Kate Salikhova, 305 ap

Exam
1. The category oh number of English and Ukrainian nouns.

At present almost the only grammatical category of a noun, which is undisputable

in English and Ukrainian, is the category of number (категорія числа). Both
languages have two numbers: the singular number and the plural number.

All number opposemes are identical in content: they contain two particular
meanings of “singular” and “plural” united by the general meaning of the category,
that of “number”. But there is a considerable variety of form in number
opposemes, though it is not so great as in the Ukrainian language.

With regard to the category of number both English and Ukrainian nouns fall into
two subclasses: countables (злічувані іменники) and uncountables (незлічувані
іменники).

English nouns

The grammatical meaning of number may not coincide with the notional quantity:
the noun in the singular does not necessarily denote one object while the plural
form may be used to denote one object consisting of several parts. The singular
form may denote:

1. oneness (individual separate object – a cat);

2. generalization (the meaning of the whole class – The cat is a domestic
animal);
3. indiscreteness (нерозчленованість) or uncountableness – money, milk).
4. The plural form may denote:
5. the existence of several objects (cats);
6. the inner discreteness (внутрішня розчленованість, 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:

Singularia tantum – it covers different groups of nouns: proper names, abstract

nouns, material nouns, collective nouns;
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 vs Look! The sheep are eating
grass.

In a few noun lexemes of a foreign origin both members of a number opposition

are marked, e.g.: phenomenon – phenomena. But in the process of assimilation this
peculiarity of foreign nouns gets gradually lost, and instead of formula – formulae,
the usual form now is formula – formulas.

Ukrainian nouns

The Ukrainian language has a more complicated way of plural form building. Each
declension of nouns (відміна іменників) has another ending, e.g.: nouns of the
first declension have in the nominative case plural the ending -и (машина –
машини), -і (межа – межі), -ї (надія – надії); the second declension possesses
accordingly the endings: -и (робітник – робітники). –і (коваль – ковалі), -а
(місто – міста), -я (море – моря); nouns of the third declension have the endings:
-і (відповідь – відповіді, ніч –ночі); of the fourth declension – ята (гусеня –
гусенята), – ата (курча – курчата), - ена (ім’я – імена).

The plural form of English nouns is almost unchangeable. In Ukrainian the plural
of noun is opposed to the singular not only by the form of nominative case, but by
the whole system of six cases (compare, e.g.: машина, машини, машині ... –
машини, машин, машинам...).

In both languages only those nouns that can be counted and can be combined with
cardinal numerals (кількісні) can have the plural form. Those nouns that cannot be
counted have as a rule the singular form, and, in fact, are altogether deprived of the
category of number. In both languages these are the following groups of nouns:

a) collective nouns (збірні) – (cavalry, humanity, кіннота, людство);

b) nouns determining the substance or the mass (які позначають речовину або
масу) (copper, glass, мідь, скло);

c) abstract nouns (абстрактні) – (knowledge, health, знання, здоров’я).

Both in English and in Ukrainian some nouns are used only in plural. These are,
first of all, the names of objects, the structure of which causes the image of
plurality or a pair of something (множинність, парність), or the symmetry, e.g:
scissors, spectacles, trousers, tongs (кліщі) etc. The notion concerning the
structure of such things is though not the same by the speakers of two languages
under analysis. Thus, for example in Ukrainian вила, ворота, граблі, сани are
used only in plural, whereas the corresponding English names: pitchfork, gate,
rake, sledge are used in both numbers.

Summing up the mentioned inadequacies in the expression either of singular or of

plural number, there can be stated that nouns like milk, geometry, self-possession
having no plural opposites are usually called by a Latin name – singularia tantum;
nouns like outskirts, clothes, goods having no singular opposites are known as
pluralia tantum.

Singularia tantum usually include nouns of certain lexical meanings. They are
mostly material, abstract and collective nouns, such as sugar, gold, butter,
brilliance, selfishness, soldiery. The group of pluralia tantum is mostly
composed of nouns denoting objects consisting of two or more parts, complex
phenomena or ceremonies, e.g. tongs, pincers (щіпці, кліщі), trousers, nuptials
(весілля, весільна церемонія). Here also belong some nouns with a distinct
collective or material meaning, e.g. clothes, sweets, eaves (повіки, вії).

Similarly in Ukrainian: those nouns that cannot be counted have either a singular
or a plural number. Ukrainian singularia tantum (однинні іменники) include the
following groups of nouns:

1. abstract nouns (мудрість, щастя, журба);

2. collective nouns (начальство, лицарство, ганчір’я);
3. material nouns (сметана, вугілля, кисень, сатин);
4. proper names (Полтава, Михайло, “Літературна Україна”).

Ukrainian pluralia tantum (множинні іменники) include such groups of nouns as:

1. names of objects which have a pair of parts in their structure (ножиці, сани,
окуляри, штани);
2. some collective nouns (надра, копалини, гроші);
3. names of certain materials (речовинні назви – збоїни, вершки, консерви);
4. names of some time and weather notions (приморозки, сутінки, обжинки,
роковини);
5. names of some actions and processes (пустощі, походеньки, заробітки,
дебати);
6. names of games (шахи, шашки, піжмурки);
7. names of abstract notions (ресурси, хвастощі, ревнощі);
8. some geographical proper names (Чернівці, Суми, Піренеї).
2. Typology of the simple sentence in the contrasted languages.

English and Ukrainian structural types of sentences are two-member sentences and
one-member sentences. Binary sentence structures are more characteristic of
English, i.e. they are represented by a larger variety of paradigmatic subtypes than
in Ukrainian. This quantitative correlation of two-member sentences in English and
Ukrainian constitutes the main typological difference in the system of simple
sentences of the two languages. As a result, English two-member sentences are
represented by a larger variety of extended and expanded models, than Ukrainian
two member sentences.

2 types of the simple sentence in Ukrainian and English:

- one-member (more numerous in Ukrainian);

- two-member (in Eng. are represented by a larger variety of paradigmatic subtypes

than in Ukrainian).

One-member sentences.

Common types:

1. nominal sentences – isomorphic in the structural form (extended / expanded),

allomorphic in the grammatical means of connection of the same component parts
(in English – by analytical means, in Ukrainian – synthetic or analytico-synthetic
means) Models:

- N model ex: A wood. Ліс.

- NN/NNN model ex: Mr. Ralph. Lady Sneerwell’s bedroom. Містер Ральф.
Спальня леді Снірвел.

- АN model (may often convey injunctive, requestive and other pragmatic

meanings) ex: Silence! The welcome rain! Тиша! Давно очікуваний дощ!

- N/AN co-cjN/AN model ex: Freedom and power! Свобода і влада!

- with prepositional connection of componental parts – allomorphism: there are no

Uk equivalent grammaticalized prepositions of, to, by, with; no inflexions in Eng.
nouns. Ex: Confidence for confidence. Пів на дванадцяту. Довіря за довіря.

– Imperative sentences (V or VP structure) ex: Keep aside! Open the door! Не

підходь! Відчиніть двері!
– Exclamatory (may structurally coincide with nominal and infinitival) ex:
How funny! Як кумедно!
 – Infinitival (extended/unextended) ex: To be or not to be? Бути чи не бути?

Only in Ukrainian:

1. The definite personal sentences (означено-особові) – Любіть Україну

всім серцем своїм....
2. The indefinite personal (неозначено-особові) – Дзвонять в усі дзвони! Не
за те вовка б'ють, що сірий, а за те, що овечку вкрав.
3. Generalized personal (узагальнено-особові) – Поживемо – побачимо!
4. Impersonal (безособові) – Світає. Край неба палає.

Two-member sentences in English only:

1. Impersonal sentences with IT – It is raining. It is snowing.

2. Indefinite personal with one, they, you – They say.
3. With It or There – There is nothing to say.
4. With the implicit agent and passive predicate verb followed by a preposition
– He was sent for.
5. With secondary predication – I thought him to be a teacher. (Such sentences
in Ukrainian have either simple or complex definite personal sentences for
their semantic equivalents – Я думав, що він учитиель).
6. With gerundial complexes used as predicative constructions – You can rely
on her coming in time.

Two-member sentences of the common structural form in both languages:

1. With subject expressed by a notional word and predicate – by a verb –

Breakfast was not yet over… Сніданок ще не закінчився…
2. With simple nominal predicate expressed by a noun/an adj./a numeral/an
infinitive/a participle/a phrase. – Poor little thing! Бідолажна!