Classification of Nouns 2016

Classification of Nouns
According to their lexical meaning nouns fall under two classes:

Common nouns (загальні назви)
Proper nouns (власні назви)
Common nouns are names applied to any individual of a class of persons or things,
collections of similar individuals or things regarded as a unit, materials or abstract notions.
They are subdivided into:
 class nouns (конкретні іменники)
 collective nouns (збірні іменники)
 material nouns (речовинні іменники)
 abstract nouns (абстрактні іменники)
1. Class nouns denote living beings or things belonging to a class, such as a man, a dog, a
book. They are countable. They can have a singular and plural form.
2. Collective nouns denote a number of persons or things collected together to form a single
unit. They are subdivided into:
a) Nouns that are used in both numbers: a family, a company, a team. They are countable.
When these nouns are used in singular they may be followed by the verb either in the
singular or in the plural. The verb is singular if the collective noun is thought of as a single
unit. The verb is plural if the collective noun is thought of as a collection of separate
individuals:
My family is my everything.
My family are sitting at the table and drinking tea.
b) Nouns that are used only in the singular. They are singular in form and singular in
meaning. They are uncountable, e.g. furniture, money, youth.
c) Nouns that are used only in the plural. They are plural in form and plural in meaning.
They are uncountable, e.g. goods, belongings, looks. Very often they are nouns formed from
other parts of speech.
d) Nouns that are used only in the plural. These are names of things consisting of two similar
parts (halves). They are plural in form and plural in meaning. They are uncountable, e.g.
scales, trousers, shorts.
e) Nouns of multitude that are singular in form but plural in meaning. They are uncountable
and followed by plural verbs, e.g. people, police.
f) Nouns that are used only in the singular. They are plural in form but singular in meaning.
They are uncountable. These are names of some subjects, games and activities, e.g. maths,
phonetics, aerobics.
3. Material nouns denote materials, such as air, water, paper, cotton, leather. They are
uncountable and used only in the singular.
4. Abstract nouns denote notions (science, information), qualities (beauty, humour), actions
(work, conversation), feelings and emotions (joy, love, anger).
They are uncountable and used only in the singular.
Proper nouns are names given to individuals of a class to distinguish them from other
individuals of the same class: 1) personal names; 2) geo names; 3) months, days; 4) hotels,
streets etc.
Countable Nouns
Plural of Nouns
Countable nouns denote things or individuals that can be counted. Countables
have two numbers – the singular and the plural.
1. Normally nouns form the plural by adding -s to the singular form. This plural ending
is pronounced as:
 /z/ after voiced consonants and vowels – beds, bees, flowers, ladies;
 /s/ after voiceless consonants – books, caps;
 /z/ after sibilants – noses, horses, bridges.
2. If the noun ends in -s, -ss, -x, -sh, -ch, -tch, the plural is formed by adding -es to
the singular stem. This plural ending is pronounced as /z/:
a bus – buses a glass – glasses a bench – benches
a box – boxes a bush – bushes a match – matches
3. If the noun stem ends in -y:
Consonant + y = y i + es a fly – flies, an army – armies;
Vowel + y = y + s a monkey – monkeys, a boy – boys.
4. If a noun ends in -o:
Consonant + o = o + es a potato – potatoes, a hero – heroes;
Vowel + o = o + s a radio – radios, a cuckoo – cuckoos.
But: a piano – pianos (піаніно); a solo – solos (сольний номер); a photo – photos
(фотографія); kilo – kilos (кілограм).
5. If a noun ends in -f(e):
f(e)  v + es // a knife – knives, a wife – wives, a wolf – wolves.
But there are some nouns in which there is no change:

a chief – chiefs (начальник) a gulf – gulfs (затока)
a roof – roofs (дах) a kerchief – kerchiefs (хусточка)
a belief – beliefs (віра) a safe – safes (сейф)
a handkerchief – handkerchiefs (носова хусточка)
There are some nouns which have two forms:
a scarf – scarfs/scarves (шарф)
a hoof – hoofs/hooves (копито)
a wharf – wharfs/wharves (пристань).
6. The plural forms of some nouns are survivals of earlier formations.
a) There are 7 nouns which form the plural by changing the root vowel:
a man – men (чоловік) a goose – geese (гуска)
a woman – women (жінка) a mouse – mice (миша)
a foot – feet (ступня) a louse – lice (воша)
a tooth – teeth (зуб)
b) There are 3 nouns which form the plural in -en:
an ox – oxen (бик)
a child – children (дитина)
a brother – brethren (брат (реліг.))
c) In some nouns the plural form does not differ from the singular (they have the same
form):
a deer – deer (олень)
a fish – fish (риба)
a sheep – sheep (вівця) a means – means (засіб)
a swine – swine (свиня) a series – series (серія)
a trout – trout (форель) a species – species (вид)
an aircraft – aircraft (літак)
d) Some nouns from Latin and Greek retain their original forms:
a //  ae /i:/ an antenna – antennae, a formula – formulae;
ex(ix) /ks/  ices /si:z/ an appendix – appendices, an index – indices;
is /s/  es /i:z/ a basis – bases, a thesis – theses;
on /n/  a // a criterion – criteria,
a phenomenon – phenomena;
um //  a // a medium – media, a curriculum – curricula;
us /s/  i /a/ a cactus – cacti, a nucleus – nuclei;
o //  i /i:/ a tempo – tempi.
7. In compound nouns the plural is formed in different ways.

a) if a noun is non-hyphenated, the last word is used in the plural:
a housewife – housewives, an onlooker – onlookers, a postman – postmen.
b) if the noun is hyphenated, the main meaningful word (the head word) is used in the
plural:
a brother-in-law – brothers-in-law, an editor-in-chief – editors-in-chief.
c) if there is no noun stem in the compound, -s is added to the last element:
a forget-me-not – forget-me-nots, a merry-go-round – merry-go-rounds.
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.

Classification of Nouns 2016

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Classification of Nouns 2016

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Classification of Nouns

According to their lexical meaning nouns fall under two classes:

But there are some nouns in which there is no change:

7. In compound nouns the plural is formed in different ways.

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