle)
(have no plural marking but are used as plural) are not plural in form and emerge from some pluralia tantum: the data, cattle, clergy, offspring, people, police
is/are
...
Personal adjectival heads
of human nature (the young, the rich)
Adjectives which can premodify personal Ns (the young people) can be NP heads (the young) with plural and generic reference
denoting classes or types of people
Notice that these adjectives are restricted to generic reference and take plural as concord. Hence, the poor cannot denote one person
occurring only in the Pl (people, scissors), including personal adjective heads (the rich)
Resistant to number contrast
, since there are Sg nouns that cannot ordinarily be plural (meat, sugar), & Pl nouns that cannot ordinarily be singular (sunglasses)
Does not show contrast in number
Variable
Regular plural
adding -s/-es (boy-boys; fly-flies)
As the vast majority of English nouns are count, they take plural formation in a regular and predictable way in sound and spelling
Spelling
-s
Most of them by simply adding –s to the singular
-es
Others add –es in nouns ending in
-s, -z, -sh, -ch, -x, -o
(waltzes, gases, dresses, wishes, matches, boxes and tomatoes).
the spelling of the base is affected in words ending in a consonant symbol +
-y
, where y changes into i (body- bodies, country-countries)
the spelling of the base is affected in words ending in
-f
, where the f of the base is changed into v (calf -calves, knife-knives, leaf-leaves).
Sound
the plural of a noun is usually made by adding –s to the singular, regularly realized in 3 ways at the phonological level
/ z /
after nouns ending in
voiced
sounds except sibilants
/ iz /
after nouns ending in a
sibilant
/ s /
after nouns ending in
voiceless
sounds except sibilants
At the
phonological level
Irregular plural (5)
Mutation
plurals (man-men; goose-geese)
a few nouns undergo
a change of vowel (sound & spelling)
without an ending (foot- feet, tooth -teeth, goose-geese, man-men)
-en plurals
(child-children, ox-oxen, brother-brethren)
pronounced with schwa, involves both
vowel change & irregular ending
in the sense of ‘fellow members’. Only in these 3 nouns
Zero plurals
(fish-fish)
being unquestionable count (can be Sg & Pl), have
no difference in form between singular & plural
(Some Ns have the same form in both Sing & Pl), when referring to
animals in general
(sheep, cattle),
nationalities
(Chinese) &
quantitative nouns
(hundred, thousand)
Foreign plurals
(analysis-analyses)
nouns
adopted from Latin and Greek
still retain the foreign inflection for plural (antenna-antennae, stimulus-stimuli; corpus-corpora; criterion-criteria).
the –s plural, which is an English regular form is more natural in everyday language (antenna-antennas)
Voicing
(knife -knives; thief-thieves)
a change in the base, from voiceless to voiced
consonant when the regular suffix is added. This may be reflected in spelling (knife-knives) or not (mouth-mouths).
not predictable
either Sg or Pl
the category of number operates through subject-verb concord and pronominal reference, where every noun form is understood grammatically as either singular or plural.
The English number system constitutes a dual contrast: singular, which denotes “one”, and plural, which “denotes more than one”
Compounds
the last element
babbysitters, grown-ups, boyfriends
considering it as a simple Noun
both 1st & last element (menservants)
the 1st element (passers-by)
adding the plural in
Count vs. Non-count
Count
an ‘
individual interpretation of an item
’ from a larger set of discrete units that could be counted (table, building, tree, car, book, computer). Easily detected because of plural forms
denoting individual countable entities
Nouns also reflect the category of number with the contrast between:
Non-count
an
‘undelimited' interpretation of a substance
(liquid or solid) rather than a unit (sand, soap, jam, paper, water, air). They are
always singular
& are
not used with indefinite articles
, but often
preceded by quantifiers
like some, any, no, a little (I don’t want (any) advice; I want (some) information)
Abstract concepts
(advice, experience, fear, relief)
Other nouns
countable in other languages
(baggage, camping, damage, furniture, shopping)
Concrete liquid or solid substances
(bread, beer, coffee);
denoting an undifferentiated mass
Dual class membership
the language makes it possible to look upon some objects/nouns
from the point of view of both count and non-count
. The difference is not perceptible, but in meaning
I want an evening paper (=newspaper; count)
Wrap the parcel up in brown paper (=wrapping paper; noncount)
Partitive constructions
By
denoting a part of a whole
Plural count ~
Partitives relating to specific sets of nouns
a flock of sheep/pigeons;
an army of ants;
a company of actors;
a crowd of people;
a series of concerts;
a pair of scissors
Singular count ~
a piece of a leather belt,
a page of a book,
two pieces of a broken cup,
two acts of a play
Non-count ~
It is a means of
imposing number on non-count nouns
. Quantity (countability) may be achieved by using certain general partitive nouns
plenty of,
a lot of, lots of,
a great/good deal of,
a large/small quantity/amount of,
a great/large/good number of
A piece/bit of information
A piece of news
A piece/word of advice
A round of applauses
(an undifferentiated mass)
followed by an
of-phrase
5. OTHER MEANS
Adverbial phrases
we may increase or decrease the notion of quantity by using certain adverbs in a sentence, such as frequency adverbs
100% frequency: "always"
0% frequency: "never"
Idioms
certain idiomatic expressions may imply a relevant difference in quantity
‘Charles is a bit stubborn’ vs. ‘Charles is stubborn as a mule’, ‘She is very sensitive’ vs. ‘She is cold as ice’.
Verbs
we may increase or decrease the ‘amount of’ the item implied in our speech by means of using different verbal choices
rain vs. pour, run vs. rush, eat vs. gulp, hit vs. smash, talk vs. whisper,
1. THE NOTION OF QUANTITY
How many? (definite)
How much? (indefinite)
Pronouns
nobody, everybody, somebody
Determiners
a, the, my, some, every, each
Verbs
shout vs scream
Others
Partitive constructions
a glass of ~
Idioms
She is as cold as a cucumber
Nouns
one ~, two ~
These expressions play their role in a linguistic description in terms of function, within a larger linguistic structure (subject, object, determiner, and so on), and word-class (noun, adjective, verb, and so on). Both function and word class are relevant for our present purposes since we must examine the expression of quantity through them.
They both ask for similar info, except for the ‘exact amount of’. Answers can be provided by different
word classes
:
The notion of quantity refers to the ‘
number
’ or the '
amount
' of items we are dealing with, and it is the answer to questions such as:
Linguistic levels
Semantics
meaning where syntactic and morphological levels do not tell the difference (‘You are here’ – you, 2nd person singular or you, 2nd person plural).
Syntax
the establishment of rules that specify which combinations of words constitute grammatical strings (determiner + noun);
Morphology
plural markers (–s, -es)
Phonology
pronunciation of singular and plural forms (bus, buses)
Lexis
the expression of amount by means of idioms (stubborn as a mule ), verb choices (rain vs. pour), adverbial expressions (speaking loud), or partitive constructions (a piece of furniture)
The notion of quantity can be expressed by the different linguistic levels
3. PRONOUNS
Indefinite Pronouns
Assertive pronouns
Many/much & a few/a little
MANY [a large number] contrasts with A FEW [a small number] (both count).
MUCH [a large amount] contrasts with A LITTLE [a small amount] (both non-count)
Post-det: Quantifiers
opposites
Some
with plural & noncount Ns. Although it can used in interrogative form, its basic meaning is still assertive
Central det: Pl & non-count
& the compounds someone/body, something & somewhere
(Positive statements)
Universal pronouns
each, every
They pick out the member of a set individually, rather than consider them as a mass. They are
therefore singular in number (take a singular form)
& the compounds with every-
everyone, everybody, everything; -one/-body (people), -thing (objects), -where (places)
Central det: Sg
Sg
& determiners
all, both
ALL: used with plural Ns for quantities more than two.
BOTH: used with plural Ns for quantities of two only elements (dual number)
Pre-det: Quantifiers
Pl
Non-assertive pronouns
any
representing a choice btw 3 or more
Central det: Pl & non-count
& the compounds anyone/body, anything, anywhere
(Negative statements & Qs)
either
a choice btw 2. EITHER, like both and
neither, has
dual meaning
: ‘one or the other’,
Central det: Sg
Sg
Negative pronouns
none, neither
& few, little
NEITHER differs from NONE, as either
does from any
Central det: Sg
Pl, Sg
nobody, no one, nothing
compound pronouns
2 main categories:
Compound pronouns
(composed of 2 stems/bases)
Of-pronouns
(can be followed by a partitive of-phrase)
They lack the element of
definiteness
found in the personal, reflexive, possessive and demonstrative pronouns. E.g.: everybody, everything, everyone, each, some, somebody, something, one, several, enough, neither, nobody, none