English majors and minors, year II, autumn 2009-2010

Lecture 4
The Noun Phrase
One of the key parts of English grammar is the noun phrase. In this lecture, we focus
on the simple noun phrase, which consists of head alone, or a determiner + head. Nouns or
pronouns can function as head. These components are illustrated below.
determiner slot head slot
music (common noun
determiner the friends (common noun
Chicago (proper noun
She (pronoun
geniti!e Charles's grandfather (common noun
In addi tion, noun phrases can be e"tended by the use of modi fiers and
complements.
1 ain ty!es o" nouns
Nouns can be grouped into a small number of classes which differ in meaning and
grammatical beha!ior. There is first a distinction between common and !ro!er nouns.
#ommon nouns can be either counta#le or uncounta#le$
#ountable common nouns refer to entities which can be counted$ they ha!e both a
singular and a plural form (a cow, two cows, etc.. %oth in the singular and in the plural
there is a contrast between inde"inite and de"inite, signaled by articles% a cow !s. the
cow; cows !s. the cows.
&ncountable common nouns refer to something which cannot be counted$ they do not
!ary for number. They cannot occur with the indefinite article a(n), but they allow a
contrast between definite and indefinite$ the milk !s. milk.
'roper nouns ha!e no contrast for number or definiteness$ they are singular and definite.
(or e"ample, the proper noun Sue has no options )a Sue, *the Sue, or )Sues.
The differences among these noun classes are shown here$
common counta#le common uncounta#le !ro!er
inde"inite de"inite inde"inite de"inite &de"inite'
singular a cow the cow milk the milk Sue
!lural cows the cows - - -
#ountability is partly a matter of how we !iew the world, rather than how the world
really is. (or e"ample, furniture and traffic are uncountable nouns in English. *lthough they
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refer to sets of separate items (e.g. chairs, cars, the English language +sees+ these items as
a mass.
'roper nouns need no article or plural form because they only name an indi!idual
(e.g. a specific person or place, like Sue, Chicago) whereas common nouns denote a class (like
girl, city). 'roper nouns are generally used in situations where the speaker and addressee
know which indi!idual is meant, without further specification.
Ne!ertheless, proper nouns can sometimes ha!e modifiers like common nouns$
The court heard that little arry's death could ha!e "een #re!ented if social workers
had not o!erruled detecti!es.
The ad,ecti!e modifier little does not ser!e to distinguish -arry from others of that
name, but adds a descripti!e label to someone already identified. (urther, proper nouns
sometimes ha!e a possessi!e determiner$
$%m gonna ha!e to #hone our Sue.
&h did $ tell you our 'oanie's coming o!er(
In these e"amples our signals that .ue and /oanie are members of the speaker+s family.
'roper nouns can also be used like common nouns.
1$1 (oncrete )s$ a#stract nouns
0In the following te"t e"cerpt, the different kinds of noun are highlighted as follows$
underlined 1 common countable, bold 1 common uncountable, capitals 1 proper$2
The la" crew at C$)*-+,$+-, the Swiss chemical and drugs giant, continues to seek out
niche markets with a !engeance. The latest de!elo#ment is a drug called
clomipramine which has the endearing .uality of reducing the desire to #ull your hair
out when under stress.
This te"t sample illustrates another distinction$
#oncrete nouns refer to physical entities or substances.
*bstract nouns refer to abstractions such as e!ents, states, times, and 3ualities. In the te"t
sample, the following common nouns are concrete$ la", crew, chemical, drugs, drug,
clomi#ramine, hair. The following common nouns are abstract (though some of them can
ha!e concrete meanings in other sentences$ giant, niche, markets, !engeance,
de!elo#ment, .uality, desire, stress.
The distinction between concrete and abstract nouns is purely semantic$ it has no real
grammatical role, since abstract nouns, like concrete nouns, can be countable, uncountable,
common, or proper. In fact, some nouns, like thing, cross the boundary between concrete and
abstract !ery easily. Thing commonly refers to a physical ob,ect (as in 4 below, but it is also
widely used for abstract meanings like +e!ent5 or +process+ (as in 6$
1 This thing is way too small to stick "etween your toes.
2 $ ha!e /ust got it confirmed, "ut these things take time.
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#oncrete nouns are more +physical+ than abstract nouns, and the countable7
uncountable distinction can be better understood if we think of these distinctions for
concrete nouns$
#ountable concrete nouns refer to persons, ob,ects, places (e.g. student, chair, town).
&ncountable concrete nouns refer to substances, materials, li3uids, gases (e.g. steel, water,
air).
-owe!er, this is ,ust a guide 8 as the e"ceptional cases of furniture and traffic show.
1$2 The same noun as counta#le or uncounta#le
9any nouns can be both countable and uncountable, but with a difference of meaning$
$ think these are eggs from our new chickens. :countable;
0ould you like some chicken for dinner( :uncountable;
There is no way to tell how old a rock is merely "y looking at its minerals. :countable;
Rock is defined as the inorganic mineral material co!ering the earth's surface.
:uncountable;
*lso, many basically uncountable nouns ha!e countable uses$
1lant "e!erages include tea, coffee, wine, alcoholic drinks, into2icants, and sweet
"e!erages. :uncountable;
Six teas #lease. :countable, 1 cups of tea;
$ think $ would like some wine though. :uncountable;
* lot of non-alcoholic wines are e2#ensi!e. :countable 1 types of wine;
Tea and wine, referring to li3uids or substances, are basically uncountable, but teas
(countable can refer to cups of tea, and wines can refer to types of wine.
In a similar way, abstract nouns can ha!e countable and uncountable uses$
0hat's your highest le!el of education? :uncountable;
*lthough she was a girl she wanted an education. :countable;
They had recei!ed kindness, thoughts and good wishes from total strangers. :uncountable;
$t would "e a 'cruel kindness' to u#hold the county court order. :countable;
-ere the indefinite article a3an signals the countable use of education and
kindness. The uncountable noun refers to the general abstraction, while the countable
noun refers to particular instances or types of it.
1$* Plural uncounta#le nouns
*lthough it may seem to be a contradiction, there are a few plural uncountable nouns$
She wears those /igsaw-ty#e clothes, trousers usually.
She reached for the scissors.
4etters of thanks ha!e "een flooding into our office.
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These are plural in that they ha!e a plural ending -s and go with plural determiners
(those in the first e"ample, but they are uncountable because there is no singular form *a clothe,
*a thank.
N+TE5 clothes is not the plural of cloth, which has its own plural cloths.
2$ Pro!er nouns )s$ common nouns
Important types of proper noun are$
personal names (e.g. *nna, Tom, 0illiams, Singh)
place names (e.g. *ustralia, 6arachi, *frica)
organi<ation names (e.g. Congress, 7itsu"ishi)
time names (e.g. Saturday, 'uly, Christmas)
The most typical proper nouns (e.g. *nna, *frica) are arbitrary in form.
=rammatically, these nouns ha!e no determiner and do not ha!e a contrast of number
between singular and plural (*nnas, the *nna, an *nna do not normally occur. In spelling,
proper nouns are marked by an initial capital letter.
>et these features of proper nouns ha!e e"ceptions. 9any names are actually multi8
word e"pressions, and contain ordinary le"ical words$ e.g. the orn of *frica, the 0hite
ouse. *s these e"amples show, a name may also be preceded by the, something which can
also occur with a single proper name as in the Sahara (8esert), the 1acific (&cean), the
9atican, the 6remlin. .ome proper names with the are plural (e.g. the imalayas).
2$1 Initial ca!itals
The use of initial capitals in spelling e"tends beyond proper names. &ses for which the
capital letter is con!entional are$
personal names (e.g. Sam, 'ones, 7andela)
geographical names (e.g. Canada, Tokyo, *sia)
ob,ects, especially commercial products (e.g. 9oyager, Che!rolet, 6leene2)
religious periods, months, and days of the week (e.g. :amadan, *ugust, ;riday)
religions and some religious concepts (e.g. )uddhism, $slam, +od, ea!en, ell)
address terms for family members (e.g. 7other, 8ad, <ncle)
people or bodies with a uni3ue public function (e.g. the 1o#e, the 1resident, the Senate,
1arliament, the Commonwealth)
public buildings, institutions, laws, etc. (e.g. the 4i"rary of Congress, -ale <ni!ersity, the
;ire 1recautions *ct)
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political parties and their members (e.g. the 8emocrats, the 4a"our 1arty)
languages, nationalities, and ethnic groups (e.g. *ra"ic, Chinese, ,nglish, Siou2)
ad,ecti!es and common nouns deri!ed from proper nouns (e.g. 9ictorian, the
9ictorian(s), =ew -orker(s), +reek(s), 7ar2ist, 7ar2ism)
Not all words spelled with initial capitals are proper nouns? the last group abo!e consists
of ad,ecti!es and common nouns$
!ro!er noun adjecti)e singular common noun !lural common noun
)uddha, )uddhism )uddhist a )uddhist )uddhists
;inland ;innish a ;inn ;inns
1aris 1arisian a 1arisian 1arisians
In fact, there is a lot of interplay between proper nouns and common nouns. 9any
names are combinations of common nouns and other words with a definite article (as in the
)ritish 4i"rary). On the other hand, many common nouns are based on proper nouns and
keep the capital letter$ the 'a#anese.
2$2 Pro!er nouns regularly occurring ,ith the
.ome proper nouns regularly occur with a definite article. Important groups are$
geographical names, such as ri!ers, seas, and canals (e.g. the =ile, the 1anama Canal, the
$ndian &cean)
plural geographical names (e.g. the Cayman $slands, the +reat Smoky 7ountains)
buildings with public functions, such as hotels, restaurants, theatres, museums, and
libraries (e.g. the :it>, the 7etro#olitan 7useum)
names of ships (e.g. the Titanic, the Santa 7aria)
many newspapers and some periodicals (e.g. The =ew -ork Times, The +uardian).
2$* Pro!er nouns #eha)ing li-e common nouns
.ometimes proper nouns can function like common nouns. The following show typical
uses$
a person or family called @$
$ ha!en't "een in touch with the 'oneses for ages. :the /ones family;
a product of @
$ got a Bentley, two Cadillacs, a Chrysler station wagon, and an MG for my "oy.
:makes of car;
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* Pac-age nouns
(our special classes of countable common nouns are considered in this section$
collecti)e nouns, unit nouns, .uanti"ying nouns, and s!ecies nouns$ O!erall, they ha!e
a function of +packaging+ together a range of entities. 'ackage nouns are often followed by
of8phrases$ e.g. a load of "ooks. The four different classes are sometimes difficult to separate.
(or e"ample, "unch is a collecti!e noun but it has also become popular as a 3uantifying
noun (1 +a 3uantity of5 in *merican English con!ersation.
*$1 (ollecti)e nouns
#ollecti!e nouns refer to groups of people, animals, or things$ e.g. army, audience,
committee, family, staff, team, flock, "unch. *ll these nouns beha!e like ordinary countable
nouns, !arying for number and definiteness$ the team, a team, the teams, teams. (*mong
collecti!e nouns we also find proper nouns naming official bodies or organi<ations$ the <S*;,
the ))C, the Senate, the <=, =)C, Congress, 1arliament).
One special class of collecti!e nouns often comes before an of8phrase describing
the members of the group$
Two little groups o people stood at a res#ecta"le distance "eyond the stools.
There was a small crowd o people around.
The aircraft flew into a large lock o seagulls /ust after take-off.
Nouns like grou#, crowd, and flock can be called o!collecti)es because they generally
precede of + plural noun, where the plural noun names a set of people, animals, ob,ects, etc.
.ome of8collecti!es, such as grou#, are 3uite general in meaning, whereas others ha!e a
more specific application. .ome typical collocations are$
collecti)e noun selected collocations
"unch of idiots, thie!es, roses, gra#es
crowd of demonstrators, fans, s#ectators, sho##ers
lock of "irds, do!es, geese, shee#, children
gang of "andits, hecklers, thugs
group of adults, girls, animals, "uildings, diseases, things
set of assum#tions, characteristics, conditions
The list of collocations abo!e suggests the range of meaning that a collecti!e noun can
co!er. Other e"amples are$ herd of cows, host of stars, pack of lies, series of accidents, shoal
of fish, swarm of "ees, troop of ins#ectors. .ome points to note are$
)unch, grou#, and set are the most general words, allowing the widest range of collocations.
*lthough many of these collecti!es ha!e a specific range (e.g. flock refers to a group of
birds and animals, they can be e"tended, for special effect, to other nouns (e.g. flock of
children).
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.ome of the collecti!es fre3uently ha!e a negati!e effect$ especially "unch, gang, and
#ack. Notice the contrasting effects of$
# group o young men were talking eagerly. :neutral;
# swarm o panicked men, most with rifles, a##roached the "linding, eru#ting
generator. :negati!e;
*$2 /nit nouns
&nit nouns allow us to cut up a generali<ed mass or substance into indi!idual units or
pieces. They are countable nouns, but they are usually followed by an of-phrase containing an
uncountable noun. Each unit noun has a specific meaning, which shows up in the different
collocations it fa!ors$
unit noun selected collocations
a "it of cake, wood, fun, luck
a chunk of chocolate, concrete, gold
a grain o corn, dust, salt, sand
an item of clothing, e.ui#ment, news
a lump of clay, coal, soil, "utter, fat
a piece of cake, toast, chalk, land, wood, ad!ice, e!idence
a sheet of card"oard, iron, #a#er
Other unit nouns are illustrated by$ scrap of #a#er, slice of "read, speck of dirt,
strip of cloth.
Aike 3uantifying collecti!es, unit nouns !ary in their range$ loa of "read and rasher of
"acon fa!or only one collocation, but "it and #iece can be used !ery generally.
One uncountable noun can also combine with a !ariety of unit nouns. (or e"ample, #a#er
can follow "all of, "it of, fragment of, hea# of, length of, mound of, #iece of, #ile of, roll of,
scra# of, sheet of, wad of, etc. depending on the meaning re3uired.
*$* 0uanti"ying nouns
Buantifying nouns are used to refer to 3uantities, which are usually specified in a
following of8phrase containing either a plural noun or an uncountable noun$
a #ile of "ricks a #ile of ru""ish
a kilo of #otatoes a kilo of flour
In this section, we distinguish se!en kinds of 3uantifying nouns$
1 Nouns "or a ty!e o" container
noun selected collocations
"asket of eggs, flowers, "read, fruit
"ox of "ooks, candy, matches, soa#
cup of coffee, sou#, tea
Other e"amples are$ "ag, "arrel, "ottle, can, carton, crate, keg, #ack, #acket, sack.
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2 Nouns "or sha!e
noun selected collocations
hea! of ashes, "lankets, "ones, lea!es, ru""le
pile of "ills, "odies, "ricks, rocks, ru""ish, wood
ea# and #ile can be used more generally, to e"press a !ery large amount$
&h god, $'!e got heaps o things to do.
They must ha!e cost a pile o money.
( easure nouns
nouns selected collocations
pint, gallon, $uart, liter%litre of "eer, "lood, gas, milk, oil, wine
oot, inch, yard, meter%metre o cloth, concrete, material, wire
ounce, pound, gram, kilo&gram' of "utter, cheese, flour, gold
ton, tonne of aluminium, "ricks, ore, sewage
Note$ liter and meter are *mE spellings? litre and metre are %rE.
.ome measure nouns are used more generally$ ounce, for e"ample, can be used for a
!ery small amount and ton for a !ery large amount$
e didn't seem to ha!e an ounce of grown-u# character to draw on.
e has released tons of songs for the consum#tion of the masses.
3 Plural numeral nouns
undred, thousand, million, do>en, and score are nouns for precise numbers. %ut they can
be used in the plural to e"press an indefinitely large number$
&h goodness, darling, you%!e seen it hundreds of times.
E Nouns "or large .uantities
The nouns load(s) and mass(es) can also be used emoti!ely and !aguely to refer to large
3uantities$
noun CCCCCCCC selected collocations
a load of fuel, gar"age, /unk, money, stuff
loads of friends, money, things, work
a mass of "lood, detail, material, stuff
masses of homework, money, #eo#le
4oad(s) is found mostly in con!ersation, while mass (in the singular is found more in
written language.
4 Nouns ending in !ul
The noun suffi" -ful (not to be confused with the ad,ecti!e suffi" -ful, as in careful) can
be added to almost any noun that can denote some kind of container. (or e"ample$
"owlful, earful, fistful, handful, mouthful, #ocketful, s#oonful, teas#oonful
In their basic meaning, these nouns are similar to measure nouns (e.g. in a recipe$ *dd
two teas#oonfuls of oli!e oil), but they can be used more imaginati!ely. andful is the most
Anca Cehan 2009 8
common noun of this type, and it also stands out in being used in an e"tended sense, to refer
to a small 3uantity (as in a handful of #eo#le).
5 (air and couple
These are both nouns referring to two people, things, etc. %ut they are 3uite different in
the way they collocate with other nouns$
noun CCCCC selected collocations
pair of arms, eyes, glasses, glo!es, hands, #ants, #liers, scissors, shoes
couple of days, "a"ies, "alloons, "oys, e2am#les, hours, kids
The main difference is that #air of applies to two things which occur together (thus it
can go with plural uncountable nouns, as in a #air of trousers); whereas cou#le of is used more
!aguely, to mean +two or three, a !ery small number+. * cou#le (of) is similar to a few, and can
be considered a plural 3uantifier Aike many !ague e"pressions, a cou#le (of) is collo3uial$ it
occurs far more in con!ersation than in the written registers, and hardly occurs at all in
academic writing.
*$4 6!ecies nouns
.pecies nouns are another class of nouns often followed by an of8phrase, but they refer
to the type rather than the 3uantity of something$
7r. 7athew is the sort o character 8ickens liked to create.
7 was
?
a floater,% really. $ did all kinds o things.
There are two types o "ond energy.
The scheme co!ers any make o machine.
4imestones, one class o sedimentary rock, are made u# of calcium car"onate.
<nder these conditions certain species o "acteria "reak down the waste to form
methane gas.
.pecies nouns can be followed by countable or uncountable nouns. In the former case,
there is a choice between singular and plural for both nouns$
any make of machine :singular + of + singular ;
what sort of things :singular + of @ plural;
certain types of car :plural + of@ singular;
these kinds of $uestions :plural + of @ plural;
The choice between D and E often makes little difference to meaning? for
e"ample, certain ty#es of car and certain ty#es of cars ha!e the same meaning.
.ort (of) + noun and kind (of) + noun are the most common species nouns. Sort of@
noun is particularly fre3uent in con!ersation, and kind of + noun in fiction. Other species
nouns (ty#e (of) and s#ecies(of)) are fre3uent only in academic writing.
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4$ Num#er and case in nouns
4$1 Num#er% singular and !lural
Num#er is the term for the contrast between singular and plural$ a contrast in English
grammar affecting not only nouns, but pronouns, determiners and !erbs. The singular form of
nouns is the unmarked and most common form, and plural nouns are formed from the
singular by inflectional change, normally the addition of a suffi".
4$1$1 7egular !lurals
The o!erwhelming ma,ority of nouns form their plural by adding the ending in F(e)s.
1 Pronunciation
*dd li>l after consonants 7s, <, G, , tG, d 7$
case - cases, fuse - fuses, ash - ashes, "ridge - "ridges
*dd 7s7 after !oiceless consonants (e"cept 7s, G, tG$
cat - cats, ma# - ma#s, stick - sticks, act - acts, myth - myths
*dd 7<7 after !owels and !oiced consonants (e"cept 7<, , d 7$
"oy - "oys, dog - dogs, girl - girls, time - times, union - unions.
2 6!elling
The normal spelling is -s, but if the word ends in s, >, 2, sh, or ch, the spelling is -es5
"us - "uses, "o2 - "o2es, "ush - "ushes, match A matches
If the singular ends in a consonant letter + -y, the spelling is -ies5
co#y - co#ies, fly - flies, lady - ladies, army A armies
If the singular ends in a !owel letter @ -y, howe!er, the spelling is -s5
"oy - "oys, day - days, key - keys, essay - essays
If the singular ends in -o, the spelling of the plural is sometimes 8os and sometimes
-oes5
#ianos, radios, !ideos !s. heroes, #otatoes, !olcanoes
4$1$2 Nati)e irregular !lurals
Irregular plurals can be di!ided into nati!e English plurals and plurals borrowed from
other languages. * small number of nati!e English words ha!e irregular plurals$
changing the !owel$
man - men foot - feet tooth - teeth
woman - -women goose - geese mouse - mice
adding -(r)en5
child - children o2 - o2en
!oicing the last consonant 8 7f7 changes to 7!7$
calf - cal!es knife - kni!es leaf - lea!es life - li!es
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shelf - shel!es thief - thie!es wife - wi!es wolf - wol!es
9ost nouns ending in 8f, howe!er, ha!e a regular plural$ "eliefs, chefs, chiefs, #roofs,
reefs, roofs.
4$1$* Latin and 5ree- !lurals
.ome words borrowed from Aatin and =reek keep their original plurals, although often
the regular plural is an alternati!e$
alumnus - alumni sylla"us - sylla"i
curriculum - curricula formula - formulae
a##endi2 - a##endices a2is - a2es
crisis - crises diagnosis - diagnoses
criterion - criteria #henomenon - #henomena
4$1$4 8ero !lurals
Hero plurals are plural forms which do not change from singular to plural$
some animal nouns$ fish, shee#, deer, salmon
some 3uantifying nouns$ do>en, hundred, foot, mile when they are used as part of a numerical
3uantity (e.g. two do)en #eo#le, two hundred kids)
a few other <ero plural nouns$ aircraft, dice, series, s#ecies.
The sign of a <ero plural is that the same form can be used with singular and plural
concord$
*nglers are heading for court "ecause ish are too easy to catch.
)ach ish is caught, the hook carefully remo!ed and the weight noted "efore release.
Plural-only nouns and singular nouns in !s
These are nouns that can be confusing because$
they look singular but are actually plural, like #eo#le, #olice, staff, cattle
they look plural but are actually singular, like news, measles, mum#s, checkers.
4$2 (ase% the geniti)e
-istorically, English had case endings for nouns like the nominati)e and accusati!e
cases of pronouns (e.g. he - him). -owe!er, the only case ending that sur!i!es in modern English
nouns is the geniti)e ending 's.
4$2$1 The "orm o" the geniti)e
The 8's geniti!e ending !aries in pronunciation in the same way as the plural ending.
1 Pronunciation
*dd 7$B3 after 7s, <, G, , tG , d 7$
Charles's, 4i>'s, +eorge's, Co2's
*dd 7s7 after !oiceless consonants e"cept 7s, G, t 7$
cat's, 'ack's, 1hili#'s, Smith's, staffs
*dd 7<7 after !owels and !oiced consonants e"cept 7<, , d 7$
"oy's, daddy's, girl's, women's, dog's
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Iith regular plural nouns ending in -s, e.g. girls', the geniti!e is not pronounced.
2 6!elling
The geniti!e is written with an apostrophe$ 8's.
Iith regular plural nouns ending in -s, the geniti!e is marked by a final apostrophe$
girls'. Thus the girl's success (one girl and the girls' success (more than one girl are
distinguished only by the apostrophe.
(or irregular plurals not ending in -s the geniti!e is -?s as for singular forms? women's
rights, men's clothing.
(or singular names ending in -s, the regular geniti!e is usual$ 8a!ids's, Charles's. %ut
sometimes these nouns are treated as if they were plural nouns$ 8a!ids', Charles'.
4$2$2 5eniti)e as determiner% s!eci"ying geniti)es
=eniti!es usually fill the determiner slot in a noun phrase$ they precede the head, and like
other determiners they play the role of s!eci"ying the reference of the head noun. In this, they
ha!e the same function as the possessi!e determiner. #ompare$
the girl's face her face his #arents' home their home
These e"amples answer the 3uestion +Ihose @J+. The geniti!e acts as the head of its own
noun phrase, which acts as determiner for the whole noun phrase. In the following, C D enclose
the geniti!e phrase$
Cthe girl'sD face Chis #arents'D home Cdecent #eo#le'sD feelings
Notice that the determiner or modifier at the beginning of the three e"amples belongs to
the geniti!e noun, and not to the following noun. It is often possible to use an of-phrase as an
alternati!e to the geniti!e. #ompare$
Cdecent #eo#le'sD feelings the feelings Cof decent #eo#leD
This e"ample underlines the need to see the geniti!e construction as a phrase, e!en
though the geniti!e !ery fre3uently consists of one word, as in C'ack'sD !oice. =eniti!es can e!en
ha!e postmodifiers, as in someone else's house.
4$2$* 5eniti)e as modi"ier% classi"ying geniti)es
In contrast to specifying geniti!es, other geniti!es ha!e the role of classifying the reference
of the head noun$ the 3uestion answered here is +Ihat kind of @J+. #ompare these pairs of
specifying and classifying geniti!es$
4 Se!eral hours later Cthe "ird's relie!ed ownerD arri!ed at the station.
6 is hair felt like Ca "ird's nestD. e was a mess.
4. ,!en Cher two children's clothesD disa##eared.
6. o##ity in artle#ool is one of the few nearly new sho#s s#eciali>ing /ust in
Cchildren's clothingD.
In the 4 e"amples the reference is to the owner of a specific bird and the clothes
belonging to some specific children. In the 6 e"amples, the geniti!es ser!e to classify the
types of nest and clothes.
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In many cases, a classifying geniti!e is e3ui!alent to an ad,ecti!e or a noun modifier,
whereas this is not true of the specifying geniti!e. #ompare the geniti!es in the following
e"amples with the non8geniti!e modifiers which could replace them$
the women's mo!ement children's literature a summer's day
(the eminist mo!ement) &adult literature) (a summer day)
4$2$4 5eniti)es o" time and measure
The geniti!e is often used to specify time (especially in news writing$
0iglers and 1arsons' re#ort a##eared in this week's issue of Science maga>ine.
The geniti!e is also used to e"press duration, distance7length, or !alue$
duration$ a minute's hesitation, a month's holiday, two hours' slee#
distance7length$ 7 held the tele#hone at arm's length and stared at it.
monetary !alue$ She had to "uy ity pounds' worth.
4$2$9 Inde!endent geniti)es
Inde!endent geniti)es are geniti!e phrases standing alone as a noun phrase. &nlike
other geniti!es, they are not part of another (main noun phrase. 9any independent geniti!es
in!ol!e elli!sis.
Elliptic geniti!es are geniti!e phrases whose main noun head can be reco!ered from the
preceding te"t. The omitted noun is shown in C D below$
This isn't my ChandwritingD. $t's Selina's. :i.e. .elina+s handwriting;
*ll the Turner girls #referred girls' CtoysD to "oys'. :i.e. boys+ toys;
Other independent geniti!es ha!e become con!entional, so that they need no
supporting noun head in the conte"t. They generally refer to people+s homes (4, to other
places such as businesses and clubs (6, and to commercial products and firms (D$
1 She's going to a riend's. :i.e. a friend+s house;
1 The !ast main concourse had the com"ined a##earance of a foot"all scrimmage
and Christmas ,!e at Macy's. :9acy+s is a department store;
2 *n o#en "ottle o *ack +aniel's is on the candle ta"le. :/ack Kaniel+s is a
type of whiskey;
4$2$: 3ou#le geniti)es
The dou#le geniti)e is a special construction in which either the independent geniti!e or a
possessi!e pronoun occurs in an of8phrase$
This was a good idea o *ohnny's.
There's a talk "y this lady from )oulder who's a student o Sandy's.
The woman who owns arte's is a riend o ours.
*s these e"amples show, the main noun phrase typically begins with the indefinite
article. In fact, the definite article does not normally combine with the double geniti!e$ *the good
idea of 'ohnny's is unlikely to occur.
The meaning of the double geniti!e can sometimes be alternati!ely e"pressed by other
constructions. Thus, a friend of ours could alternati!ely be e"pressed as one of our friends.
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4$2$; 6emantic ty!es o" noun ta-ing the geniti)e
(or the most part, the geniti!e inflecti on is used wi th personal nouns$ that is,
nouns referring to humans, including proper nouns. -owe!er, the geniti!e is also used
with other s emant i c t yp e s of noun s , particularly in news writing.
*part from personal nouns, the most common geniti!e nouns are collecti!e nouns,
usually referring to human organi<ations (e.g. the +o!ernment's denial). 'lace nouns are
also moderately common as geni ti !es, usual l y referri ng to count ri es or ot her pl aces
wi t h human populations (e.g. S#ain's inflation). Thus, a geniti!e noun is !ery likely to
ha!e a human connection, e!en if it is not a personal noun.
4$2$< The choice #et,een geniti)es and o!!hrases
It is easy to find e"amples where the geniti!e construction and the of-phrase seem to
be free !ariants$ e.g. the car's owner and the owner of the car. >et in practice there are
se!eral factors which fa!or the choice of one construction o!er the other. -ere we briefly
re!iew those factors, considering only of8phrases which are in competition with the geniti!e
(e.g. e"cluding of-phrases with special noun classes, like unit nouns and 3uantifying
nouns.
1 The semantic class o" the noun
'ersonal nouns, especially proper nouns, are much more likely to be used in the geniti!e.
Inanimate and abstract nouns, on the other hand, are much more likely to be used with the of-
construction$ e.g. the future of socialism, rather than socialism's future.
2 The meaning relation #et,een the t,o nouns
There are many different meaning relations that can e"ist between the geniti!e noun and
the main noun (or between the corresponding nouns in an of-construction. .ome meanings
fa!or the geniti!e, while others fa!or the of-construction.
9eaning relations fa!oring the geniti!e are$
possessi!e geniti!e$
,he amily's car was found a"andoned at *ndersonstown Crescent. :the family
had7owned a car;
attributi!e geniti!e$
&n occasions, Martha's courage failed her. :9artha was courageous ;
sub,ecti!e geniti!e$
Chiang's recognition of the #riority of the s#oken language e2#lained why so few
characters were #ictogra#hs or ideogra#hs. :#hiang recogni<ed something;
On the other hand, other meaning relations fa!our the of8phrase, such as the +ob,ecti!e+
construction where the noun after of has a role like the ob,ect of a !erb$
Anca Cehan 2009 14
,he "rutal murder o a child lea!es a firm trace on the mind of a #olice officer
like an indeli"le #en. :someone murdered the child;
The combination of a geniti!e construction and an of8construction in the same noun
phrase is illustrated in$
The +o!ernment's denial of the need sub,ecti!e + ob,ecti!e
7rs. )idwell's descri#tion of the .uarrel sub,ecti!e + ob,ecti!e
Ie could e"press the same meaning with a clause$ The +o!ernment denied the need and
9rs. )idwell descri"ed the .uarrel.
( (ollocations
=eniti!es tend to occur in fi"ed collocations$ at death's door, life's work, nature's way, out of
harm's way. The geniti!e with sake is particularly producti!e$ for +od's sake, for goodness' sake, for
hea!en's sake, for old time's3times' sake.
3 Length o" !hrases% end-,eight
=eniti!e constructions are generally short, whereas of8phrases are often longer. This pattern,
follows the general principle of end-,eight in English.
E In"ormation "lo,% end-"ocus
English tends to prefer end8focus$ presenting gi!en i nf ormat i on f i r st , and new
i nf ormati on at the end of a construction. Thus, the geniti!e, coming first, tends to
e"press gi!en information, while the of-phrase, following, tends to introduce new information.
-nited's manager, *le2 ;erguson, must des#air. :after 9anchester &nited has
recently been mentioned;
*#ril EFFE5 Takes o!er as manager o .i/erpool. :after managers+ ,obs ha!e
recently been mentioned;
4 7egister distri#ution o" geniti)es and o-!hrases
* last important factor is register. &f8phrases are by far the more fre3uent option
o!erall, and they are especiall y common in academic writing.
The proportion of geniti!es is much hi gher i n news t han i n academic writing.
News writing uses the geniti!e to pack information densely and concisely into noun
phrases. (or e"ample$
.ast week's meeting of the "orough's #olicy and finance committee was all "ut
de!oid of dissenting !oices.
#on!ersation has relati!ely few geniti!es or of-phrases.
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