1. Nouns
Noun
syntax in English involves a number of issues, which we will look at in detail
in the following section. The points dealt with include the possessive,
partitives and noun + noun combinations.
1.1.
The
Saxon genitive
We have
already studied the morphology of the Saxon genitive in section Mo 1.5. In this
section we will look at its syntax and use.
Syntax of the Saxon
genitive
The
Saxon genitive is normally used either as an attributive adjective (an
adjective that precedes the noun it modifies), a predicate adjective (one that
comes after the verb be) and an
“independent possessive”, a possessive that is used to avoid the repetition of
another noun. The following examples should make this clear.
Use as an attributive adjective
Eric’s car is blue.
The
teacher’s role is to guide the student.
This term’s
main objective is to introduce GNU/Linux.
Use as a predicate adjective
The
blue car is Eric’s. That is the teacher’s role.
The bag under
the table is the doctor’s.
Note that English
generally does not use a Saxon genitive as a predicate adjective for
non-personal nouns:
The decision
was made by the government (better than The decision
was the government’s).
Use as a independent possessive (the use of the
independent possessive is underlined)
Monica’s car is red
and Eric’s is blue.
A special use of the
Saxon genitive as an independent possessive is when it refers either to
someone’s house, or to a commercial or professional establishment. Examples:
We’re going to Rick’s.
Elena
invited Louis to dinner at her mother’s. Meritxell is at the dentist’s.
Finally, if two people
have one thing in common, the ’s is
added only to the second, whereas if each has their own thing, the ’s is added to both nouns. Examples:
We’re going to
Edward and Irene’s. (They live together.)
Tom’s
and Jerry’s wives have enrolled on a course. (Each man has a different
wife.)
The double genitive
A special case is the
so-called double genitive, which is formed either by an indefinite or
demonstrative determiner (a, an, some, this, that, these or
those) plus the locution noun + of + Saxon genitive. Its basic meaning
is ‘one of several’ or ‘some of many’, so examples such as
a friend of Tom’s and
some students of Alicia’s are equivalent to one of Tom’s friends and some of Alicia’s students, respectively.
However, in the case of the demonstratives,
no alternative is possible; care must be taken not to use constructions
such as this + Saxon genitive + noun: eg we don’t say this Monica’s
letter, but rather
this letter of Monica’s.
The double genitive can also be used to
describe artistic and literary works: for example, a painting of Van Gogh’s or some
novels of Josep Pla’s.
More examples:
She was a college
classmate of Hillary
Clinton’s. We heard
about it from a neighbour of Bill’s.
That car of my
brother’s needs new tyres.
This is the
only painting of Joan’s we have. (This is the only picture painted
by Joan that we have.) Note that if Joan were the subject
of the painting, we would say the following: This is the only painting of Joan we have.
Finally, the double genitive can be used to express
annoyance or praise.
I just saw that stupid friend of Henry’s!
Those
wonderful children of your sister’s have given me some flowers!
Combinations
of the Saxon genitive
Combinations
of the Saxon genitive can seem particularly confusing because the English
construction has precisely the opposite order
of the CATALAN. It is useful
to remember that the
Saxon genitive functions as an adjective and thus precedes
the noun it modifies. Perhaps
the following comparisons will make this relation clearer.
La
Pilar – Pilar
De
la Pilar – Pilar’s
El
germà de la Pilar – Pilar’s
brother
Del germà de
la Pilar – Pilar’s
brother’s
La
xicota del germà de la Pilar – Pilar’s
brother’s girlfriend
De
la xicota del germà de la Pilar – Pilar’s
brother’s girlfriend’s
Examples:
Pilar’s brother’s girlfriend knows our neighbours. My mother’s neighbour’s son is from Blanes.
Whose car is
that? It’s my mother’s neighbour’s son’s.
Whose
handbag is under the table? It’s Pilar’s brother’s girlfriend’s.
Use of the Saxon genitive
The two
most important uses of the Saxon genitive are to indicate possession – eg John’s car
– and to indicate personal relationships, eg John’s mother. For this reason,
the use of the
Saxon genitive is usually reserved for people or animate beings. However, there are exceptions, and so the
simplest way to explain the proper use of the Saxon genitive is to mention
three possibilities:
cases in which the use of
the Saxon genitive is generally required; cases in which the use of the Saxon
genitive is optional;
cases in which the use of the Saxon
genitive is incorrect.
Before entering into details,
a general rule that almost never fails is to use the Saxon genitive with people and time expressions
(yesterday, today, tomorrow, last Tuesday, etc.; see below) and, in
other cases, either the of form or
the noun + noun form (see section Sy 1.5.). In those cases where the Saxon
genitive is non-personal and optional, use the of form.
Cases
in which the use of the Saxon genitive is generally required
The use of the Saxon
genitive is generally obligatory in the following cases: When referring to
possession or relationships between people
Roger’s book, not the book of Roger
the nurse’s watch, not the watch of the nurse
Mary’s friends, not the friends
of Mary
her husband’s
aunt, not the aunt of her
husband
When referring to someone’s house, or a commercial or
professional establishment
We’re going to John’s.
They’ve
gone to the hairdresser’s.
In time expressions
yesterday’s weather, today’s newspaper, tomorrow’s class, a
month’s wages, last week’s lecture, etc. (not the weather of yesterday, the newspaper of today, etc.).
When referring to products from live animals
goat’s milk, sheep’s
wool, a hen’s
egg
Cases in which the use of Saxon genitive is optional
There
are many cases in which either the Saxon genitive or the of form can be used with no difference in meaning.
Genitive constructions that are not possessive
Shakespeare’s sonnets or the sonnets of Shakespeare
my parents’ permission or
the permission of my parents Abraham Lincoln’s assassin or the
assassin of Abraham Lincoln
Animals
the lion’s
roar or the roar of the lion
a deer’s grace or the grace of a deer
If an animal has a
name (eg Bobi or Tula), the Saxon genitive is always
used (eg Bobi’s dish, Tula’s collar, etc.).
Plants
the tree’s leaves or the leaves of the tree
Natural phenomena
the light of the stars or the stars’
light
Political, geographical or institutional entities
the
city’s air pollution or the air
pollution of the city the river’s current or the current of the river
their school’s
reputation or the reputation of
their school
Collective nouns
the public’s confidence or the confidence of the public
the
government’s decision or the decision of
the government
Things of special interest to human activity
the brain’s
weight or the weight
of the brain the game’s history
or the history of the game
Cases
in which the use of the Saxon genitive would be incorrect
With
the exception of the cases mentioned above, the general rule in English is to
use the Saxon genitive for people and chronological time. Here are some
examples in which the use of the Saxon genitive would be incorrect.
a piece of cake, not a cake’s piece
the side of
the building, not the building’s
side
the
table leg or the leg of the table, not
the table’s leg
the
consequences of their
inactivity, not their inactivity’s consequences the value of his ideas, not his ideas’ value
some aspects
of the problem, not some of the
problem’s aspects
1.2.
Animal names
As is
the case in CATALAN, there are many instances in English in which
the name of a male animal is different from that of the female. This is
particularly the case for common mammals. The following is a list of some of
the most important:
boar/sow
buck or stag/doe or hind bull/cow
dog/bitch lion/lioness ram/ewe
cock [BrE], rooster [AmE]/hen stallion/mare
tiger/tigress
drake/duck
fox/vixen gander/goose billygoat/nanny goat
English also has a large
number of special words that describe groups of animals. The following are some
of the most important.
a bed of clams, of oysters
a brood of hens
a clutch of
chicks
a colony of
ants, of beavers, of gulls, of penguins
a covey of grouse, of partridges, of pheasants, of ptarmigans, of quail
a herd/drove of cattle
a flock of sheep, of birds a gam of
whales
a murder of
crows
a pack of wolves, of hounds a pod of
seals, of whales
a pride of lions a
school of fish a skulk of foxes a swarm
of bees
an unkindness of ravens
1.3.
Partitives
Partitive constructions are
those that describe part of a whole. These distinctions can be based on quality (a kind
of cheese or
a type of behaviour) or quantity (a slice
of bread or three pieces of cake).
1.3.1.
Quality partitives
There are three main expressions that are used as partitive
constructions of quality:
type of, kind of and sort of.
Broadly speaking, we can say that type of is used in more formal
contexts and kind of is used more colloquially. As for sort of,
it is used especially when the reference is vague or imprecise. Examples:
This type of
architecture is known as Romanic.
There
is a new type of carburettor that
is more fuel-efficient. What kind of internet
connection do I need?
We’ve had all kinds
of problems. I’d never do
that sort of thing.
It is worth noting
that, in certain
circumstances, there is a lack of correspondence between singular and plural
forms in English and
CATALAN. Where CATALAN uses the singular expressions tota mena and tot tipus, English uses the plural expressions all kinds of and all
types of. Examples:
We
work in alliance with all kinds of public and private organizations.
Treballem
en aliança amb tota mena d’organitzacions públiques i privades.
They’ve tried all
types of remedies, but he’s still sick.
Han provat tot
tipus de cures, però encara està malalt.
As for the demonstrative
pronouns, English grammar manuals recommend that there be agreement between the
various elements.
Singular: [this/that]
+ [kind/type/sort] of + singular noun
this kind of thing,
that type of education, this sort of problem
Plural: [these/those]
+ [kinds/types/sorts] of + plural noun
these kinds of jobs,
those types of architecture, these sorts of criminals
Finally, the
interrogative adjectives which and
what are used with both singular
and plural partitives. Examples:
Which/what kind of studies
are being done on this subject?
Which/what kinds of studies are being done
on this subject?
1.3.2.
Quantity partitives
The quantity partitive
constructions are most often used to talk about a particular part of another noun: for example,
a sheet of paper and a slice
of bread. Obviously it is important not to confuse the
terminology, because
the expressions a slice
of paper and
a sheet of bread are wrong.
In English
there are two types of quantity partitive
constructions: general and specific. The first
are used in a large number of cases and the second only in specific cases. We will examine first the general and then the specific.
General
partitive constructions
The two
most common partitive constructions in English are a piece of and a bit/lot of.
The former is used more often; it can be used with virtually all concrete and
abstract nouns (eg a piece of pie, a piece of wood, a piece of news,
a piece of advice, etc.). It is worth
noting that expressions using piece of are
translated in various ways in CATALAN, depending on the noun.
Generally speaking, CATALAN will use various partitives when
referring to concrete nouns and the indefinite article when referring to
abstract nouns.
Concrete nouns
a piece of
paper/cake/clothing/furniture/coal/land/luggage
Abstract nouns
a piece of advice/research/news/work
The expression a bit of is used to mean a small quantity of and, as such,
generally corresponds to the CATALAN una mica de. It is synonymous with the English quantitative
adjective a little (eg a bit of wine = a little wine). It is also sometimes translated petit -a. Examples:
a
bit of wine/fun/advice/trouble
una mica de vi, una mica de diversió, un petit consell,
un petit problema
Specific partitive constructions
Here is a list of some of
the most important English partitive constructions; many of them might equally
be considered to be idioms.
a bar (of chocolate, of soap, of gold, of iron)
a blade of grass
a block (of
ice, of shares) a crowd of people
a cut (of meat, of lamb, of beef, etc.) a
drop (of water, of oil, of whisky)
a grain (of corn, of rice, of sand, of salt)
a loaf of bread
a lump (of coal, of lead, of sugar)
a pack (of cards, of cigarettes)
a series (of
incidents, of concerts, of lectures) a sheet (of paper, of metal, of ice)
a slice (of bacon, of cake, of meat, of bread)
a speck (of dust, of dirt)
a stick (of
dynamite, of celery)
a strip (of paper,
of cloth, of land)
a suit (of clothes, of armour)
1.4.
Collective nouns
Collective
nouns are those that refer to groups of people (or animals; see section Sy
1.2.), such as the army and our team. Whereas in AmE, as in CATALAN, these nouns take a singular verb, in BrE they can be used with either singular
or plural verbs.
Broadly speaking, BrE uses
the singular forms when the group is considered as an impersonal entity and
uses the plural forms when the group is considered a collection of individuals. Examples:
My
family are (AmE is) moving to Bristol.
The government have (AmE has) passed
several new laws. The orchestra are (AmE is) tuning
up.
Note
that, as is the case in CATALAN, a singular collective noun can be
the antecedent of plural pronoun.
The union (the entity) is upset about the new work rules; they (the members)
have
threatened to go on strike.
1.5.
Noun
+ noun
Nouns in English are often
used to premodify other nouns: for example, breadcrumb (engruna de pa), fire engine
(cotxe de bombers) and
honey-bee (abella [que produeix la mel]).
CATALAN occasionally uses
similar constructions – eg hora punta and
escola pilot –, but they are used
much more extensively in English. We have
already discussed the morphology of the combination noun + noun in section Mo
1.2., and though a complete analysis of all the uses of these forms lies beyond the scope of
the present study (see visca.com/ apac/articles/noun- noun.html), in this
section we will take brief look at some of
the most important
uses of these forms.
Classification of
noun + noun combinations
The following is a list of nine basic kinds of noun + noun
combinations.
Material composition. The
second noun is composed of the first (stone
bridge). More examples:
chocolate bar raindrop
snowflake straw hat chicken soup
lamb/pork chop
Use. The second noun is used for the first (address book). More examples:
ashtray
cat food
toilet paper
Components. The second noun is a component of the first (doorknob). More examples:
window
pane arrowhead phone number car keys
Location. The first noun localizes the second (kitchen counter). More examples:
basement door road sign
city dweller earthworm
Containers. The second noun is used to contain the first (coffee cup). More examples:
matchbox milk bottle water
bucket
In cases such as these, it is important
to distinguish between a coffee cup,
that is, a cup that we use to hold
coffee, and a cup of coffee, a cup
that is full of coffee. So, if we want to
say Va beure una ampolla
de cervesa, we must say He drank a bottle of beer, not He drank a beer bottle, which would mean he had swallowed
the bottle as well!
Activities. The second, personal, noun performs the activity described by the first
(football player). More examples:
blood
donor housekeeper sales manager
Quantities, sizes,
distances and durations. The first noun describes the quantity, size, distance
or duration of the second (five-pound
note). More examples:
two-gallon
jug forty-foot drop three-mile walk two-hour
talk
Production. The first noun is produced or given by the
second (oil well). More examples:
dairy
farm bicycle factory gold mine power
plant
The second noun is produced or given by the first (cane sugar). More examples:
bloodstain
food poisoning sawdust
Verb derivation. The first noun performs the second (heartbeat). More examples:
horserace
headache earthquake
The second noun performs the first (rattlesnake). More examples:
washing machine dancing
girl hangman watchdog
Someone causes the action
of the second noun to affect the first (can
opener). More examples:
haircut
handshake tax cut
The second noun is subjected to the action of the first (sleeping bag). More examples:
