The category of number.
English countable nouns have two numbers — the singular and the plural.
The main types of the plural forms of English nouns are as follows:
I. 1. The general rule for forming the plural of English nouns is by adding the ending s (-es) to the singular; s is pronounced in different ways:
[Iz] after sibilants: noses, horses, bridges.
[z] after voiced consonants other than sibilants and after vowels: flowers, beds, doves, bees, boys.
[s] after voiceless consonants other than sibilants: caps, books, hats, cliffs.
2. If the noun ends in s, ss, x, sh, ch, or tch, the plural is formed by adding es to the singular: bus — buses
3. If the noun ends in y preceded by a consonant, у is changed into i before es. fly — flies
In proper names, however, the plural is formed by adding the ending s to the singular: Mary, Marys.
4. If the noun ends in o preceded by a consonant, the plural is generally formed by adding es. Only a few nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant form the plural in s. hero — heroes
All nouns ending in o preceded by a vowel form the plural in s and not in es. portfolio — portfolios
There are a few nouns ending in o which form the plural both in s and es: mosquito — mosquitos or mosquitoes
5. With certain nouns the final voiceless consonants are changed into the corresponding voiced consonants when the noun takes the plural form.
(a) The following nouns ending in f (in some cases followed by a mute e) change it into v (both in spelling and pronunciation) in the plural: wife — wives; thief — thieves; knife — knives; calf — calves; life — lives; half — halves
There are some nouns ending in f which have two forms in the plural: scarf — scarfs or scarves
(b) Nouns ending in th [T] after long vowels change it into [D] in pronunciation (which does not affect their spelling). bath— baths
II. The plural forms of some nouns are survivals of earlier formations.
1. There are seven nouns which form the plural by changing the root vowel: man — men; woman — women; foot — feet
tooth — teeth; goose — geese; mouse — mice; louse — lice
2. There are two nouns which form the plural in en: ox — oxen; child — children
3. In some nouns the plural form does not differ from the singular: deer, sheep, swine, fish, trout.
III. Some words borrowed from Latin or Greek keep their Latin or Greek plural forms: e. g. phenomenon, phenomena; datum, data; crisis, crises; stimulus, stimuli; formula, formulae; index, indices. Some of these nouns have acquired English plural forms: memorandums, formulas, indexes, terminuses, etc.
The tendency to use the foreign plural is still strong in the technical language of science, but in fiction and colloquial English there is an evident inclination to give to certain words the regular English plural forms in s. Thus in some cases two plural forms are preserved (formulae, formulas; antennae, antennas).
IV. In compound nouns the plural is formed in different ways.
1. As a rule a compound noun forms the plural by adding s to the head-word: brother-in-law — brothers-in-law
2. In some compound nouns the final element takes the plural form: lady-bird — lady-birds
3. If there is no noun-stem in the compound, s is added to the last element: forget-me-not — forget-me-nots
V. Some nouns have only the plural form:
1. Trousers, spectacles, breeches, scissors, tongs, fetters. These are for the most part names of things which imply plurality or consist of two or more parts.
2. Billiards, barracks, works. These nouns may be treated as singulars. We may say: a chemical works, a barracks, etc.
3. Words like phonetics, physics, politics, optics, etc. are usually treated as singulars except in some special cases.
(It was not practical politics!)
4. The word news is treated as a singular.
(The news he gave them was to be read in the lamentations.)
The category of case.
Case indicates the relations of the noun (or pronoun) to the other words in the sentence.
English nouns denoting living beings (and some nouns denoting lifeless things) have two cases, an uninflected form called the common case and an inflected form called the genitive case.
1. The genitive case is formed by adding -’s (the apostrophe s) to the noun in the singular and only ’ (the apostrophe) to plural forms ending in s. SR: a girl’s book PL: a girls’ school
2. Sometimes the apostrophe s may refer to a whole group of words (the group-genitive): Jane and Mary’s room. The last word of the group need not even be a noun: I shall be back in an hour or two’s time.
As to its use the genitive case falls under:
A. The Dependent Genitive.
1.The chief meaning of the genitive case is that of possession:
(He stayed at Fanny’s flat.)
2. Very close to the meaning of possession is that of a part to a whole:
(A faint smile had come on Victorine’s face — she was adding up the money she might earn.)
3. The Dependent Genitive may express the doer of an action (the so-called subjective genitive) or show that some person is the object of the action (the so-called objective genitive):
It was Tom’s step, then, that Maggie heard on the steps.
4. The noun in the genitive case may denote qualitative relations:
(He looked ever so much smarter in his new officer’s clothes with the little blue chevron)
The use of the genitive case of nouns denoting inanimate things and abstract notions is rather limited.
The genitive case of nouns denoting inanimate things may denote the relations between a part and the whole.
(He stepped on the truck’s running board hanging on with his left arm.)
The Absolute Genitive.
1. The Absolute Genitive may be used anaphorically.
(Mrs. Moss’s face bore a faded resemblance to her brother’s.)
2. The Absolute Genitive may have local meaning: the stationer’s, the baker’s, the tobacconist’s, my uncle’s, etc.
(On her way home she usually bought a slice of honey-cake at the baker’s.)
The Absolute Genitive may be introduced by the preposition of.
(She is a relation of the Colonel’s)
