The NOUN. The category of NUMBER.

The meaning of category to denote oneness or more than oneness. The foundation of the categorical meaning & number is layed by the notion of discreetness – non-discreetness, & countable & uncountable N. Discreet N show the opposition plurality – non-plurality, where the plural form indicates a set of homogenous elements separated by visible boundaries. Non-plural indicates a single obj having definite outer boundaries. Indiscrete uncountable Ns comstitute the lexico-grammatical opposition of subclasses of words: sg only, pl only. The G meaning its components show through syntactic patterning: argument. Sg only Sg only is a oppide to indiscrete item having no boundaries whatsoever: milk, butter, news. Pl only are mainly abstract & material N. Pl only include Ns denoting objects consisting of 2 equal parts: poors, riches. The singular form may denote: oneness (individual separate object – a cat); generalization (the meaning of the whole class – The cat is a domestic animal); indiscreteness (нерасчлененность or uncountableness - money, milk).

The plural form may denote: the existence of several objects (cats); the inner discreteness внутренняя расчлененность, pluralia tantum, jeans). To sum it up, all nouns may be subdivided into three groups: 1).The nouns in which the opposition of explicit discreteness/indiscreteness is expressed : cat::cats; 2)The nouns in which this opposition is not expressed explicitly but is revealed by syntactical and lexical correlation in the context. There are two groups here: A.Singularia tantum. It covers different groups of nouns: proper names, abstract nouns, material nouns, collective nouns; B.Pluralia tantum. It covers the names of objects consisting of several parts (jeans), names of sciences (mathematics), names of diseases, games, etc. 3)The nouns with homogenous number forms. The number opposition here is not expressed formally but is revealed only lexically and syntactically in the context: e.g. Look! A sheep is eating grass. Look! The sheep are eating grass.

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Notional classes of words	\|	The Problem of the Category of Case in Modern Eng

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