The Noun is a word expressing substance in the widest sense of the word.
Noun has a categorical meaning of thingness, because noun effects nomination of the fullest value. N-central nominative lexemic unit of L. It functions are determined by it’s semantic. It can be subject, object, attribute, adverbial & predicative.
Types of combinability:
- Prepositional with other nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs. Ex: An entrance to the house.
- The case that is possessive ex: The President’s speech
- With one another by sheer contact ex: Film festival
The existence of this combination (3 types) is a big problem for many scholars. How to treat them? Weather its one separate word or a word group. It’s a so called “stone-wall problem”
The N is characterized by a set of formal features. It has its typical suffixes, stem modals, conversial patterns. Not all scholars are unanimous on the number of grammatical category of the noun.
Ilyish: The Noun in ME has only 2 grammatical categories: number & case. The existence of case appears to be doubtful & has to be carefully analyzed.
Хаймович, Роговская: besides number & case, article determination.
Blokh: Noun is the main nominative part of speech, effecting nomination of the fullest value within the framework of the notional division of lexicon.
Classification of nouns:
- Proper&common noun (the base of this division is “type of nomination”
- Animate & Inanimate (the base of this division is form existence)
- Human & Non-human (based on personal quality)
- Countable&Uncountable (quantities structure)
The problem of the category of gender:
Ilyish The ME noun has not got the category of grammatical gender.
+ Between the Sg & the Pl an additional difference of meaning has developed а the plural form develops a completely new meaning which the singular has not got at all (e.g. colour/ colours)- the plural form has been lexicalized.
Blokh: The category of gender is expressed in English by the obligatory correlation of nouns with the personal pronouns of the 3rd person. It’s strictly oppositional, firmed by 2 oppositions hierarchically related.1.Personal noun (strong).2.Non-person (weak).
The other oppositions function in the subject of person nouns only. The cases of reductions:
- Non-person & their substitute are used in the positions of neutralization.
- Great number of nouns are capable for expressing both female & masculine person genders.
Ex: person, parent, friend have a common gender. In plural all genders-neutralized.
Nouns can show the sex of their referents lexically ex: boy-friend, girl-friend or with the help of suffixes –ess (mistress).
Categories of gender in English is semantic because it reflects the actual features of the named objects, but the semantic of the category doesn’t in the list make it into non-grammatical.
