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Classification of Nouns 2016
Classification of Nouns 2016
d) if the first word of the compound is man or woman, both words are used in the
plural:
a man-servant – men-servants, a woman-doctor – women-doctors.
Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns denote objects that cannot be counted. The uncountable
nouns are subdivided into the so-called singularia tantum and pluralia tantum.
1. Singularia tantum are nouns used only in the singular in English. They agree with
the predicate verb in the singular. Here belong the following:
a) material nouns such as air, water, paper, cotton, leather:
Sugar is sweet.
b) abstract nouns such as love, courage, weather, traffic:
The traffic is very heavy here.
Some abstract nouns are used only in the singular in English, but have both forms in
Ukrainian: advice (порада – поради), information (інформація – відомості),
knowledge (знання), progress (успіх – успіхи):
Your advice is the best. – Твої поради – найкращі.
c) some collective nouns such as linen, equipment, luggage, furniture, currency,
money, machinery:
There is a lot of equipment in this chemistry-lab.
The nouns money (гроші) and furniture (меблі) are singular in English, but plural in
Ukrainian:
I don’t need this money. – Мені не потрібні ці гроші.
This furniture is broken. – Ці меблі зламані.
Note that these uncountable nouns can be made countable by means of partitives:
a piece of cake/information/advice/furniture; a glass/bottle of water; a jar of jam; a
rasher of bacon; a box of chocolates; a packet of biscuits/tea; a slice/loaf of bread;
a pot of yoghurt; a pot/cup of tea; a kilo/pound of meat; a bottle of vinegar, a tube of
toothpaste; a bar of chocolate/soap; a bit/piece of chalk; an ice cube/scoop; a lump
of sugar; a sheet of paper; a bag of flour; a pair of trousers; a game of soccer; a(n)
item/piece of news; a drop/can of oil; a can of Coke; a carton of milk; a block of
wood, a scoop of ice-cream.
NB: Some of the above mentioned nouns can be used in the singular and in the plural,
but they have different meanings. Compare:
This glass is transparent. (скло) I’d like 3 glasses of juice. (склянка)
I have no time. (час) I met him two times. (раз)
Her hair is wonderful. (волосся) I see a hair in my plate. (волосина)
I have no paper. (папір) I need a paper. (газета)
d) Some nouns are plural in forms but singular in meanings. Their final -s loses the
meaning of the plural inflexion and the nouns are treated as singular. Here belong
names of some subjects, games and activities: athletics (атлетика, гімнастика),
economics (економіка), linguistics (мовознавство, лінгвістика), mathematics
(математика), news (новина, новини, звістка, вісті), phonetics (фонетика),
physics (фізика), classics (класична література), politics (політика), statistics
(статистика), aerobics (аеробіка), billiards (більярд), dominoes (доміно),
draughts (шашки), darts (дартс, дротики), bowls (гра в кулі), cards (карти),
skittles (кеглі).
But when these nouns don’t refer to subjects of study and activities, they may be used
in plural:
The statistics are not accurate. – Статистичні данні (цифри) не є
точними.
His politics are rude. – Його політичні дії – дуже грубі.
2. Pluralia tantum are nouns used only in the plural in English. They agree with the
predicate verb in the plural. Here belong the following:
a) Names of things consisting of two similar halves. Here belong nouns which refer
to clothes, tools and other things that people wear or use: scales (ваги), scissors
(ножиці), spectacles / glasses (окуляри), binoculars (бінокль), tweezers (пінцет),
handcuffs (наручники), pyjamas (піжама), trousers (штани), jeans (джинси).
Her jeans are black. – Її джинси – чорні.
If we want to refer to a single piece of clothing or a single tool, we can use “some” or
“a pair of” in front of the noun:
She has a new pair of jeans. – В неї є нова пара джинс.
She bought three pairs of tights. – Вона купила три пари панчіх.
b) some collective nouns such as: clothes (одяг, речі), contents (зміст), goods
(товар, товари), proceeds (виторг, прибуток), riches (багатство, скарби),
wages (заробітна плата), expenses (затрати, витрати), looks (зовнішній
вигляд), greens (зелень, овочі), troops (війська), remains (залишок, рештки),
premises (будинок з прилеглою територією), stairs (сходи, трап).
These nouns may have both forms in Ukrainian:
These traffic-lights are not working. – Цей світлофор не працює. або
Ці світлофори не працюють.
c) Nouns of multitude people (люди), police (міліція, поліція), cattle (велика рогата
худоба), poultry (домашня птиця). These nouns are singular in form but plural in
meaning:
Do the police know about him? – Чи знає поліція про нього?
d) The nouns fruit (фрукт) and fish (риба) are singular in English, but have both
forms in Ukrainian. They agree with the predicate verb in the singular:
Fruit is cheap in summer.
Note that the plural is used to speak about different kinds of fruit:
There are apples, plums and other fruits on the table.