Grammatical Categories of Number, Case, and Gender in Modern English. A Field Approach

The task of synchronous research of fields is, in particular, the definition of the field structure in question in certain language, except that special interest, in O. Dukhachek's opinion, is represented by the study of that, how the words, close in meaning, influence each other, changing their semantic volume. The aim of diachronic research, as O. Dukhachek regards, is the clearing up of the kind of the role, which the appearance of some and disappearance of other lexical items within this field play. Undoubtedly, positive aspect in O. Dukhachek's conception is the fact, that he places importance on the phenomenon of semantic attraction, though it isn't reflected in the field definition: “Linguistic field is the assembly of words, which being connected to each other by certain relationship, form a structural hierarchic unity”. Semantic attraction is interpretated by O. Dukhachek as a phenomenon, determining the words meaning change in consequence of its phonetic closeness to another word and influencing the place of other lexical items in group.

It is worthwhile noting that the foundations of the field theory building in grammatical language structure were established by V.G. Admoni; the principles of field research were methodically applied by V.G. Admoni in his works on the German language formation in its historical development and modern condition. Admoni's conception on the field's structure of grammatical facts is of great interest in native linguistics. In “The Foundations of Grammar Theory” V.G. Admoni points that for the field structure it is characteristically to have a centre balance, formed by optimal concentration of all features, coincidental in this phenomenon, and periphery, which consists of formations with incomplete number of these marks, along with possible variation of their intensity [1].

In G.S. Shur's opinion, field is “the way of existence and grouping of linguistic elements, belonging to different language levels, possessing general (invariant) qualities, alongside with the features, differentiating these linguistic items from each other” [32, 68].

E.V. Gulyga and E.I. Shendels, speaking of lexico-grammatical field, emphasize a dominant as a field constituent in its structure a) the most speaking for this meaning expression; b) showing it in the most univocal way; c) used systematically [18, 10].

As Z.N. Verdieva writes, field in linguistics is represented as a sum-total of the words of different parts of speech, united by the community of one concept expression. It is the concept that acts as the base of words integration in the field. The correlation of lexical items and concepts, lying in the base of field integration, can be different. A word can express a meaning and be associated with it indirectly through subordinative components of its semantic structure. Word sign, in the semantic structure of which, a feature occupies a dominant position, coincidental with the concept, integrating the field, form its centre. Word signs, containing this feature in a subordinative position, refer to the field periphery [15].

In view of the fact, that the structure of the majority of lexical fields consist of rather great amount of features, they can belong to a lot of conceptual fields, equal to the amount of its semantic features, and the fields as the variety of word signs intercross and don't have well-managed borders. Wide amount of literature is devoted to semantic fields; it deals with both the history of the problem development and achieved results.

The theories, analyzed therein before, generally interpret field as a single-level formation, including units of any level (lexical, word-formative, syntactical). It made the first stage of the field development. However, nowadays the tendency to consider the field as a combined structure consisting of the units of different levels is becoming evident. Mostly distinct this tendency developed in the approach to regard the field as a split-level formation, which was in the picture in the theory of functional-semantic fields and signalized the second stage in the field theory development.

The advantage of functional-system approach is preeminently in the fact, that it enables to research linguistic phenomena not only from the point of their inner structure, but in the sphere of its functioning, connections with the environment. Such approach gives the opportunity to study language in its concrete realization, in action, research means of transporting extralinguistic phenomena and situations. Functional-system approach suits natural facilities of conversation as well, when different linguistic means are used in their inextricable connection.

“Functional-semantic field is a concrete linguistic two-side unity, which plane of content includes semantic elements in this language interpretation” [12]. In the base of each functional-semantic field, as A.V. Bondarko regards, there is some certain semantic category, representing semantic invariant, uniting dissimilar language means and stipulating their correlation.

V.M. Pavlov determines field as a cognitive absorption of linguistic formations of “double” character in the sphere of their fundamental qualities. “Doubleness” of these qualities, in the eyes of V.M. Pavlov, is made up of their representing the unity of contrasts. Thereby they act as the branches of linguistic system, through which the links of other branches come. It follows that field covers not only strictly delimited and contrasting formations, but passing places between these formations, dissolving boundaries between them [26, 22].

From the above reasoning it is clear that it's rightfully to draw the following conclusions:

? the term of “linguistic field”, firstly, contains the idea of grouping (of serially ordered set) of dissimilar linguistic means;

? the features of elements connection and interdependence are the most important inner qualities;

? field is of systematic character and represents some place, where the centre (nucleus or frame), basing on grammar category and characterizing with density and maximum features concentration specific for this field, is separated, around which other (peripheral) means are grouped, and the zones of interception (passages) of other fields are marked.

Thus, it can be said that grammatical categories play an important role in the English language. It is important to keep in mind that a grammatical category is a linguistic, not a real-world, category, and that there is not always a one-to-one correspondence between the two, though they are usually closely related. Number, gender and case are the most popular grammatical categories in English; all three categories are conflated together in paradigms of declension.Case agreement is not a significant feature of English.



Chapter 2. The Categories of Number, Case, and Gender in Terms of Field Structure

2.1 Functional-semantic field of number in Modern English

In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions (such as "one", "two", or "three or more").[1] In many languages including English, the number categories are singular and plural. Some languages also have a dual number or other arrangements.

The count distinctions typically, but not always, correspond to the actual count of the referents of the marked noun or pronoun.

The word "number" is also used in linguistics to describe the distinction between certain grammatical aspects that indicate the number of times an event occurs, such as the semelfactive aspect, the iterative aspect, etc. For that use of the term, see "Grammatical aspect".

Most languages of the world have formal means to express differences of number. One widespread distinction, found in English and many other languages, involves a simple two-way number contrast between singular and plural (car/cars, child/children, etc.). Discussion of other more elaborate systems of number appears below.

Grammatical number is a morphological category characterized by the expression of quantity through inflection or agreement. As an example, consider the English sentences below:

That apple on the table is fresh.

Those two apples on the table are fresh.

The number of apples is marked on the noun--"apple" singular number (one item) vs. "apples" plural number (more than one item)--on the demonstrative, "that/those", and on the verb, "is/are". Note that, especially in the second sentence, all this information can seem redundant, since quantity is already indicated by the numeral "two".

A language has grammatical number when its nouns are subdivided into morphological classes according to the quantity they express, such that:

Every noun belongs to a unique number class. (Nouns are partitioned into disjoint classes by number.)

Noun modifiers (such as adjectives) and verbs have different forms for each number class and must be inflected to match the number of the nouns to which they refer. (Number is an agreement category.)

This is the case in English: every noun is either singular or plural (a few, such as "fish", can be either, according to context), and at least some modifiers of nouns--namely the demonstratives, the personal pronouns, the articles, and verbs--are inflected to agree with the number of the nouns to which they refer: "this car" and "these cars" are correct, while "*this cars" or "*these car" are ungrammatical and, therefore, incorrect. Only count nouns can be freely used in the singular and in the plural. Mass nouns, like "wine", "silverware", and "wisdom", are normally used in only the singular.[2] Many languages distinguish between count nouns and mass nouns.

Not all languages have number as a grammatical category. In those that do not, quantity must be expressed either directly, with numerals, or indirectly, through optional quantifiers. However, many of these languages compensate for the lack of grammatical number with an extensive system of measure words.

There is a hierarchy among number categories: no language distinguishes a trial unless having a dual, and no language has dual without a plural.

The category of number is expressed by the paradigmatic opposition of two forms: the singular and the plural. The strong member in this opposition, the plural, is marked by special formal marks, the main of which is the productive suffix - (e) s which exists in three allomorphs - [s], [z], [iz], eg: cats, boys, roses. The term "productive" means that new nouns appearing in English form the plural with the help of this suffix. Non-productive means of expressing the plural are either historical relics of ancient number paradigms, or borrowed, eg: the suppletive forms with interchange of vowels (man - men, tooth - teeth), the archaic suffix-en (ox - oxen), a number of individual singular and plural suffixes of borrowed nouns (antenna - antennae, stratum - strata, nucleus - nuclei, etc.); in addition, a number of nouns have a plural form homonymous with the singular (sheep, fish, deer, etc.). The singular is regularly unmarked (possesses a "zero suffix").

The grammatical meaning of the singular is traditionally defined in a simplified way as "one", and the meaning of the plural - as "many (more than one)". This is true for the bulk of the nouns, namely those denoting simple countable objects (table - tables). But the noun in the singular can denote not only "one discrete separate object", but also substances (water), abstract notions (love), units of measure (hour) and other referents. The same applies to the meaning of the plural: plural forms do not always denote "more than one object", but express some other meanings, such as feelings (horrors of war), sorts of substances (wines), picturesqueness (sands, waters), etc. Thus, the broader understanding of the grammatical meaning of the singular can be defined as the non-dismembering reflection of the referent and the grammatical meaning of the plural as potentially dismembering reflection of the referent; or, in other words, the singular forms of nouns present their referents as indivisible, and the plural forms - as divisible.

1.A constant analysis (singular) of the trends (plural) in the world and domestic retail trade markets led the company's managers(plural) to a decision to create and develop the network of supermarkets to meet the highest world standards.

2. According to business practice shareholders (plural) of the Company have the right to allocate a part of profit for employee benefits (plural), including payment of bonuses (plural) and contributions to the Company's social benefits funds (plural).

3. According to market analysts (plural), in 2007 the growth of foreign trade, especially import (singular), will become faster.

4. According to the explanation, these are “commercial entities (plural) that conduct economic operations (plural) based on contractual and accounting documents (plural) that conceal their true goals (plural)and tasks(plural)”

5. Accordingly, we assess all our suppliers (plural) of products (plural) and services (plural) in terms of their compliance with the established standards (plural)of quality, environmental protection and health and safety at work.

6.Accretion of the federal centre power (singular) in the region as well as readiness of central bodies (plural) of state power to invest financial resources (plural) for facilitation of the investment activities (plural)in the region (singular).

7.Additionally, enterprise activity (singular) is on the rise, which is likely to influence operating revenues (plural) in the corporate segment (singular).

8. All these led to enhancement (singular)of the information flow (singular), allowed us to clearly define the course of action (singular) in many areas (plural) of the Company's activities (plural) through the development (singular)of procedures (plural), instructions (plural) and other relevant documents (plural).

9.An annual throughput of over 10 million tones (plural), a strong and stable position (singular) on the retail market (market) and in other areas(plural) of trading - all these factors (plural)will form a basis for a significantly higher valuation (singular)of the Company (singular).

10. An individual approach (singular) to each customer(singular), high quality (singular), cost optimization (singular) and the shortest terms of work (singular) performance (singular) are the most important components (plural)of the image (singular) of the company(singular).

11. Analysts (plural) say the acceleration (singular) in investment (singular) shows that the company(singular) has entered a mature phase (singular) of the business cycle (singular) and there is no indication (singular) that this positive trend (singular) will end any time (singular) soon.

12. And despite the relocation (singular) of some production (singular) to lower-range countries (plural) to the east, studies (plural) unanimously find that the opening of new markets (plural) has, on the whole, benefited the country (singular) as a business location(singular), rather than hurt it.

13.Appropriate corporate supervision (singular) forms (plural) an appropriate background for the Management Board (singular) to pursue objectives (plural) that are to the best interest (singular) of the company (singular) and its shareholders(plural); it also ensures effective performance monitoring which further encourages the managers to use the company's resources (plural) and capabilities (plural) in a more efficient manner(singular).

14. As a result, bank services (plural) have become more universal and apart from housing loans (plural), banks(plural) also offer mortgage (singular) loans(plural), consolidation loans (plural) and refinancing loans(plural).

15.As at the date (singular) of these financial statement (plural) s, the Group (singular) is in the process (singular) of determining the effect (singular) of the changes (plural) resulting from the first time application (singular) of the above standards (plural) or interpretation (singular) on the consolidated financial standards(plural).

16. As the stock-exchange requirements (plural) are very strict, our ability (singular) to comply with them demonstrates our prowess (singular) in conducting business (singular) in a competitive environment (singular), and is also one of the cornerstones(plural) on which the Company (singular) value (singular) is built.

17. At the beginning great effort (singular) was spent on building proper working procedures (plural), setting up mature software development (singular) methodology (singular), and establishing effective communication (singular) with customers (plural) .

18. Business manager (singular) of the company (singular) told that a slight decline (singular) of the net financing result (singular) was included to the factors (plural)driving the net profit(singular) growth(singular).

19. By purchasing shares (plural)in investment funds(plural), every buyer (singular)indirectly becomes an investor (singular)on the stock market(singular), but without having to spend long hours analyzing companies(plural), markets (plural)and macroeconomic data(plural).

20.Companies (plural)producing permanent list (singular)of goods (plural)can obtain a General Certificate of Origin from the Special Economic Zone for all the goods (plural)produced by these enterprises (plural)for the period (singular)of up to one year(singular).

Here we can see that the in the sentences, given above, we observe the prevailing of the plural form.

Different semantic types of the singular and the plural, some of which were shown above, are dependent on the lexico-semantic differences between individual nouns, namely, the characteristics of their "quantitative structure". For countable nouns the category of number is a variable feature category, or relative, since countable English nouns have both singular and plural correlative forms (table - tables). Uncountable nouns can be used either only in the singular or only in the plural; for them the category of number is absolute, or a constant feature category. The two groups of uncountable nouns are respectively defined as singularia tantum, or, absolute singular nouns and pluralia tantum, absolute plural nouns.

The absolute singular nouns usually denote the following referents: abstract notions - love, hate, despair, etc.; Names of substances and materials - snow, wine, sugar, etc.; Branches of professional activity - politics, linguistics, mathematics; some collective objects - fruit, machinery, foliage, etc. There are some other singularia tantum nouns, that are difficult to classify, eg, advice, news and others. As the examples above show, the nouns themselves do not possess any formal marks of their singularia tantum status: their form may either coincide with the regular singular - advice, or with the regular plural - news. Their singularia tantum status is formally established in their combinability, being reflected by the adjacent words: all singularia tantum nouns are used with the verbs in the singular; they exclude the use of the numeral "one" or of the indefinite article. Their quantity is expressed with the help of special lexical quantifiers little, much, some, any, a piece, a bit, an item, eg: an item of news, a piece of advice, a bit of joy, etc. As mentioned earlier, this kind of rendering the grammatical meaning of number with uncountable nouns is so regular that it can be regarded as a marginal case of suppletivity.

The absolute plural nouns usually denote the following: objects consisting of two halves - scissors, trousers, spectacles, etc.; Some diseases and abnormal states - mumps, measles, creeps, hysterics, etc.; Indefinite plurality, collective referents - earnings, police , cattle, etc. The nouns belonging to the pluralia tantum group are used with verbs in the plural; they cannot be combined with numerals, and their quantity is rendered by special lexical quantifiers a pair of, a case of, etc., Eg: a pair of trousers, several cases of measles, etc.

In terms of the oppositional theory one can say that in the formation of the two subclasses of uncountable nouns, the number opposition is "constantly" (lexically) reduced either to the weak member (singularia tantum) or to the strong member (pluralia tantum). Absolute singular nouns or absolute plural nouns are "lexicalized" as separate words or as lexico-semantic variants of regular countable nouns. For example: a hair as a countable noun denotes "a threadlike growth from the skin" as in I found a woman's hair on my husband's jacket; hair as an uncountable noun denotes a mass of hairs, as in Her hair was long and curly. Similar cases of oppositional neutralization take place when countable nouns are used in the absolute singular form to express the corresponding abstract ideas, eg: to burst into song; or the material correlated with the countable referent, eg: chicken soup; or to express generic meaning , eg: The rose is my favourite flower (= Roses are my favourite flowers). The opposite process of the restoration of the number category to its full oppositional force takes place when uncountable nouns develop lexico-semantic variants denoting either various sorts of materials (silks, wines), or manifestations of feelings (What a joy!), Or the reasons of various feelings (pleasures of life - all the good things that make life pleasant), etc.

Lexicalization of the absolute plural form of the noun can be illustrated with the following examples: colours as an absolute plural noun denotes "a flag"; attentions denotes "wooing, act of love and respect", etc. Oppositional neutralization also takes place when regular countable collective nouns are used in the absolute plural to denote a certain multitude as potentially divisible, eg: The jury were unanimous in their verdict. Cases of expressive transposition are stylistically marked, when singularia tantum nouns are used in the plural to emphasize the infinite quantity of substances, eg: the waters of the ocean, the sands of the desert, etc. This variety of the absolute plural may be called "descriptive uncountable plural". A similar stylistically marked meaning of large quantities intensely presented is rendered by countable nouns in repetition groups, eg: cigarette after cigarette, thousand upon thousand, tons and tons, etc. This variety of the absolute plural, "repetition plural" can be considered a specific marginal analytical number form.

2.2 Functional semantic field of case in Modern English

Case is a grammatical category whose value reflects the grammatical function performed by a noun or pronoun in a phrase, clause, or sentence. In some languages, nouns, pronouns and their modifiers take different inflected forms depending on what case they are in. English has largely lost its case system, although case distinctions can still be seen with the personal pronouns: forms such as I, he and we are used in the role of subject ("I kicked the ball"), while forms such as me, him and us are used in the role of object ("John kicked me").

Languages such as Ancient Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Russian and Finnish have extensive case systems, with nouns, pronouns, adjectives and determiners all inflecting (usually by means of different suffixes) to indicate their case. A language may have a number of different cases (Latin and Russian each have at least six; Finnish has 15). Commonly encountered cases include nominative, accusative, dative and genitive. A role that one of these languages marks by case will often be marked in English using a preposition. For example, the English prepositional phrase with (his) foot (as in "John kicked the ball with his foot") might be rendered in Russian using a single noun in the instrumental case, or in Ancient Greek as ф? рпдЯ tфi podi, meaning "the foot" with both words (the definite article, and the noun рпэт pous, "foot") changing to dative form.

As a language evolves, cases can merge (for instance in Ancient Greek genitive and ablative have merged as genitive), a phenomenon formally called syncretism.[1]

More formally, case has been defined as "a system of marking dependent nouns for the type of relationship they bear to their heads."[2]:p.1 Cases should be distinguished from thematic roles such as agent and patient. They are often closely related, and in languages such as Latin several thematic roles have an associated case, but cases are a morphological notion, while thematic roles are a semantic one. Languages having cases often exhibit free word order, since thematic roles are not required to be marked by position in the sentence.

Case is the grammatical function of a noun or pronoun. There are only three cases in modern English, they are subjective (he), objective (him) and possessive (his). They may seem more familiar in their old English form - nominative, accusative and genitive. There is no dative case in modern English. Yippee!

First more good news. You cannot really go wrong here, we got rid of most of our cases and as a result English is easier than many other languages because nouns and some indefinite pronouns (anyone, someone, everyone, and so on) only have a distinctive case form for the possessive. There are a few remnants of old English though, and pronouns have distinctive forms in all three cases and should be used with a bit more care.

The pronoun cases are simple though. There are only three:-

1. Subjective case: pronouns used as subject.

2. Objective case: pronouns used as objects of verbs or prepositions.

3. Possessive case: pronouns which express ownership.

These pronouns, and who and its compounds, are the only words that are inflected in all three cases (subjective, objective, possessive). In nouns the first two cases (subjective and objective) are indistinguishable, and are called the common case. One result of this simplicity is that, the sense of case being almost lost, the few mistakes that can be made are made often, even by native speakers, some of them so often that they are now almost right by prescription.

Case is that form of a noun (or pronoun) which tells us about its grammatical function in a sentence.

Note there are forms and functions.

Different Case Forms

Can you notice the different forms of the first person pronoun I and the noun poet in the two sets of sentences below?

Set 1

I saw the boy.

The boss called me.

That book is mine.

and...

Set 2

The poet came here.

We called the poet.

That book is the poet's.

I, me, and mine are different forms of the first person pronoun I and poet, and poet's are different forms of the noun poet.

These different forms illustrated above are associated with different functions in sentences.

I is used for the subject and me for the object.

You cannot say...

*Me saw the boy. (* means grammatically incorrect)

*The boss called I.

I, me, mine and poet, poet's are called Case forms. These forms signal to us the functions performed by nouns and pronouns in sentences.

So what you have to do boils down to...

learning the forms and their associated functions.

Peculiarity of English Case forms

In English, there is no one-to-one correspondence between forms and functions. See the word poet performing two functions in the sentences we have seen above.

There are five cases in English...but all of them do not have unique sets of forms today.

Nominative case.

Accusative case. (for the nouns you have the same form for both nominative and accusative)

Genitive case

Dative case (In modern English, the dative is identical to the accusative)

Vocative Case (this case has the same form as the nominative)

In modern English

the dative case has the same form as that of the accusative.

the vocative case form is identical to the nominative.

Words in a sentence E-learning Personal Loan Learn Spanish

Now we consider grammatical case functions.

The Nominative Case is used for the following functions:

subject of a verb

subjective complement (predicate nominative)

The Accusative Case

used for these functions:

object of a transitive verb

object of a preposition

object of a non-finite verb

objective complement

The Genitive Case is used for showing:

possession

ownership

relationship

The Dative Case is used for the indirect object of a ditransitive verb.

The Vocative Case is used when we address someone.

What is important in grammar is to learn first the different forms and then the functions associated with those forms.

Grammatical Case is expecially important because it relates to the noun's syntax, i.e. its relationship with other words in a sentence.

1.Convenient location (nominative) of central office (genitive) of the company (genitive) provides the clients (accusative) with an opportunity to hold negotiations(accusative), meetings(accusative), presentations(accusative), and conferences(accusative).

2. Corporate governance (nominative) aims at ensuring effective development (accusative) of the company (genitive) and preserving the balance (accusative) between all stakeholders in the company, including investors, employees and suppliers.

3. Creation (nominative) of favourable environment (accusative) for entrepreneurship, development, stimulation of business initiatives, strengthening of positions (possessive) of small and medium businesses (possessive)are considered as one of primary tasks.

4.Currently representatives (nominative) of industrial enterprises (possessive) are very interested in the activities of vocational schools (possessive), because these schools supply skilled workers.

5. Domestic demand (nominative) is expected to be the main driving force behind the growth and this particularly applies to investment, whose growth is expected to exceed 16 percent in the second quarter of 2007.

6.Due to skillfully developed marketing program the enterprise has managed to completely pay off state taxes (namely a VAT and a land tax) and arrears of wages (possessive) of enterprise employees (possessive).

7.During periods of hyperinflation, assets (nominative) and liabilities (nominative) are restated to reflect the changes (accusative) in the general price index.

8. Expenditures (nominative) for modernization of machinery grew rapidly and, in 2001, more than 13 billion dollars were invested into machine inventory, resulting in approximately 40% of the total investment in the industry.

9. Finally, fictitious firms (nominative) are practically irreplaceable when underground cash conversation centers are set up, as well as schemes to reimburse VAT from the state budget or customs clearance (or transit processing) of goods (possessive).

10.Financing from the European Regional Development Fund (nominative) and other structural funds is unrepaid support; financial support is allocated through development programs which consist of collections of fundable measures(possessive).

11. Fiscal regulations (nominative) are subject to numerous changes (accusative) which quite often result in ambiguities in interpretation of tax legislation and difference in opinions between entrepreneurs and tax authorities.

12.Following implementation of its strategy, the LOTOS Group (nominative) will become an important element of the government policy aimed at increasing energy security of the country (possessive).

13.Following implementation of the key strategic programs(possessive), if the adopted market assumptions prove correct, the Group (nominative) will generate high revenues.

14. Foreign investors (nominative) also participate in the operation of the company: two Leipzig energy companies (nominative) are shareholders of the company(possessive), the value of their shares increased by 5 per cent in 2003.

15. From the floatation of the Company shares in June 2005 to the year's end, the share price (nominative) skyrocketed by 52% which was one of the strongest rises (possessive)over to be recorded by large-capitalization companies.

16. Furthermore, there is a significant range (nominative) of the value of the provisions(possessive) for the reclamation of the land, as assessed by the environmental expert.

17. GDP growth (nominative) should continue to run at 5 percent thanks to internal investments supported by structural funds, foreign direct investments and exports.

18.Goods (nominative) imported to the territory of the Special Economic Zone (possessive) from other countries are exempt from import customs duties and other payments applied at customs clearance (except for customs tax).

19.Higher economic efficiency (nominative) of the LOTOS Group (possessive), stronger position (nominative) among European refineries, and creation (nominative) of a technological platform (possessive)are necessary to satisfy the quality requirements prevailing on the domestic and European markets.

20. Highly qualified experienced personnel (nominative) of the enterprise (possessive)constantly looks for new solutions, applies up-to-date technologies and collaborates with leading scientific organizations and specialists(possessive).

In Modern English the problem of case is reduced to the dispute whether the case category exists as such. Open to thought and questioning, this prob­lem has always been much debated. The solution of the problem depends mainly on grammarians' interpretation of the term “case”. As we will see below, some scholars consider it to be possible to speak only of case as a paradigm of a word formed by synthetic markers, i.e. by endings. Other scientists believe that the term “analytical case” is justified: analytical cases are formed by prepositions introducing a noun.

This category is expressed in English by the opposition of the form -'s, usually called the possessive case, or more traditionally, the genitive case, to the unfeatured form of the noun, usually called the common case. The apostrophized -s serves to distinguish in writing the singular noun in the possessive case from the plural noun in the common case: the man s duty, the President's decision. The possessive of the bulk of plural nouns remains phonetically unexpressed: the few exceptions concern only some of the ir­regular plurals: the actresses `dresses, the mates `help, the children s room.

Functionally, the forms of the English nouns designated as “case forms” relate to one another in an extremely peculiar way. The peculiarity is that the common form is absolutely indefinite from the semantic point of view, whereas the possessive form is restricted to the functions which have a par­allel expression by prepositional constructions. Thus, the common form, as appears from the presentation, is also capable of rendering the possessive semantics, which makes the whole of the possessive case into a kind of sub­sidiary element in the grammatical system of the English noun. This feature stamps English noun declension as something utterly different from every conceivable declension in principle. In fact, the inflectional oblique case forms as normally and imperatively expressing the immediate functional parts of the ordinary sentence in “noun-declensional” languages do not exist in English at all.

So there is no wonder that in the course of linguistic investigation the category of case in English has become one of the vexed problems of theo­retical discussion.

Four special views advanced at various times by different scholars should be considered as successive stages in the analysis of this problem.

The first view may be called the “theory of positional cases”. This the­ory is directly connected with the old grammatical tradition, and its traces can be seen in many contemporary school textbooks in the English-speak­ing countries. Linguistic formulations of this theory may be found in the works of Nesfield, Deutschbein, Bryant and others.

In accord with the theory of positional cases, the unchangeable forms of the noun are differentiated as different cases by virtue of the functional positions occupied by the noun in the sentence. Thus, the English noun, on the analogy of classical Latin grammar, would distinguish, besides the inflectional possessive case, also the non-infiectional, i.e. purely positional cases: nominative, vocative, dative and accusative. The uninflectional cases of the noun are taken to be supported by the parallel inflectional cases of the personal pronouns:

Nominative (subject) Rainfalls

Vocative (address) Will you be there, Ann?

Dative (indirect object) I gave Anna book.

Accusative (direct object) They killed a bear.

Or prepositional object They broke the window with a stone.

The blunder of this theory is that it substitutes the functional character­istics of the part of the sentence for the morphological features of the word class, whereas the case form, by definition, is a variable morphological form of the noun. What this theory does prove is that the functional meanings ren­dered by cases can be expressed in language by other grammatical means, in particular, by word-order.

The second view may be called the “theory of prepositional cases”. It is also connected with the old school grammar teaching, and was advanced as a logical supplement to the positional view of the case.

In accord with the prepositional theory, combinations of nouns with prepositions in certain object and attributive collocations should be under­stood as morphological case forms. To these belong first of all the “dative” case (to + N, for + N) and the possessive case (of + N). These prepositions are inflectional prepositions, i.e. grammatical elements equivalent to case forms. The would-be prepositional cases are generally taken as coexist­ing with positional cases, together with the classical inflectional genitive completing the case system of the English noun. The prepositional theory, though somewhat better grounded than the positional theory, nevertheless can hardly pass a serious linguistic trial. In other languages all preposi­tions do require definite cases of nouns (prepositional case-government). It should follow from this that not only the of, to and fог-phrases but also all other prepositional phrases in English must be regarded as “analytical” cas­es. As a result of this approach, illogical redundancy in terminology would arise: each prepositional phrase would bear then another, additional name of “prepositional case”, the total number of the “said” cases running into dozens upon dozens without any gain either to theory or practice.

Besides, prepositions may have various meanings depending on the con­text, which makes it possible for a preposition to correlate with several cas­es. For example, in English the preposition by, formerly a purely local form (He stood by the window) came to acquire a sense of means or instrument. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests that this preposition acquired its in­strumental sense via expressions such as She read by candlelight where the йу-phrase, originally a locative (Where did she read?), was reinterpreted as instrumental (How did she read it?). It is not hard to find situations that allow a locative or instrumental interpretation and which could facilitate a loca­tive or instrumental form adopting both functions. Here are some examples: wash the cloth in/with water, cook meat on/in/with fire, come on/by horse.

The third view of the English noun case recognizes a limited inflectional system of two cases in English, one of them featured and the other one un-featured. This view may be called the “limited case theory”. This theory is at present most broadly accepted among linguists both in this country and abroad. It was formulated by such scholars as Sweet, Jespersen, and has since been radically developed by Smirnitsky, Barkhudarov and others.

The limited case theory is based on the explicit oppositional approach to the recognition of grammatical categories. In the system of the English case the functional mark is defined, which differentiates the two case forms: the possessive or genitive form as the strong member of the categorical op­position and the common, or “non-genitive” form as the weak member of the categorical opposition. The opposition is shown as being effected in full with animate nouns, though a restricted use with inanimate nouns is also taken into account.

Why there are grammatical instruments such as a case system. Maybe in most cases it really isn't much of a problem when you don't immediately recognize the part of speech a word belongs to. But at times a case system might come in handy.

Inflections that change verbs and nouns

Let's not claim that because Icelandic and German still have more or less strong verbal paradigms, grammatical gender and a case system, and because English once had it all as well, we should reintroduce these things into modern English.

But let's say there's a radio program called Grammar Matters. Is matters a noun in the plural or a verb in the "third person singular present tense, indicative mode, active voice" -- Wait a minute -- Present tense "it matters" as opposed to, say, past tense "it mattered". So, there still are a few endings like -s and -ed after all, called inflections that give a word a twist in its meaning.

And quickly: Indicative mode "it matters" as opposed to subjunctive mode "it may matter" which used to be recognizable by the ending of the verb, here: matter or its equivalent, as opposed to needing an auxiliary verb, here: may -- active voice "she is taking a photo" as opposed to passive voice "a photo is being taken".

The Shapes of Verbs and Nouns

So, the as yet fictitious radio program Grammar Matters could mean that it is about grammar things-- matters, subjects, issues to do with grammar. Here, in these constructions, it becomes clear that matters is a noun in the plural. Or Grammar Matters could mean: "Grammar is important". You cannot tell without more background information or before hearing it being pronounced by the program's host.

Another good example why a case system can be a useful thing to have, instead of just "providing the learner with a set of mistakes to make" as it was once put, can be seen in a sentence like this: "He called his neighbor a doctor."

This sentence is ambiguous because there are no case markers at the end of neighbor and doctor to tell us who is actually called what, or who is called for whom, or who is involved in what's happening. Here are a few remnants, however, that made it into modern English, or PDE, Present-Day English: who as opposed to whom, "he" as opposed to his or him. What we are dealing with here are the subjects, and the direct and indirect objects of a sentence.

The sentence "Could you give me the key, please." isn't any trickier than "Could you give the key to me, please," though the second sentence could be understood as stressing the "to me" object. The "key" is the thing given, and the "me" is the part of the sentence that is involved in the giving and that probably benefits from receiving the key.

Dative, the Case of Involvement

For learners of Latin the term dative of advantage would be used but, depending on the circumstances, however, there are many further datives, but they all basically boil down to the case of involvement, one way or another.

So, the indirect object, "me" in this case, is involved. It is not the thing being given; because that's the key, which is therefore the direct object (in the accusative), even though one cannot conclude this from its mere shape any longer, but one can from its position in the sentence.

The doctor example would be less ambiguous if the words had case markers, let's say:

The neighbor is reading.

This is *thes neighbores* newspaper.

I give it to *them neighbore*.

I can see *thone neighbor*.

What we have here in these four sample sentences with a *funky new grammar* are the cases called nominative (1), genitive (2), dative (3) and accusative (4).

We might call the nominative the who case, the agent of an action, as the neighbor who is doing something. We might call the genitive the possessive case, the whose case, whose is it. The dative case, also called the indirect object, is the to-whom case, that's the part of the sentence that is involved in the action.

The accusative case, also called the direct object, is the part of the sentence that is immediately affected. Here, it's the newspaper, it's the one that is being given, changes ownership, or is being read to pieces.

It is perfectly normal for a Germanic language to have words that in this fourth case have a shape like the one in the first case, the nominative. But don't despair. For one, this isn't the whole story yet, anyway, for another, we have the newspaper's article to help us.

Articles Specify Nouns and their Functions

Far from being what's written on any of the paper's pages, the noun's definite articles instead are: the, *thes, them, thone*. If we see something like this: "The neighbor sees me." then we know that "the neighbor" is the one doing something. But if we see: "I can see *thone neighbor*." then we know that it is "I" doing something and "thone neighbor" is the object.

Equally, a change in word order used to not change the meaning, but simply give some stress to the object. Look here: "*Thone* neighbor I see." This would be much like: "It is the neighbor whom I see." or even "...who I see." or just "... I see." We would, however, these days feel a little uneasy about "The neighbor I see", wouldn't we.

Below there are some more examples.

1.However, the balance sheet structure(nominative) outlined above seems to be only temporary, as it is bound to undergo considerable changes in the immediate future related to the execution of projects (possessive)critical to the Group's further development (accusative).

2. If to talk about the company's strategy, this is, no doubt the breaking of old stereotypes (possessive)and introducing of new progressive technologies (possessive)into the building.

3.Imports are expected to grow at a slightly slower rate than exports (accusative), and foreign trade is expected to continue to favourably impact GDP growth, through far less markedly than in previous years.

4. In addition to banks, an increasing role (nominative) in the development of the financial market (possessive)is being played by other intermediary institutions such as brokerage houses or leasing firms.

5.In fact, what we are talking about is a sphere (nominative) of illegal financial services (possessive)meant to reimburse VAT at the expense of state budget, to convert capital into cash, to carry out schemes with securities (possessive) and insurance (possessive) (more accurately, export money, using reinsurance (accusative)), etc.

6.In follows from the observation of the investment and construction market(possessive) that, despite fluctuations in the construction volume, the crisis (nominative)in the construction sector has been overcome and that the upturn will continue in the coming months.

7.In order to make full use of these types of resources (accusative), it will be necessary to have a customs or export expert provide the firm with a reliable view and opinion as to the Harmonized System classification numbers applicable to the firm's products.

8. In recent years, an initiative (nominative) emerged to set up investors' clubs to bring individual investors together, help them learn more about investing in the capital markets and then aid them in putting their knowledge to use.

9.In September, the current account (nominative) showed a 195-million-euro surplus (accusative) even though most economists had expected a deficit.

2.3 Functional-semantic field of gender in Modern English

In English, grammatical gender is a property of only nouns and pronouns. It is one of the simplest parts of English grammar for the concept is clear and consistent.

This is because gender in English is based on natural gender (i.e. maleness and femaleness) rather than grammar (i.e. morphology).

It is not so in many other languages, where the concept of grammatical gender is based on morphology and may apply not only to nouns and pronouns but also to other parts of speech such as adjectives and verbs.

What is Gender in English?

In English, the idea is simple.

A male person or male animal belongs to one gender-class; a female person or female animal belongs to another. Simple, isn't it?

If English had grammatical gender then nouns, pronouns, even other parts of speech would have belonged to different gender groups depending upon their word-endings--and even these would have had exceptions!

Mercifully, English is much simpler than those languages.

Look at these sentences...

He gets upset. She remains calm.

The lioness stays with the cubs. The lion goes out to hunt.

The man is an actor. The woman is an actress.

The pronoun he and the nouns lion, man, actor refer to male persons or animals. They belong to one class of gender. The pronoun she and the nouns lioness, woman, and actress refer to female persons or animals. Hence these belong to another class of gender.

Does this mean that English has only two gender-classes?

No. English has four.

This fact makes it easy for us to have clear divisions. The simplicity of this part of grammar in English comes from having four classes. I will explain this to you in a moment.

Gender is of Four Kinds in English.

English divides nouns and pronouns into four genders in this way:

Masculine:

All males (and only males) are said to belong to the masculine gender. (examples: boy, man, landlord, god, tiger, horse, rooster, stag, he, etc)

Feminine:

All females (and only females) belong to this gender category. (examples: girl, woman, goddess, landlady, tigress, mare, hen, doe, hind, she, etc)

Common:

Nouns and pronouns that belong to this gender are either male or female, but we are not concerned about it. (examples: teacher, child, worker, baby, infant, human being, person, etc)

Neuter:

All nouns and pronouns to which maleness or femaleness doesn't apply belong to this gender category. (Material things: stone, table, gold, book; all abstract nouns: e.g. childhood, independence, intelligence, chairmanship, etc.)

Nowadays some words in the Masculine Gender are used as Common Gender. Everybody doesn't do it, but if you follow this trend, you will be considered modern!