Additional reading

1. стр. 66-72

2. стр. 40-46

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XXII. Numeral

The numerals are united into one part of speech only semantically – they denote the number or the order of objects, and are classified into cardinal and ordinal. They are invariable words and can function as attributes, subjects, predicatives and objects (when they are substantivized and perform the functions of a noun: – She has not seen me for four days. – She might be thirty or thirty-five. – We are seven. – I was looking for old friends and found only two.

An ordinal numeral can be modified by an infinitive denoting an action in which the object mentioned occupies a definite place – He was the first to come.

Some scholars offer to classify ordinal numerals and pronouns like many, several as a separate part of speech, quantitative words. Some scolars offer classification of numerals into nouns (a hundred, used with an article) and adjectives – ordinal numerals, functioning as attributes. Noun-numerals are offered to be united into one class with noun-pronouns (we, someone), adjective-numerals – with adjective-pronouns (this, his, other). Besides, some wirds are difficult to classify: some, one. Adjectives many, much, few, little function rather like numerals, though they have the category of comparison. There is hardly any difference between a numeral a hundred and a noun a dosen. Thus, we have to apply polar approach here. They are substantivised in the plural form: hundreds of people.

It is still more complicated with fractions and decimals: they are used like nouns, with articles and plural endings when the numerator is more than one – a half, a third, two thirds, a quarter (fourth), three quarters (fourths), two and five sixths – the numerator is a cardinal numeral and the denominator is ordinal. Decimals are compound words, which have the word point and then cardinal numbers. For zero several different words are used: nought in math, oh in telephone numbers, nil in sport and some physical magnitudes, love in tennis. They can also be treated both as nouns and numerals.

Glossary of Linguistic Terms

1. cardinal - количественные

2. ordinal - порядковые

3. quantitative words – количественные слова

4. decimals – десятичные дроби

5. fractions – простые дроби

Additional reading:

1. стр. 73

2. стр. 39

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4. –

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XXIII. Words of the category of state, statives

Among the words signifying properties of nouns there is a specific set: the words built up by the prefix – a and denoting different states, mostly of temporary duration. They are different from adjectives, because they can’t function as attributes. Their function in the sentence is that of a predicative, rarely – post-positional attributes to nouns. In Russian those words usually end in –o, but may have other suffixes: одиноко, радостно, жаль, лень. They form a closed set of several dozen, they don’t have the degrees of comparison. “The streets were alive with traffic”, “No man alive could do it”, “Swimmers are afraid of the sharks”, “The artist felt ashamed of his bad work”, “They were aware of the danger”, “The whole town was astir with the news”, afire, afoot (затевается), askew (наклонный), ajar = half-open.

Glossary of Linguistic Terms

1. Indication - указание

2. states of temporary duration – временные состояния

3. extralinguistic phenomena – явления, находящиемя за пределами науки лингвистики

4. prepositions of place and movement – предлоги места и перемещения

5. causal - причинные

6. contradictory – противоречащие