LECTURE 5 Adjective and Numeral as Parts of Speech in the English and

Ukrainian Languages
Plan:

1. Adjective as a part of speech: general characteristics. Grammatical categories of

adjective.
2. Degrees of comparison of adjectives in English and Ukrainain.
3. Numeral as a part of speech: general characteristics.
4. Grammatical categories of numeral in contrasted languages.

Typical features of adjectives in English and Ukrainian. The lexico-

grammatical meaning of attributes (of substances) /quality (of substances), like size,
colour, position in space, material, psychic state of persons, e.g.: large/small, red//blue,
upper/inner, wooden/woolen, happy/furious. The typical stem-building affixes are:
-ful, -less, -ish,-ous, -ive, -ic; un-, pre-, in- etc. The characteristic combinability:
right-hand connections with nouns (a beautiful girl); and the pronoun one (the red
one); left-hand connections with link-verbs ( .. is clever), adverbs, mostly those of
degree ( a very clever boy). English adjective is characterized by the morphological
category of the degrees of comparison and the absence of the category of number
unlike in all Germanic languages. Syntactic functions are of an attribute and
predicative complement: The girl is beautiful. Ukrainian adjective expresses the
characteristics of the object via the grammatical categories of gender, number and
case. In sentence it performs the following functions: attribute, nominal part of a
compound nominal predicate (predicative complement). For example: Ця дівчина
прекрасна.
Most qualitative adj in English and Ukrainian are gradable. Gradability in both
languages is achieved by means of the positive, the comparative and the superlative
degree The way of grading may be synthetic or analytical: The employment of the
synthetic way of grading is restricted to base adj, eg. big-bigger-biggest. This way of
grading have also English adj in -able, -or, -ow, -y and the adj with the concluding
stress syllable (consise-consiser-consisest).
The analytical forms of grading are more often employed in English than in
Ukrainian, eg: important-more important-most important. In Ukrainian the synthetic
way of grading is more often used. It is formed by means of the suffixes —iш \ -ш and
the prefixes най-, щонай-, якнай-: добрий-добріший-найдобріший.
The comparative or the superlative (or both) degrees of some Ukrainian adj may
be formed by analytical means, most of which are intensifying adverbs більш \ менш,
найбільше,багато \набагато, значно, куди: більш \ менш важливий, багато\
набагато важливішиий, значно сильніший, куди більший.
Of convergent nature in the contrasted languages is the existence of suppletivity
(in actually the same adj): good-better-best. добрий-кращий-найкращий.
Some groups of adj in both languages have no grading. They are a) adj denoting a)
constant feature of the noun referent (blind, deaf),
b) adj expressing the similarity of colour (lemon, cream, лимонний, кремовий),
c) adj denoting colour of hair or eyes (raven-black-вороний, bay-карий),
d) adj expressing the intensive property with the help of suffixes or prefixes (bluish,
reddish,синявий, жовтуватий, злющий)
Similar is the process of adjectivation of some parts of speech: beaten'track
(битий шлях), biting frost (пекучий мopoз). In English some infinitives and adverbs
can also be adjectivized: the president elected, the only chance, the well-to-do people.
Absolute use of comparative and superlative. Some forms are sometimes used
where there is no direct comparison at all, as in: the Shorter Oxford Dictionary; a
better class cafe, sooner or later; вища ocвіта, продукти вищої якості.There are
cases when the meaning of the superlative comes to be essentially different and only
high degree of quality or property is meant, with no comparison in the speaker's mind
at all. This is so-called ‘elative’. E.g.: I should do it with the greatest pleasure. В
найкоротший термін, в найкращому настрої, наймиліша людина .
 Substantivization of adjectives.Common is also the process of substantivization
of adj in English and Ukrainian, there being disnguished wholly substantivized adj (a
native, a relative, a black / white, Ukrainian, the orange). In Ukrainian: прийомна,
слідчий, черговий, Степовий, Tихий. These are adj wholly converted into nouns. Such
adj may be preceded by the article, take the plural inflection and may be used in the
possessive case, e.g: a native, the native, two natives, a native’s character.
Partially substantivized adj in both languages have no plural or singular and
gender or case notion in 'English, eg: the poor, the rich, the young, the English
(nation), the unemployed. In Ukrainian: головне, важливе,основне (xoдити в)
ТЕПЛОМУ, бути в літньому. The use of substantivized adj with a singular meaning
may be illustrated by the following prepositional phrases: to the full - в повній мipi, he
dead of night - глибока ніч out of the common - незвичайний for good – назавжди,
the answer is in the affirmative - дати позитивну відповідь in the present - поки
що,тим часом in the whole - вцілому in the right / on the left.
The process of substantivization may easily be traced in such comparatives and
superlatives as: tried their hardest, he shouted his loudest.
The category of the degrees of comparison of adjectives. The only common
grammatical category that is between English and Ukrainian adjectives is the category
of the degrees of comparison. This category is the system of opposemes (long-longer-
the longest; довгий –довший –найдовший) showing quantitative distinctions of
qualities. More exactly, it shows whether the adjective denotes the property of some
substance absolutely or relatively as a higher or the highest amount of property in
comparison with that of some other substance. Thus we have positive, comparative
and superlative degrees. In English positive degree is not marked and in other cases
the degree is formed analytically by adding more and most. Some call these forms free
combination of adverb and adjective. According to this category adjectives are
subdivided into comparable and non-comparable (wooden, Creamean, mathematical
(relative). Non-comparable are adjectives that express: - the highest degree of quality,
e.g. supreme, extreme, super; - with suffix -ish; - denoting qualities incompatible
with the idea of comparison: dead; deaf, perpendicular.
Convergent features of adjectives in both languages:
1. Lexico-grammatical meaning – the same;
2. In Ukrainian as well as in English the category of degrees of comparison is
represented in three-member opposemes.
3. Both languages have qualitative adjctives and relative adjectives, which have no
opposites of comparison (class of non-comparables).
5. Combinability similar to some extent.
6. Functions in the sentence – the same.
7. 3 degrees of comparison. The comparison can express increasing degree of
comparison and decreasing (більш –менш);
8. Can be expressed synthetically (-er;-est; -ш, -іш; най-) and analytically (більш,
найбільш, more (the) more;
9. Suppletive forms (from another bases), e.g.: many/much, more the most, великий-
більший- найбільший;
10. Elative superlative (absolute superlative degree): a most clever boy (analytic + a
article); найглибша повага, найсуворіша заборона (synthetic form).
Divergent features of adjectives in both languages:
1. There are some distinctions in degrees of comparison:
a) Ukrainian adjective shows by its form to what part of speech it belongs ( positive
degree is marked in Ukrainian red-червоний);
b) більш цікавий is not analytical form like more interesting, because they are stylistic
variants of цікавіший. Analytical forms are: набагато цікавіший, куди кращий.
2. The proportion of relative adjectives is greater in Ukrainian, which is rendered in
English via common case nouns N+N phrase: household expenses, a table lamp.
3. In Ukrainian a peculiar group of possessive adjectives (сестрин, Настин) has no
English counterparts.
4. In Ukrainian one can speak of grammatical combinability as well: білий стіл, білих
стін.
5. Synthetically in Eng only one, partially two syllable adjactives. In Ukr both forms
function parallelly, synthetic being more widespread.
6. In Ukrainian all degrees are changed according to gender, number and case of the
noun with which they are connected.
7. Strengthened superlative degree in Ukrainian intensifying particle що- як-
(якнайрозумніший) is widely used in elative meaning.
8. A variety of adjectives with diminutive and augmentative suffixes in Ukrainian like
-есеньк; -ісіньк, -юсіньк, -eньк, -езн, -енн and prefix пре- (малесенький, білісінький
(very white) широчезний, прегарний) do not form degrees of comparision.
9. adjectives with suffix -ish do not form degrees of comparision in English.
Numeral (N) as a part of speech: general characteristics. The N has implicit
lexico-grammatical meaning expressing quantity. It also denotes a part of an object
(one-third, two-fifths, одна третя, дві пятих) and order of some objects ( the first, the
tenth, перший десятий). Combinability of numerals with: a) nouns: four days, the first
step; b) pronouns: all three, some five or so, якихось четверо з них; c) numerals: two
from ten; one of the first, the second of the ten, другий з-поміж пяти; d) adverbs: the
two below/ahead двоє спереду; e) infinitive: the first to sing/read перша співати.
Performs the same function as the noun (cardinal numeral) and adjective (the
ordinal numeral): subject Four are present; object I like the second; attribute it is my
second trip; simple nominal predicate the two there; їх 10 там, adverbial modifier (
they marched three and three).
Convergent in both languages: cardinal (Кількісні): one ten, thirty, one hundred
and twenty one; ordinal (порядкові): the first, the tenth, the fifteenth, пятий десятий
пятнадцятий; fractional/common/decimal (дробові): одна третя, три пятих, oдин
цілий і дві третіх zero point one, one third.
Divergent: Numerals in Ukr. have number (ordinal, були першими), case
(другий, другого, другому, другим) and gender (have 3 gender distinctions; три
жінки, три чоловіки, троє дітей. Indefinite cardinal ( неозначені): кілька, декілька,
кількадесят, кільканадцять, кільканадцятеро, кількасот, багато, багатьом,
багатьма, небагато, багатенько, немало, чимало, скільки, стільки. Сollective
(збірні): двоє, двієчко, обоє, четверо, обидва, двадцять пятеро, двісті десятеро,
кільканадцятеро. Structure:

1) Simple (one, two, eleven десятеро, двійко, мало багато)

2) Derivative (English) thirteen, fourteen, nineteen, twenty, thirty
3) Compound: from 21 to 99 in English; надцять (11-19) та 20-90); fractionals
(півтора), indefinite cardinals, ordinals derived from compound cardinals
(одинадцятий, девяностий)
4) Composite: - compound + simple: one hundred and twenty, сто два, дві
тисячі пятсот тридцять два); -fractional (one-fifth, one and two-fourths, три
цілих і одна четверта).
Grammatical categories of numeral. While the noun, the adjective, and the
verb are characterized by all the three properties of a part of speech – morphological,
syntactic and semantic, the numeral, like the pronoun, is distinguished only due to its
lexical meaning. Numerals indicate exact number or the order of persons and things
in a series. Accordingly, numerals are divided into cardinal numerals (cardinals)
and ordinal numerals (ordinals). Numerals have no morphological paradigm, which
distinguishes them from the nouns dozen, score, half, etc. that have a similar lexical
meaning but combine it with the category of number. The same holds for the
cardinals hundred, thousand, million that are numerals when they indicate exact
number: two thousand five hundred and twelve. The nouns used to denote a vast
amount approximately, without indicating an exact figure and functioning in the plural
form, are their homonyms e.g.: thousands of cars, by twos and threes. The lack of a
paradigm makes numerals different from the adjectives many, much, few and little that
have the forms of comparison.
Another morphological property of numerals is their system of word-building
suffixes. The cardinal numerals from 13 to 19 are derivatives with the suffix -teen;
the cardinals indicating tens are formed by means of the suffix -ty; the cardinal
numerals from 21 to 29, from 31 to 39 are compound, whereas ordinals are formed by
means of the suffix -th, with the exception of the first three suppletive forms -first,
second, third. Syntactically numerals are less distinct from other parts of speech. Thus,
they may carry out functions common for nouns and adjectives. Cardinal numerals, i.e.
those indicating exact number, are used non-anaphorically if they denote an abstract
number: Two and two is four. In the attributive position cardinal numeral influences
the form of a noun – singular or plural: one day – two days.
Ordinal numerals, indicating a fraction denominator, are completely
substantivized and are used in the plural form: In the US about two-thirds of the oil
goes to make fuel for cars, trucks, and planes.
Cardinal numerals may also be used with the definite article: No one moved: the
two were waiting for the right moment to strike. These cases may be interpreted as
partially substantivized.
Основна література:

1. Жлуктенко Ю.О. Порівняльна граматика англійської та української мов: Посіб.

– К.: Радянська школа, 1960. – 160 с.
2. Корунець І.В. Порівняльна типологія англійської та української мов.
Навчальний посібник. (Korunets’ I.V. Contrastive Typology of the English and
Ukrainian languages). – Вінниця: Нова книга, 2003. – 464 с.
3. Сучасна українська мова: Підручник/ за ред. О.Д.Пономарева. – К.: Либідь,
2001. – 400 с.
4. Andreichuk N. Contrastive Linguistics: study manual /N. І. Andreichuk. – Lviv: Ivan
Franko National University of Lviv Publishing Centre, 2015. – 342 P.
5. Greenbaum S., Quirk R. A Student’s Grammar of the English Language. – L.:
Harlow: Longman, 1991. – 490 p.
6. Karamysheva І. Contrastive Grammar of English and Ukrainian Languages : textbook
/ Iryna Karamysheva. — Third edition, revised. — Vinnytsia : Nova Knyha Publishers,
2017. — 336 p.
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Fedorenko, S.M.Sukhorolska. – Lviv: Lviv Ivan Franko National University Publishing
Center, 2008. – 360 p.
Додаткова література:
1. Безпояско О.К., Городенська К.Г., Русанівський В.М. Граматика української
мови.Морфологія: підручник. Київ: Либідь, 1993. – 336с.
2. Сосюр Фердінанд де. Курс загальної лінгвістики: Пер. з фр. А.Корнійчук,
К.Тищенко. – К.: Основи, 1998. – 324 с.
3. Crystal D. An Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Language and Languages. – Oxford:
Blackwell Reference, 1993. – 428 p.
4. Krzeszowski T.P. Contrasting Languages: The Scope of Contrastive
Linguistics // Trends in Lingusitics. Studies and Monographs, 51. – Berlin: De Gruyter
Mounton, 2011. - 286p.
5. Leech G., Svartvic J. A Communicative Grammar of English. – L.-N.Y.: Longman,
1994. – 423 p.
6. Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English / D.Biber, S.Johansson, G.Leech
and others. – L.: Longman, 1999. – 1204 p.
7. Swan M. Practical English Usage. – Oxford: Oxford Un-ty Press, 1996. – 654 p.
Questions for self-control:1. Give general characteristics of adjective as a part
of speech in both languages. 2. Dwell on morphological structure of adjective in English
and Ukrainian.What are the functions of adjectives in the sentence? 3. Dwell on
semantic classes of adjectives in contrasted languages.4. What are the convergent
features of numerals in English and Ukrainian? 5. What are the divergent features of
numerals in the English and Ukrainian languages?