Noun part3

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PROPERTIES OF NOUNS

All nouns have four characteristic called ''properties.'' They are as follows:
1). Gender,
2). Person,
3). Number, and
4). Case.



1. GENDER in the English language is ''natural'' not grammatical. That is the gender of a noun is determined not by the grammatical form of the word, but by the sex of the person, place, or thing that is named. Gender in English denotes male sex, female sex, either sex, or neither sex.

a). MASCULINE gender denotes male sex such as boy, brother, bull, cock, man, uncle, etc.
b). FAMININE gender denotes female sex such as girl, sister, hen, mare, aunt, etc.
c). COMMON gender denotes either sex such as birds, cattle, citizen, friend, writer, etc.



2. PERSON is a characteristic or form which lets us know whether the word relates to the speaker, to the person spoken to, or to the person or thing spoken about.

a). A first person noun refers to a person who is doing the speaking.
Example: I, Dika, is writing on the blog site.
'' Dika '' in this sentence is the first person as ''Dika'' is the speaker.
b). A second person noun refers to a person who is being addressed.
Example: '' Thanks friend, you have commented on my blog.''
c). A third person noun refers to a person or thing being spoken about.
Example: '' Mr Wayan has given me a good thing to learn.''



3. NUMBER is that something in the form of noun which tells us whether the noun refers to only one person, place, or thing. The singular noun names only one person, place, or thing while the plural noun names more than one person, place, or thing.

Some nouns don't have a plural form. There nouns are called ''non-count noun''. Material thing like coffee, sand, sugar, silver, gold, water, etc are not counted. Instead, we can measure them. We don't say, '' Give of two breads'', but we can say, '' Give of two loaves of bread,'' or '' two slice of bread. ''
Abstract nouns are non-count nouns. Abstract nouns include concepts like freedom and liberty; emotions like love, greed, and hate; field of study like biology, chemistry, and engineering; qualities like beauty, excellence, and peace; and recreation or activities like gardening, swimming, and tennis. None of these abstract nouns has a plural form.




4. CASE is the relation of a noun or pronoun to other words in the sentence. English noun have three cases:
a). Nominative,
b). Objective, and
c). Possessive.

a). The nominative case is the use of a noun (or pronoun) as the subject of a sentence, or as the predicate following a linking verb.
When a noun (or pronoun) is the subject of a sentence, it's called the ''subject nominative''.
Example: '' The sun is shining. ''
In this sentence ''sun'' is the subject nominative.
When a noun (or pronoun) is the predicate of the sentence following a linking verb, it's called ''predicate nominative.''
Example: '' She is just friend.''
In this sentence, the noun '' friend'' is the predicate nominative.

b). The objective case is the case of a noun (or pronoun) as an object in a sentence. That is, if a noun (or pronoun) receives the action of a transitive verb, the noun is in the objective case. A transitive verb is a verb whose action carries over the other person, place, or thing. The person, place, or thing upon which the action has an effect is ''the object'' of the verb.
Example: '' Mary kicked Andy.''
The noun '' Andy'' is the object of the verb ''kicked'' and, therefore, is in the objective case, or if a noun (or pronoun) follows a preposition, it's in the objective case.
Example: ''Michael went to village.''
The noun ''village'' is the object of the preposition ''to'' and is in the objective case.


c). The possessive case is the use of a noun or pronoun to show ownership or relationship.
Examples: Andy's toy, Wayan's car, Torres' ball, Gerrard's book, etc.


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Posted in: English, Grammar