The category of number

Modern English, as most other languages, distinguishes between two numbers, singular and plural.

The grammatical category of number defines a set of word forms which has one common categorical function, that of the singular: plural distinction. Semantically, number expresses the propositional content and actualizes nouns in communication by providing a qualification. Book: books, difficulty: difficulties.

The essential meaning of singular and plural seems clear enough: the singular number shows that one object is meant, and the plural shows that more than one object is meant. However, language facts are not always so simple as that. the category of number in English nouns gives rise to several problems which claim special attention.

First of all, it is to be noted that there is some difference between, say, three houses and three hours. Whereas three houses are three separate objects existing side by side, three hours are a continuous period of time measured by a certain unit of duration.

If we take such plurals as waters (e.g. the waters of the Atlantic), or snows (e.g. A Daughter of the snows), we shall see that we are drifting further away from the original meaning of the plural number. In the first place no numeral could be used with nouns of this kind. We could not possibly say (can’t use theoretically) three waters, or three snows. We cannot say how many waters we mean when we use this noun in the plural number. What is the real difference in meaning between water and waters, snow and snows? It’s obvious that the plural form in every case serves to denote a vast stretch of water (e.g. an ocean), or of snow, or rather of ground covered by snow (e.g. in the arctic regions of Canada). In the case of water and waters we can state that the waters of the Atlantic refers to its physical or chemical properties, whereas the waters of the Atlantic refers to a geographical idea: it denotes a seascape. So we see that between the singular and the plural an additional difference of meaning has developed.

The difference between two numbers may increase to such a degree, that the plural form develops a completely new meaning which the singular has not got at all. Thus, for example, the plural form colours has the meaning “banner” which is restricted to the plural (e.g. to serve under the colours of liberty.). It is natural to say that the plural form has been lexicalized.

In comparison with many other languages, including German and Russian, the expression of number as singular and plural by mean of variant components is simple in English. As a rule, the singular is unmarked (zero). Out of five possible ways to denote plural in Old English only one (-as) has survived to be the general plural morpheme in Modern English (-(e)s) and there are only few nouns which, also for historical reasons, have other means of plural formation.

We must also consider here two types of nouns differing from all others in the way of number: they have not got the usual two number forms, but only one form. The nouns which have only a plural and no singular are usually termed “pluralia tantum” (which is the Latin for “plural only”) and those which have only a singular and no plural are termed “singularia tantum” (the Latin for “singular only”).

Among the pluralia tantum are nouns (+ words with new lexicalized meaning!!!) trousers, scissors, pincers, breeches, environs, outskirts, dregs. As it is obvious from these examples, they include nouns of two types. On the one hand, there are the nouns which denote material objects consisting of two halves (trousers, scissors, etc); on the other, there are those which denote a more or less indefinite plurality (e.g. environs, dregs). If we compare the English pluralia tantum with the Russian, we’ll see that in some cases they correspond to each other (e.g. trousers – брюки, scissors – ножницы, environs – окрестности), while in others they do not (деньги-money).

Close to this group pluralia tantum nouns are also some names of sciences, e.g. mathematics, phonetics, also politics, and some name of diseases, e.g. measles, mumps, rickets. The reason for this seems to be that, for example, mathematics embrace a whole series of various scientific disciplines, and measles are accompanied by the appearance of a number of separate inflamed spots on the skin. It is typical for English that some of this pluralia tantum may be accompanied by the indefinite article, and if they are the subject of a sentence the predicate verb may stand in the singular, which would be unthinkable in Russia. (The United Nations is a world organization).

The direct opposite of pluralia tantum are the singularia tantum, i.e. nouns which have no plural form. Among these we must first of all note some nouns denoting material substance, such as milk, butter, and some abstract notions peace, usefulness. Nouns of this kind express notions which are, strictly speaking, outside the sphere of number. But in the morphological and syntactical system of the English language a noun cannot stand outside the category of number. If the noun is the subject of a sentence, the predicate verb will have to be either singular or plural. With the nouns just mentioned the predicate verb is always singular.

Some nouns denoting substance, or material, may have a plural form, if they are used to denote either an object made of the material or a special kind of substance, or an object exhibiting the quality denoted by the noun. Thus the noun wine, as well as the noun milk, denotes a certain substance, but it has a plural form wines used to denote several special kinds of wine.

Certain nouns denoting groups of human beings (family, government, party, etc) and also animals (cattle, poultry, etc) regarded as a single unit are termed collective nouns.

Collective nouns fall under the following groups:

a) nouns used only in the singular and denoting a number of things collected together and regarded as a single object: foliage, machinery.

b) nouns which are singular in form though plural in meaning: police, poultry, cattle, people, gentry.

c) nouns that may be both singular and plural: family, crowd, fleet, nation.