2. The noun: the category of number

The features of the noun according the triad "meaning - form - function" are the following:

1. the categorial meaning of substance ("thingness");

2. the changeable forms of number and case; the specific suffixal forms of derivation

(prefixes in English do not discriminate parts of speech as such);

3. the substantive functions in the sentence (subject, object, substantival predicative); prepositional connections; modification by an adjective.

"The category of number is expressed by the opposition of the plural form of the noun to the singular form of the noun. The strong member of this binary opposition is the plural. Its productive formal mark is the suffix (inflection) -(e)s [-z, -s. -iz] as presented in the forms dog-dogs, clock-clocks, box-boxes.

The non-productive of expressing the number opposition are vowel interchange (man-men, tooth-teeth), the archaic suffix -(e)n (ox-oxen, child-children, brother-brethren), the correlation of individual singular and plural suffixes in a limited number of borrowed nouns (phenomenon-phenomena, criterion-criteria). In some cases the plural form of the noun is homonymous with the singular form (sheep, deer, fish)" (Blokh M. Y.).

The binary privative opposition is formed by a contrastive pair of members in which one member is characterized by the presence of a certain differential feature ("mark" plural form), while the other member is characterized by the absence of this feature (singular form). The member in which the feature is present is "marked"/ "strong"'/"positive" member, and is commonly designated by the symbol + (plus); the member in which the feature is absent is "unmarked"/''weak",/"negative'' member, and is commonly designated by the symbol - (minus).

According to R. Quirk:

We distinguish three main number classes of nouns:

1) SINGULAR INVARIABLE NOUNS, they have no plural, including noncount nouns (eg: music, gold), most proper nouns (eg: Thomas, the Thames).

2) PLURAL INVARIABLE NOUNS, i.e. nouns occurring only in the plural, eg. people, scissors.

Pluralia tantum ending in –s: Some 'Pluralia tantum' (i.e. nouns that, in a given sense, occur only in the plural) end in -s, whereas others have no plural marking, eg. people. They have plural concord:

Ex. These damages have not yet been paid, have they^ [damages = 'compensation in money imposed by law for causing loss or injury"]

3) VARIABLE NOUNS, i.e. nouns occurring with either singular or plural number:

The dog is....

The dogs are....

We distinguish two subclasses:

a) REGULAR, with plurals predictable from the singular (like dog);

b) IRREGULAR, where the plural is not predictable (eg. fool-feet, child-children). In this latter group we find a large number of nouns with foreign plurals, eg. criterion-criteria, analysis-analyses.

The particular plurals of these nouns have to be learned as individual lexical units. In many cases where foreign words are involved, it is helpful to know about pluralization in the relevant languages, particularly Latin and Greek. Thus, on the pattern of analysis-analyses we can construct the following plurals: axis-axes, basis-bases, crisis-crises. But we cannot always rely on etymological criteria: pluralis like areas and villas do not conform to the Latin pattern.

Mutation: The plural is formed by MUTATION (a change of vowel) in the following nouns:

man-men, foot-feet, goose-geese, mouse-mice, woman-women, tooth-teeth, louse-lice

The -en plural: The -en plural occurs in three nouns:

brother-brethren (with mutation as well as the -en ending); child-children; ox-oxen

Zero plural: Some nouns have the same spoken and written form in both singular and plural. Note the difference here between, on the one hand, invariable nouns, which are either singular (1) or plural (2), but not both; an on the other hand, zero plural nouns which can be both singular and plural (3, 3a):

This music is too loud. (1)

All the cattle are grazing in the field. (2)

This sheep looks small. (3)

All those sheep are ours. (3a)