ABSTRACT
BARIČIAKOVÁ, Petronela: English Noncount Nouns and Their Slovak Equivalents.
The University of Žilina, Faculty of Science, Department of English Language and
Literature. Counsellor: PhDr. Zuzana Ondráčková. Žilina, FPV ŽU, 2009. 35 pages.
The main issues the work deals with are countability and uncountable nouns in the
English and Slovak languages. The work is a comparative analysis of these two
morphological systems in terms of countability and the category of number, which is
closely connected with this problem. The work analyses the notions of countability and
uncountable nouns, points out differences in the number systems of the Slovak and
English languages, analyses the situations in which countability can be changed and the
grammatical phenomenon which are influenced by countability. It focuses on nouns
with dual membership (which can be countable or uncountable), countable/uncountable
pairs, reclassification, partitive constructions and aspects like articles, determinatives
and number of nouns in relation to countability of nouns. The Slovak translation is
present where possible and relevant with respect to the peculiarities of the Slovak
language. Moreover, it explains why some Slovak countable nouns are uncountable in
English and vice versa with respect to the category of number and alerts to typical
difficulties for students which should be avoided by elimination of the interference of
the native language into English. In this work, we want to clarify countability and the
use of uncountable nouns for the needs of the Slovak students of the English language.
It helps students to understand the basic tendencies or rules for the use of uncountable
nouns according to the situational context.
Key words: countability, count noun, noncount noun, partitive construction, category
of number, singular, plural
2
ABSTRAKT
BARIČIAKOVÁ, Petronela: Nepočítateľné podstatné mená a ich slovenské
ekvivalenty. Žilinská univerzita, Fakulta prírodných vied, Katedra anglického jazyka a
literatúry. Konzultantka: PhDr. Zuzana Ondráčková. Žilina, FPV ŽU, 2009. 35 strán.
Hlavnou problematikou tejto práce je počítateľnosť a nepočítateľné podstatné mená v
slovenskom a anglickom jazyku. Práca je komparatívnou analýzou týchto dvoch
morfologických systémov, v zmysle počítateľnosti a kategórie čísla, ktorá s touto
problematikou úzko súvisí. Analyzuje pojmy počítateľnosť a nepočítateľné podstatné
mená, poukazuje na rozdiely v kategórií čísla medzi slovenčinou a angličtinou,
analyzuje situácie v ktorých sa počítateľnosť podstatných mien môže meniť
a gramatické javy, ktoré počítateľnosť ovplyvňuje. Zaoberá sa podstatnými menami
s duálnou
príslušnosťou
(ktoré
môžu
byť
počítateľné
alebo
nepočítateľné),
nepočítateľnými podstatnými menami s počítateľným ekvivalentom, reklasifikáciou,
partitívnymi konštrukciami a aspektmi ako sú členy, determinátory a číslo podstatných
mien vo vzťahu k počítateľnosti podstatných mien. Tam, kde je to možné, uvádzame
slovenský preklad, s ohľadom na zvláštnosti slovenského jazyka. Práca, vzhľadom na
kategóriu čísla, tiež vysvetľuje, prečo niektoré slovenské počítateľné podstatné mená sú
v angličtine nepočítateľné a naopak, upozorňuje na typické problémy študentov, ktorým
by sa mali vyhnúť elimináciou zasahovania ich rodného jazyka do angličtiny. Touto
prácou sa snažíme objasniť problematiku počítateľnosti a nepočítateľných podstatných
mien pre potreby slovenských študentov angličtiny. Môže byť študentom nápomocná
pre pochopenie základných tendencií či pravidiel použitia nepočítateľných podstatných
mien v rôznych situačných kontextoch.
Kľúčové slová: počítateľnosť, počítateľné podstatné meno, nepočítateľné podstatné
meno, partitívna konštrukcia, kategória čísla, číslo, singulár, plurál
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................6
1. COUNTABILITY OF ENGLISH NOUNS...............................................................7
1.1 Characteristics of nouns ...........................................................................................7
1.2 Noun classes.............................................................................................................7
1.3 Countability..............................................................................................................8
2. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF NONCOUNT NOUNS IN THE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE...............................................................................................10
2.1 Nouns with dual membership...............................................................................11
2.2 Countable/uncountable pairs................................................................................13
2.3 Reclassification.....................................................................................................14
2.4 Uncountable compound nouns.............................................................................15
2.5 Reference and the articles in respect of noncount nouns.....................................15
2.5.1 Specific reference.........................................................................................16
2.5.2 Generic reference..........................................................................................16
2.6 Noncount nouns and determinatives.....................................................................17
3. PARTITIVE CONSTRUCTIONS...........................................................................18
3.1 Quality partition....................................................................................................19
3.2 Quantity partition of noncount nouns...................................................................20
3.2.1 General partitives..........................................................................................20
3.2.2 Typical partitives..........................................................................................21
3.2.3 Measure partitive nouns................................................................................22
3.2.4 Unit nouns and quantifying nouns................................................................23
4. NUMBER...................................................................................................................25
5. THE CATEGORY OF NUMBER IN THE SLOVAK LANGUAGE..................30
4
5.1 Singular number only – uncountable nouns in Slovak.........................................30
5.1.1 Collective nouns...........................................................................................30
5.1.2 Material nouns and abstract nouns...............................................................32
5.2 Plural number.......................................................................................................33
6. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF COUNTABILITY IN THE ENGLISH AND
SLOVAK LANGUAGES..............................................................................................37
7. COUNCLUSIONS.....................................................................................................40
RESOURCES.................................................................................................................41
APPENDIX.....................................................................................................................44
5
INTRODUCTION
We have decided to analyse the issue of English uncountable nouns and their Slovak
equivalents as it causes problems to Slovak students. If it was enough to use the basic
characteristic of uncountable nouns (as nouns denoting liquids, materials, substances,
abstract qualities and states) to distinguish them, there would be no space for discussion.
However, there are so many factors which influence countability of nouns that it is
necessary to study this topic from all possible aspects. There are many differences
between Slovak and English in respect to countability and to the category of number
which is closely connected to it.
Countability is analysed much more for the needs of the English language than for
the needs of Slovak. ‘Morphology of the Slovak language’ (1966) and ‘The
Contemporary Slovak language. Morphology’ (1988) are two Slovak sources on which
this paper is based on, because all latter publications just quote them. On the other hand,
English authors have modified their views on countability over years (especially Quirk
et al.) and there are many publications from the last ten years.
The basic aim of this paper is to analyse the notion of countability and uncountable
nouns from the point of view of the English and Slovak languages and to point out the
differences and similarities in the number systems of these languages. We deal with the
influence of countability on another grammatical phenomenon in English such as the
use of articles, quantifier and number of nouns. The situations in which countability can
be changed in both languages (reclassification and partitive constructions) are also
discussed here. The issue of nouns which can be countable and uncountable in different
situation (nouns with dual membership) and countable nouns which can be expressed
also by their uncountable equivalent is another part of this paper. The most
controversial question we consider to be the countability of plural-only nouns. We also
try to analyse why countability is so confusing for the Slovak students, and through the
comparison of the Slovak and English morphological systems we want to make the
issue of countability more comprehensible for them. An appendix of this paper is
concentrated on the practical use of this study in the form of exercises for practising the
use of countable and uncountable nouns in various contexts.
6
1. COUNTABILITY OF ENGLISH NOUNS
1.1 Characteristics of nouns
There are several characteristics of nouns (Biber et al., 2000):
Morphological characteristic – nouns are inflected for number (one book, two books)
and case (Sarah's book). However, uncountable nouns do not inflect for number (e.g.
steel, information). Nouns often have a complex morphological structure (compound
and derived nouns).
Syntactic characteristics – nouns can occur as the head of noun phrases. Nouns
phrases have a wide range of syntactic roles: subject, direct object, indirect object, etc.
Semantic characteristics – nouns commonly refer to concrete entities, such as people
and things in the external world (e.g. book, girl), but they may also denote qualities and
states (e.g. freedom, friendship).
Parrot (2003: 7) used the popular definition of noun: “it describes person, place or
thing” but he adds that nouns are used to “express a range of additional meanings such
as concepts, qualities, organisations, communities, sensations and events, and they
convey a substantial proportion of the information in most texts”.
1.2 Noun classes
Nouns can be grouped into subclasses which differ in meaning and grammatical
behaviour. Two main groups are proper nouns and common nouns.
Proper nouns are used for a particular person, place, thing or idea which is, or is
imagined to be unique. They do not have the full range of determiners, they lack article
contrast – contrast in definiteness, and they also lack contrast in number: (e.g. Sue, but
not normally Sues, a Sue, the Sue) (Biber et al., 2000).
Common nouns can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns refer to entities
which can be counted, they have both singular and plural forms. Both in the singular
and the plural there is a contrast between definite and indefinite forms (a cow v. the
cow, cows v. the cows). They denote individual countable entities (separable objects).
The most obvious grammatical feature of countable nouns is the variation in number.
Countability is also reflected in co-occurrence patterns with determiners (Biber et al.,
2000). Uncountable nouns refer to entities which can not be counted and denote
undifferentiated mass. They are characterised in detail in the next chapter.
7
There is also a semantic division of nouns into concrete and abstract. Concrete
nouns are accessible to the senses, observable and measurable. Abstract nouns are
typically nonobservable and nonmeasurable. Both count and noncount nouns can be
either concrete or abstract (Quirk et al., 1985). There occurs a certain tendency for
concrete nouns to be count and for abstract nouns to be noncount (Quirk et al., 1984).
In Collins (2004) six main types of nouns are differentiated: count nouns, uncount
nouns, singular and plural nouns, collective nouns, proper nouns.
1.3 Countability
„The distinction between countable and uncountable nouns is fundamental in
English, for only by distinguishing between the two can we understand when to use
singular or plural forms and when to use the indefinite, definite and zero articles, or the
appropriate quantifier” (Alexander, 2005: 38).
Grammatical countability is motivated by the semantic distinction between object
and substance reference (also known as bounded/non-bounded or individuated/nonindividuated). It is a subject of dispute among linguists as to how far grammatical
countability is semantically motivated and how much it is arbitrary (Baldin, Bond; 2003
according to Wierzbicka, 1988).
“The study of countability is complicated by the fact that most nouns can have their
countability changed: either converted by a lexical rule or embedded in another noun
phrase” (Baldwin, Bond; 2003: 2). An example of conversion is a rule which takes an
uncountable noun with an interpretation as a substance, and returns a countable noun
interpreted as a portion of the substance: I would like two beers. The term
reclassification is used in the meaning of conversion by Quirk et al. (1985). As an
example of embedding is e.g. uncountable nouns can be embedded in countable nouns
as complements of classifiers: one piece of equipment (Baldwin, Bond; 2003). Partitive
constructions deal more closely with this issue.
We cannot always rely on common sense to tell us whether a noun is countable or
uncountable. Many uncountable nouns can be used as countables in certain context.
Strict classifications of nouns as countable or uncountable are unreliable (Alexander,
2005).
Bond et al. (1994) suggested a division of countability into five major types. Fully
countable, uncountable and plural only are nouns which rarely undergo conversion.
8
Fully countable nouns have both singular and plural forms, and cannot be used with
determiners such as much, little, a little, less and overmuch. Uncountable nouns, such as
furniture, have no plural form, and can be used with much. Plural only nouns never
have a singular noun phrase: goods, scissors.
Strongly countable and weakly countable are nouns that are readily converted.
Countable nouns that can be converted to uncountable, such as cake are strongly
countable. Uncountable nouns that are readily convertible to countable, such as beer are
weakly countable.
Different languages encode the countability of the same referent in different ways, so
whereas noun information is uncountable in English it is countable in Slovak (sg.
informácia, pl. informácie). Nouns uncount in English but countable in other languages:
advice, baggage, furniture, hair, homework, information, knowledge, luggage,
machinery, money, news, progress, research, spaghetti, traffic (Collins, 2004);
applause, anger, chaos, chess, conduct, courage, dancing, education, harm, hospitality,
leisure, melancholy, moonlight, parking, photography, poetry, publicity, resistance,
safety, shopping, smoking, violence, weather, etc. (Quirk et al., 1984). Even within the
same language, the same referent can be encoded countably or uncountably: things
/stuff, jobs /work.
“The distinction between count nouns and noncount nouns is not fully explainable as
necessarily inherent in ‘real world’ denotata. This is clear when we compare the words
of languages closely related to English. Rather, the justification for the count/noncount
distinction is based on the grammatical characteristics of the English noun” (Quirk et
al., 1985: 248). In other words, although the distinction between countable and
uncountable is based on the reality of what the nouns describe, the distinction is
grammatical one rather than a real one (Parrot, 2003).
9
2. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF NONCOUNT
NOUNS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Uncountable nouns denote undifferentiated mass or continuum (Quirk et al., 1985),
(liquids, materials, substances and abstract qualities, states). They refer to entities which
cannot be counted and do not vary for number. “Though they do not combine with the
indefinite article, they allow a contrast between an indefinite and a definite form (milk/
the milk)” (Biber et al., 2000: 241). Grammatically, uncountable nouns are marked by
the lack of number variation (music is/*are) and they do not combine with determiners
that presuppose a notion of countability. The most typical uncountable nouns are
singular, but we also find plural uncountables – morphologically plural nouns which do
not vary for number and do not combine with numerals (clothes, trousers, scissors,
thanks) (Biber et al., 2000).
“As the term ‘mass’ implies, the notion of countability (of ‘one’ as opposed to ‘more
than one’) does not apply to noncount nouns. Count nouns, which can be counted, show
the speaker as able to distinguish these items as separable entities. Noncount nouns, on
the other hand, are seen as continuous entities and show the speaker as regarding these
substances or concepts as having no natural bounds. They are subject to division only
by means of certain ‘gradability expressions’” (Quirk et al., 1984: 130).
Count nouns are by some grammarians called ‘countable’ nouns; similarly, noncount
nouns correspond to ‘mass’ nouns or ‘uncountable’ nouns. The only exception occurs in
Collins (2004) who distinguishes between uncount nouns and mass nouns. There is the
term ‘mass’ nouns used for nouns which are reclassificated from uncount to count
nouns (e.g. three coffees, low-alcohol beers). They are also referring to different types
of a substance in technical context. For example steel is nearly always an uncount noun,
but in contexts where it is important to distinguish between different kinds of steel it can
be a mass noun.
imports of European steel
the use of small amounts of nitrogen in making certain steels.
“Apart from a tendency for concrete nouns to be count and abstract nouns to be
noncount, there is no obvious logical reason for the assignment of various English
nouns to the count or noncount noun class" (Quirk et al., 1984: 130).
NOTE: *wrong grammatical form
10
2.1 Nouns with dual membership
The language makes it possible to look upon some objects from the point of view of
both count and noncount, as in the case of cake (Quirk et al., 1984):
I’d like a cake, two cakes, several cakes…
I’d like some cake, another piece of cake…
There are many such nouns and they have often considerable difference in meaning in
the two classes.
Sometimes is the same noun use as countable for single items or objects – when we
refer to e.g. a thing which is made of the material or which we think of as being made of
the material, and as uncountable for something viewed as substance or material
(Alexander, 2005).

chicken
Countable: The rattling carriage was full of rucksacks and hikers, and Greek ladies
with chickens.
Chicken as a countable noun is a large bird that is kept for its eggs or meat.
Uncountable: Would you like some chicken for a dinner?
Some chicken is used in the meaning of a piece of meat from a chicken.
Also in Slovak chicken/ kurča (sliepka) can be used as both countable and uncountable:
Moja stará mama kúpila 10 sliepok (kurčiat). (C)
Včera som mal na obed kurča s ryžou. (U)

egg
Countable: I had a boiled egg for breakfast.
Mal som na raňajky jedno varené vajce.
We know exactly how many eggs did she/he have – one boiled egg.
Uncountable: There is egg on your face.
Máš na tvári vajce.
Egg in this sentence represents a substance.

glass
Countable: I broke a glass this morning.
A glass here is used in the meaning of a container made of glass used for drinking out of
or a mirror.
Uncountable: Glass is made from sand.
Glass in this context means a transparent substance/material.
11
In Slovak, glass is expressed by two different lexical items pohár (C) and sklo (U).

iron
Countable: I've got a new iron.
Iron here means a tool with a flat metal base that can be heated and used to make
clothes smooth.
Uncountable: Steel is an alloy of iron.
Iron is also a type of metal, a chemical element.
Again, in Slovak, iron is expressed by two lexical items žehlička (C) and železo (U).
When nouns like e.g. an education/education, a light/light, a noise/noise refer to
something specific, they are countables (Alexander, 2005):
He has had a good education. I need a light by my bed.
When the reference is general they are uncountables (Alexander, 2005):
Standards of education are falling. Light travels faster than sound.
Nouns ending in ‘-ing’ refer to activities in a general way so they are usually
uncountable, but a few can refer to a specific thing or event (Alexander, 2005), or to the
result of an action, process or an individual instance of it. Sometimes their meaning is
not closely related to that of the verb (beginning, being, building, drawing, feeling,
finding, hearing, meaning, meeting, offering, painting, saying, setting, showing, sitting,
suffering, turning, warning) (Collins, 2004).
Countable
Uncountable
Are these drawings by Goya?
I'm no good at drawing.
She gave a reading of her poems.
Reading is taught early.
Abstract nouns, which tend to be basically uncountable, also have countable uses.
The uncountable use refers to the general phenomenon, while the countable use refers to
individual instances or types (Biber et al., 2000):
I don’t think her parents gave her much – very much freedom. (Uncountable)
These are tiny freedoms, and if a woman enjoys being part of a couple, they should
count for nothing. (Countable)
Nouns which describe feelings are usually uncountable (e.g. fear, hope), but some
can be countable, especially for feelings about something specific (Eastwood, 1994),
e.g.: a fear of dogs, hopes for the future…
12
2.2 Countable/uncountable pairs
On the other hand, there are countable/uncountable (C/U) pairs realized by different
lexical items in English:
a garment – clothing
C: This garment must be dry-cleaned only. (a piece of clothing)
U: It is obligatory for all employees to wear protective clothing.
a laugh – laughter
C: She gave a short derisive laugh.
U: Laughter is the best medicine.
a permit – permission
C: Getting a work permit in the UK is not always a simple proposition.
U: She took the car without permission.
a job – work
C: A woman of her ability will easily find a job.
U: It is difficult to find work in the present economic climate.
a machine – machinery
C: Machines have replaced human labour in many industries.
U: Machinery was often unprotected and accidents were frequent.
(Some of these pairs have also their Slovak equivalents.)
a weapon – arms
C: The police still have not found the murder weapon. /Polícia stále nenašla
vražednú zbraň.
U: Foreign governments supplied arms to the rebels. / Zahraničné štáty dodali
rebelom výzbroj.
a suitcase – luggage
C: My suitcase was full of books. / Môj kufor bol plný kníh.
U: We check in our luggage and went through to the departure lounge. /
Zaregistrovali sme našu batožinu a prešli sme k odletovej hale.
a poem – poetry
C: He recited the whole poem in one breath. /Zarecitoval celú báseň jedným
dychom.
U: Poetry always looses something in translation. /Poézia v preklade vždy niečo
stráca.
13
a pig – pork
C: Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard. /Prasce na dvore krochkali
a kvíkali.
U: Muslims consider the eating of pork to be forbidden. / Moslimovia považujú
jedenie bravčového za zakázané.
a calf – veal
C: The calf lapped up the bucket of milk. / Teľa s pôžitkom vypilo vedro mlieka.
U: She likes escalopes of veal. / Má rada teľacie rezne.
a sheep – mutton
C: The sheep bunched together as soon as they saw the dog. / Ovce sa zbehli len čo
zbadali psa.
U: I have never eaten mutton. / Nikdy som nejedol baraninu.
(Nouns for animals are countable, nouns for meat are uncountable: a cow/beef, a
deer/venison.)
In Slovak, usually collective nouns, which are considered to be uncountable have
their countable pairs (they are semantically connected with plural of count nouns)
(Dvonč et al., 1966): chlapstvo – chlapi, ľudstvo – ľudia, vtáctvo – vtáky, lístie – listy,
divina – divé zvieratá.
2.3 Reclassification
Noncount nouns can change into count nouns in some cases. To name this
phenomenon the term reclassification is used. It means that “nouns may be shifted
from one class to another by means of conversion. Thus a noncount noun like cheese
can be ‘reclassified’ as a count noun involving a semantic shift so as to denote quality
partition ‘kind/type/form of’, e. g.” (Quirk et al., 1985: 248):
A: What cheeses have you got today?
B: Well, we have Cheddar, Gorgonzola, and Danish Blue.
Normally noncount noun can be reclassified this way as a count noun to mean an
‘appropriate unit of’ (a) or a ‘kind/sort/brand of’ (b) (Quirk et al., 1985):
a) Two teas and four coffees, please.
b) I like Brazilian coffees best.
Alexander (2005) did not use the term reclassification, but he dealt with normally
uncountable nouns as countables in different situations, what basically corresponds to
14
reclassification. Normally uncountable nouns can be used as countables if we refer to
particular varieties. Nouns are often preceded by an adjective (a) in these cases, or there
is some kind of specification (b).
a) This region produces an excellent wine. (a kind of wine which…)
b) Kalamata produces some of the best olive oil in the world; it is an oil of very high
quality. (a kind of oil which…)
Normally uncountable nouns used exceptionally as countables can also occur in plural
(Alexander, 2005):
This region produces some awful wines as well as good ones.
I go out in all weathers.
We can use a/an to mean e.g. a glass of or numbers in front of words for drinks, or we
can make them plural, for example when we are ordering in a restaurant (Alexander,
2005):
A (or One) beer, please. Two teas and four coffees, please.
2.4 Uncountable compound nouns
Some common uncountable compound nouns:
air conditioning, birth control, blood pressure, capital punishment, central heating,
chewing gum, common sense, cotton wool, data processing, do-it-yourself, drycleaning, family planning, fancy dress, fast-food, first aid, food poisoning, further
education, general knowledge, hay fever, heart failure, higher education, hire purchase,
income tax, junk food, law and order, lost property, mail order, make-up, mineral
water, nail varnish, natural history, old age, pocket money, remote control, science
fiction, show business, show jumping, sign language, social security, social work, soda
water, stainless steel, table tennis, talcum powder, toilet paper, turn-over, tracing
paper, unemployment benefit, value added tax, washing powder, washing-up liquid,
water-skiing, writing paper (Collins, 2004).
2.5 Reference and the articles in respect of noncount nouns
The reference is specific when we have in mind specific part of the class and generic
when we are thinking of the class without special reference to specific part of it (Quirk
et al., 1984).
15
2. 5. 1 Specific reference
With definite specific reference, the definite article is used for all noun classes –
singular, plural count nouns and noncount nouns (Quirk et al., 1984):
Where is the pen I bought?
Where are the pens I bought?
Where is the ink I bought?
The is used to mark the phrase it introduces as definite i. e. as referring to something
which can be identified uniquely in the contextual or general knowledge shared by
speaker and hearer.
With indefinite specific reference, noncount nouns take zero article or the ‘light
quantitative article’ some (and any in non-assertive contexts), as well as plural count
nouns, but singular count nouns take the indefinite article a/an. E.g. I want a pen/ some
pens/ some ink (Quirk et al., 1984).
The indefinite article refers to something that is not uniquely identifiable in the
shared knowledge of speaker and hearer. With noncount nouns and plural count nouns
the indefinite article does not occur.
2.5.2 Generic reference
“When they have generic reference, both concrete and abstract noncount nouns, and
usually also plural count nouns, are used with the zero article”:
He likes wine/music/games.
“Prepositional postmodification by an of-phrase usually requires the definite article with
a head noun which thus has limited generic reference” (Quirk et al., 1984: 71):
He likes the wine(s)/ the music/ the lakes of France.
He likes the wines of this shop. (This is limited generic reference, since that it does
not refer to any particular wines at any one time.)
The zero article is also used when the noncount abstract noun is premodified but we
use the definite article when this noun is postmodified by an of-phrase (Quirk et al.,
1985):
E.g.: She is studying European history.
She is studying the history of Europe.
It appears that the cataphoric the is added in examples like ‘the history of Europe’
because the effect of the of-phrase is to single out a particular subclass of the
phenomenon denoted by the noun, and thereby to a change a generic meaning into a
16
specific or partitive one. ‘The history of Europe’ implies that she is studying the history
of Europe as a whole, ‘European history’ allows the interpretation that she is studying
only some aspects of European history or a particular college course (Quirk et al.,
1985).
The indefinite article is used with nouns which are normally noncount when they
refer to a quality or other abstraction which is attributed to a person; or when the noun is
premodified and/or postmodified (the grater the amount of modification, the greater the
acceptability of a/an) (Quirk et al., 1985):
E. g. Mavis had a good education.
My son suffers from a strange dislike of mathematics.
2.6 Noncount nouns and determinatives
According Quirk et al. (1984) noncount nouns can be used with these determiers:
Central determiners:
-
the (the furniture)
-
possessive - my, our, your, his, her, its, their (my luggage)
-
no (no music)
-
whose, which (ever), what (ever); (which information)
-
assertive some, non-assertive any (I want some bread. Have we got any bread?)
-
zero article
-
enough (enough music)
-
this, that (this music)
Predeterminers:
- half (the, my,…, this, that) e.g.: half (of) the cost/ half of it
- all (the, my,…, this, that, zero article) e.g.: all (of) the meat/ all of it
All and half have of-constructions, which are optional with nouns and obligatory with
personal pronouns.
They can occur before the articles (all the time), possessive determiners (all my time),
demonstrative determiners (all this time). Since they are themselves quantifiers, all and
half do not occur with the quantitative determiners some, any, no and enough.
- double, twice, three/four…times (twice his strength, three times this amount)
17
Postdeterminers:
Closed-class quantifiers: MUCH (comparative – more, superlative – most), (A) LITTLE
(comparative – less, superlative –least).
e. g. She has not got much money. She has little (not much) money. She has a little
(some) money.
A little (a little music) cannot be analysed as consisting of the indefinite article a plus
the quantifier little, since the indefinite article does not occur with noncount nouns (*a
music). There is semantic difference: little is negative (not much), a little (some)
positive (or at least neutral) term.
Open-class quantifiers:
-
plenty of
-
a lot of
-
lots of
-
a great/good deal of
-
large/small quantity of
-
large/small amount of
furniture
money
The open-class quantifiers that occur with noncount nouns have both structural and
semantic relations with the partitives (general, typical and measures).
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3. PARTITIVE CONSTRUCTIONS
Both count and noncount nouns can enter partitive constructions, i. e. constructions
denoting a part of a whole (Quirk et al., 1985). By means of partitives we can refer to a
single item (a loaf of bread), a part of a whole (a slice of bread) or a collection of items
(a packet of biscuits). We use them when we want to refer to specific pieces of an
uncountable substance, or to a limited number of countable items. They can be singular
(a piece of paper) or plural (two pieces of paper) and are followed by of when used
before a noun (Alexander, 2005).
Such constructions express both quality partition (e.g. a kind of paper) and quantity
partition (e.g. a piece of paper). Respecting quantity partition, Quirk et al. (1984)
distinguished three types of partitives which are used to express quantity of noncount
nouns: measures, typical partitives, and general partitives.
3.1 Quality partition
Partition in respect of quality is expressed by a partitive count noun like kind/druh,
sort/trieda, or type/typ followed by an of-phrase (Quirk et al., 1985):
Singular partitives
Plural partitives
a) a delicious sort of bread
delicious sorts of bread
b) another type of research
other types of research
c) a new kind of computer
new kinds of computers
These partitives are used with noncount nouns (a, b) as well as with count nouns (c).
Biber et al. (2000) classified these partitives as species nouns. They refer to the type of
entity or mass expressed by a following of-phrase and behave grammatically like
ordinary countable nouns. Common species nouns are: class, kind, make, sort, species
and type.
Limestones, one class of sedimentary rock, are made up of calcium carbonate.
Under these conditions certain species of bacteria break down the waste to form
methane gas.
As mentioned earlier, these nouns combine with countable as well as uncountable
nouns. “With countable nouns there tends to be agreement in number between the
species noun and the following noun (that kind of thing/all kinds of things). But we also
find singular species nouns combining with a following plural noun (What sort of
19
things are effects? I do not know what kind of dinosaurs they all are.) and plural
species nouns combining with a following singular noun (these kinds of question)”
(Biber et al., 2000: 255).
Species nouns are more common in academic prose than in other registers, with the
exceptions of sort(s) and kind, because the classification is an important aspect of
academic discourse (Biber et al., 2000).
Quality partition of noncount nouns may thus be expressed either by a partitive
construction or by reclassification:
a nice kind of coffee – a nice coffee
English types of cheese – English cheeses
With both count and noncount nouns, we can express the quality partition in the
form ‘a + adjective + noun’: e. g. We are importing a new Italian shirt. It may mean
either ‘a new type of’ (more likely) or ‘a new item’ (Quirk et al., 1985).
3.2 Quantity partition of noncount nouns
3.2.1 General partitives
Noncount nouns denote an undifferentiated mass, however, the expression of
quantity and thus countability may be achieved by means of certain general partitive
nouns, in particular piece/kus, kúsok, bit/trochu, item/?, followed by an of-phrase
(Quirk et al., 1985):
Singular partitives
Plural partitives
a piece of cake
two pieces of cake
a bit of chalk
some bits of chalk
an item of news
several items of news
Quantity of noncount nouns may thus often be expressed either by partitive nouns or by
reclassification: two lumps of sugar = two sugars /dve kocky cukru = dva cukry.
Quirk et al. (1985) analysed the usage of these partitives as follows:
The most widely used partitive expression is a piece of, which can be combined with
both concrete and abstract nouns, e. g.:
NOTE: We use ‘?’ where there the translation is impossible or where we are not sure about the
translation.
20
Concrete: a piece of bacon/chalk/coal/land/paper
Abstract: a piece of advice/information/news/research/work
Bit generally implies a small quantity: a bit of rice/news/fun/research. With abstract
nouns, item is used (besides piece):
an item of business/information/news
Item is not generally used with concrete nouns: *an item of oil/cake (BUT an item of
clothing).
3.2.2 Typical partitives
In addition to the general partitives there are some more restricted and descriptive
typical partitives which form expressions with specific concrete noncount nouns, such
as following (Quirk et al., 1985)/with equivalents used in Slovak:
an atom/grain of truth – zrnko pravdy
a bar of chocolate/soap/gold/iron – tabuľka čokolády
a blade of grass – steblo trávy
a block of ice – kryha ľadu
a cut of lamb/meat; a joint of meat (BrE) – kus mäsa
a drop of water/oil/whisky – kvapka vody
a grain of corn/rice/sand/salt – zrnko ryže/piesku
a loaf of bread – bochník chleba
a lump of coal/lead/sugar – kocka cukru
a sheet of paper/metal/ice – list papiera
a slice of bacon/bread/cake/meat – plátok slaniny/ krajec chleba
a speck of dust/dirt – smietka prachu
a stick of chalk/dynamite/celery/rock (a sweet)/candy (AmE) – ?
a strip of cloth/land/paper – prúžok papiera
a suit of clothing/clothes/armour – kus odevu
Alexander (2005) divided typical partitives (using a term specific partitives) into
these groups:
Single items or amounts e.g.: a cube of ice / kocka ľadu, a peal of thunder /?, a flash
of lightning /?, a ball of string / klbko povrazu, a block of cement /?, a cloud of dust /
oblak prachu, a head of hair /?, a jet of water / prúd vody, a pile of earth / kopa hliny, a
portion of food / porcia jedla, a roll of paper /kotúč papiera. A few of these can be reexpressed as compounds: a sugar lump, ice cubes.
21
Containers used as partitives e. g.: a bag of flour / vrecko múky, a jar of jam / pohár
džemu, a pot of tea / kanvica čaju, a cup of coffee / šálka kávy , a tube of toothpaste /
tuba zubnej pasty, a barrel of beer / sud piva, a basket of fruit / košík ovocia, a bottle of
milk / fľaša mlieka, a can of beer / plechovka piva, a flask of tea / termoska čaju, a glass
of water / pohár vody, a jug of water / džbán vody, a mug of cocoa / hrnček kakaa.
Most of these can be re-expressed as compounds: e.g. a jam-jar /?, a teapot / čajová
kanvica, to describe the container itself. Thus a teapot describes the container (which
may be full or empty), while a pot of tea describes a pot with tea in it.
Small quantities e.g.: a drop of water / kvapka vody, a pinch of salt / štipka soli, a
blade of grass / steblo trávy, a breath of air / dúšok vzduchu, a crust of bread / kôrka
chleba, a dash of soda / kvapka sódy, a grain of rice / zrnko ryže, a lock of hair /
pramienok vlasov, a pat of butter / hrudka masla, a scrap of paper / útržok papiera.
‘A game of’: a game of football, billiards, bridge, cards, chess, cricket, darts,
squash, table-tennis, tennis, volleyball.
Abstract concepts e.g.: a period of calm / obdobie ticha, a spell of work /?, a bit of
advice /?, a branch of knowledge / odbor vedomostí, a fit of anger / nával hnevu, a
piece of research /?, a spot of trouble /?, a word of abuse /?, an amount of interest /
množstvo záujmu, a piece of evidence /?, an attack of fever /?, a fit of passion / záchvat
vášne.
‘A pair of’/ pár: a pair of gloves/ jeans/ boots/ braces /glasses/ knickers/ pants/
pliers/ pyjamas/ scissors/ shears/ shoes/ shorts/ skates/ skis/ slippers/ socks/ stockings/
tights/ tongs/ trousers. In Slovak, numerals like jedny, dvoje, troje are also used (jedny
nohavice / a pair of trousers, dvoje pančuchy / two pairs of stockings).
In Alexander (2005) measure partitives are included between typical partitives, while
they are specified as the individual type of partitives by Quirk et al. (1984).
3.2.3 Measure partitive nouns
The measure partitives relate to precise quantities denoting length, area, volume, and
weight. ‘Of’’ is compulsory with these partitives (Quirk, 2005).
Length:
a foot of copper wire
a metre (BrE)/ a meter (AmE)/ a yard of cloth
a mile of cable
Area:
an acre/a hectare of land
Volume: a litre (BrE)/ a liter (AmE) of wine
22
a pint /a quart of milk
a gallon of petrol
Weight:
an ounce of tobacco
a pound of butter
a kilo of apples
a ton of coal
Measure partitives can be either singular or plural:
a/ one gallon of water
two/ several gallons of water
If count, the second noun must be plural:
one kilo of apples/ *apple
two kilo of apples/ *apple
These measures are used also in Slovak e.g. kilo, liter, meter, míľa, aker, hektár,
galón, unca, libra, tona.
3.2.4 Unit nouns and quantifying nouns
Biber et al., (2000) distinguished between unit nouns and quantifying nouns.
Unit nouns “make it possible to split up an undifferentiated mass and refer to
separate instances of a phenomenon” (Biber, 2000: 250). They create the contrast to
collective nouns which provide a collective reference for separate entities. Unit nouns
provide alternative ways of viewing and referring with respect to uncountable nouns
(while collective nouns provide this with respect to countable nouns).
Unit nouns are general in meaning (bit, piece, slice, etc.) and they are followed by an
of-phrase specifying the type of phenomenon referred to. Grammatically, they behave
like ordinary countable nouns (Biber et al., 2000). Actually, unit nouns are general and
typical partitives mentioned above.
Examples not mentioned earlier among general and typical partitives:
act of adultery/aggression/courage/kindness – ?
chip of glass/ice/paint/stone – úlomok skla
chunk of chocolate/meat/gold/rock/data/time – kus čokolády
rasher of bacon – plátok slaniny
sliver of glass/light – črepina skla
sprinkling of sugar/sunshine – poprašok cukru
trace of blood/poison/anxiety – stopy krvi
whit of concern – štipka záujmu
Rasher, sliver, whit and loaf have a precise meaning and a very narrow field of use.
23
A few unit nouns are used only or very frequently in negative contexts (Biber et al.,
2000): not a speck of, no trace of, not a whit of.
Many uncountable nouns can combine with a variety of unit nouns. For example,
paper can combine with: ball / guľôčka, bit / kúsok, flake / útržok, fragment / kúsok,
heap / hŕba, length / pruh, mound / hromada, pad / kotúč, piece, pile / hromada, reel /
rolka, roll / kotúč, zvitok, scrap / útržok, sheaf / zväzok, sheet / hárok, slip / prúžok, strip
/ pruh, wad / zväzok.
By the choice of unit noun, it is possible to bring out different aspects of the entity
(size, shape, etc.).
“Quantifying nouns are used to refer to quantities of both masses and entities,
which are specified in a following of-phrase by uncountable nouns and plural
countables” (Biber et al., 2000: 252). They vary in number like ordinary countable
nouns. Biber et al. (2000) divided them into:
a) Nouns denoting type of container: crate of champagne, keg of beer.
b) Nouns denoting shape: heap of rubble, pile of wood/rubbish, stick of celery/incense,
wedge of bronze/ice.
c) Standardized measure terms: inch of cloth, gram of heroin.
d) Plural numerals – not used with uncountable nouns.
e) Nouns denoting large quantities: a load(s) of money/rubbish, a mass of blood/stuff,
masses of homework/money/people. Mass is used primarily in the written registers,
load/loads is much common in conversation.
f) Nouns ending in -ful. The suffix -ful can be added to almost any noun denoting some
kind of container to form a quantifying noun (basketful, earful, forkful, houseful,
pocketful, teaspoonful, etc.). Handful of is the most common of these nouns (handful of
salt/sand/people). It stands out by appearing in the majority of cases where the reference
is to a small amount rather than literally to what can be contained in a hand. Other
nouns ending in -ful are regularly used in a literal meaning (armful of grass, fistful of
money/cash, mouthful of coffee/food, spoonful of cream/sugar/tea).
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4. NUMBER
When analysing the category of number there can be found other types of noncount
nouns. The English number system comprises singular, which denotes one, and plural,
which denotes more than one.
Number is marked not only by inflection, but also by concord between subject and
verb (singular subject requires a singular verb, plural subject requires a plural verb)
(Biber et al., 2000).
The basic distinction is between invariable and variable nouns. “Invariables cannot
change their number but are either singular or plural” (Quirk et al., 1984: 165). Quirk et
al. (1985) included between singular invariables: noncount nouns (gold, music), most
proper nouns (Henry), abstract adjectival heads (the unreal) and some nouns ending in s (news). Plural invariables includes summation plurals (scissors), pluralia tantum in -s
(thanks), unmarked plural nouns (cattle), personal adjectival heads (the rich) and proper
nouns (the Alps). Variable nouns are nouns with regular and irregular plural.
There is some confusion over invariable plural as described in Quirk et al. (1984 and
1985) and Quirk, Greenbaum (1975). Count nouns are variable, occurring with either
singular or plural number, or have invariable plural (Quirk, Greenbaum; 1975). In Quirk
et al. (1984 and 1985) it is not mentioned that count nouns have invariable plural.
However, there is mentioned how countability can be imposed with summation plurals
(which have invariable plural) in all these three works, so we can consider these
basically uncountable. It was Biber et al. (2000) who mentioned that most plural-only
nouns (plural invariables according Quirk) are uncountable and do not combine with
numerals and take plural concord. However, Biber (2000) did not deal with plural
proper nouns and personal adjectival heads which are included in plural invariables
according Quirk et al. (1984 and 1985). Concerning the topic of this paper the category
of invariables will be discussed further.
Classification according Quirk et al. (1985) (proper nouns, abstract adjectival
heads and personal adjectival heads are omitted):
Singular invariable nouns
Noncount nouns (concrete and abstract)
Exceptions in which these nouns can be plural as described in Quirk et al. (1985):
25

reclassification with the meaning of kind/glass

noncount nouns denoting natural phenomena, may be pluralized: walking
through the woods, raise his hopes

some plurals express intensity, great quantity or extent, and have a literary
flavour: the snows of Kilimanjaro, the sands of the desert, sailing on the great
waters
Invariable nouns ending in -s correspond to e) according Biber:

news

nouns ending in -ics denoting subjects, sciences (acoustics, athletics, classics,
economics, ethics, gymnastics, linguistics, phonetics, physics)

some diseases (measles, mumps, rickets, shingles)

some games (billiards, checkers, bowls, darts, dominoes, draughts, fives,
ninepins)
Plural invariable nouns
Summation plurals correspond to Biber a) – tools, instruments and articles of dress
consisting of two equal parts which are joined together.
“Although nouns that are summation plurals require plural concord, they differ from
ordinary plural nouns in that they are not generally thought of as denoting plural
number” (Quirk et al., 1985: 300).
Examples: bellows, Bermudas, braces, briefs, binoculars, clippers, compasses, cords,
corduroys, culottes, dividers, dungarees, flannels, flares, galoshes, jeans, jodhpurs,
knickers, leggings, nutcrackers, overalls, pincers, pliers, pants, pyjamas, scales,
scissors, slacks, specs, shorts, shears, suspenders, tongs, tights, trunks, tweezers,
glasses, trousers, spectacles, underpants.
When we want to refer to a single piece of clothing or a single tool, we can use ‘some’
or ‘a pair of’ in front of the noun (Collins, 2004).
I got some scissors out of the kitchen drawer.
I was sent out to buy a pair of scissors.
“When we use ‘a pair of’ with a noun in the plural form, the verb is singular if it is in
the same clause (1). If the verb is in a following relative clause, it is usually plural” (2)
(Collins, 2004: 16).
(1) It is likely that a new pair of shoes brings more happiness to a child than a new car
brings to a grown-up.
(2) He put on a pair of brown shoes, which were waiting there for him.
26
We use a plural pronoun after ‘a pair of’: He brought out a pair of dark glasses and
handed them to Walker.
Pluralia tantum ending in -s correspond to b) and d) according Biber.
These nouns have plural concord. Sometimes, pluralia tantum ending in -s also have
singular forms, which however can be dissociated in meaning form the plural (e.g.: That
damage (=loss, harm) was repaired long ago. Damages as pluralia tantum in -s mean
‘compensation in money imposed by law for causing loss or injury’. E.g.: These
damages have not yet been paid, have they?)
Examples: accommodations, archives, arms, ashes, clothes, communications,
congratulations, customs, dues, earnings, funds, goods, manners, minutes, outskirts,
premises, regards, relations, remains, savings, step, stairs, thanks, writings.
Unmarked plural nouns (these are also pluralia tantum) correspond to c) according
Biber (people, police, also collective nouns like clergy, staff). They have no plural
marking but are used as plurals.
Classification according Biber et al. (2000) comprises singular and plural invariable
nouns:
Plural – only nouns and nouns in -s
“Plural-only nouns do not have a singular – plural contrast (e.g. scissors but not
*scissor), except premodifying another noun where a bare form is regular (e.g. scissor
kick). Alternatively, there may be a corresponding singular form, but with a different
meaning” (Biber et al., 2000: 289). (Custom is a regular countable noun, with the
regular plural customs, in the sense of ‘customary behaviour’. Customs in the sense of
‘duties paid on goods’ has no corresponding singular form and is best treated as a
plural-only noun.)
“Most plural-only nouns are uncountable and do not combine with numerals” (Biber,
2000: 289) (except c) and they take plural concord (except e).
a) Words denoting things consisting of two matching parts – they refer to tools and
articles of clothing (scissors, pants, pyjamas, shorts, trousers, binoculars).
Countability can be achieved by the use of the word ‘pair’ (a pair of shorts, two
pairs of trousers).
b) Steps and stairs – they denote an entire installation incorporating a set of
matching individual parts.
27
The singular step and stair refer to the individual parts making up the
steps/stairs. Countable reference for the whole unit is achieved by the unit noun
‘flight’ (a huge flight of stairs, steep flight of steps).
c) Cattle, clergy, people, police, staff
Though not visibly plural in form, these take plural concord (Police are
appealing for help from anyone who witnessed the incident).
‘Cattle’ combines with numerals (e.g. a group of 25 cattle). Countable reference
can also be achieved by the use of a collective noun (a herd of cattle), a unit
noun (every head of cattle), or by using a corresponding singular noun (a cow/
bull/ bullock).
‘People’ combines with quantifiers with plural reference (many/ten people), but
for singular reference it is necessary to resort to related nouns (a man/ woman/
person). However, people can also be treated as a regular countable noun in the
sense of ‘nation, tribe, race’.
‘Police’ is like people and cattle in combining with quantifiers with plural
reference (50 police) although policemen and police officers are preferred in this
case. Police combines with a singular verb when the reference is collective (The
Royal Canadian Mounted Police was searching the airliner). For a singular
reference, it is necessary to use a related word (a policeman/ policewoman/
police officer/ cop).
‘Staff’ can also combine with quantifier with plural reference (e.g. most staff),
while singular reference requires an expression such as a staff member. Staff is
treated as a singular form when the reference is collective.
d) Other plural-only nouns – e.g. surroundings, goods, minutes, remains.
The surroundings were beautiful and the food delicious. Anyone bringing in
more will be asked to confirm that their goods are not for reselling.
e) Forms with singular concord
Some nouns which end in ‘-s’ and look like plurals but actually behave like
uncountable singular nouns. This means that when they are the subject of a verb,
the verb is in the singular. These nouns refer to subjects of study (academic
disciplines – mathematics, etc), activities, games (e.g. cards, billiards) and
diseases (e.g. rabies, mumps, measles) (Collins, 2004). The nouns which refer to
subjects of study and activities, e.g. aerobics, economics, linguistics, politics,
statistics, are occasionally used as plural nouns, especially when you are talking
28
about a particular person's work or activities (Are there any statistics for road
accidents?). This group also includes the noun news.
29
5. THE CATEGORY OF NUMBER IN THE SLOVAK
LANGUAGE
Nouns are the names of individual substances. These can occur individually or in a
greater amount. Restrictions of number of some nouns change their meaning. The
category of number is based on the contrast of singular and plural (unity and amount).
Nouns can be divided into three groups (Oravec et al., 1988):
1) nouns which have both singular and plural forms (countable nouns)
2) nouns which have singular form only (uncountable nouns: collective, material,
abstract nouns)
3) nouns which have plural form only (pluralia tantum)
5.1 Singular number only – uncountable nouns in the Slovak language
Uncountable nouns in Slovak are also called singularia tantum (Sokolová, 1995).
5.1.1 Collective nouns
Collective nouns refer to plurality as an integrated (compact) unity. The element of
plurality which is in the background of collective nouns makes it impossible to use
these nouns in plural form in the Slovak language (Dvonč et al., 1966).
Slovak collective nouns refer to (Oravec et al., 1988):
a) collectives of people: ľudstvo, mládež, junač, drobizg, aristokracia, inteligencia
b) collectives of animals: živočíšstvo, včelstvo, chrobač, zverina, zver
c) vegetation: rastlinstvo, bodľač, bučina, haluzina, zelenina, bodľačie, haluzie, ihličie,
krovie, prútie, malinčie, raždie, tŕnie
d) collections of natural phenomena: horstvo, vodstvo, vrchovina
e) collections of things, equipments: náradie, riad, šatstvo, školstvo, batožina, zbroj
Collective nouns in Slovak correlate with the plural of countable nouns (for
semantics and word formation), e. g.: včely – včelstvo, listy – lístie (Oravec et al., 1988).
They have singular number only (they are invariable) and they are always used with
singular verb. There is a difference between Slovak and English as some English
collective nouns such as audience, class, club, committee, company, congregation,
council, crew, crowd, family, gang, government, group, jury, mob, staff, team, union can
30
also have regular plural forms and can be used with singular or plural verbs (Alexander,
2005).
Governments in all countries are trying to control inflation.
The government, who are looking for a quick victory, are calling for a general
election soon.
However, these English collective nouns (class, club, committee, company, crew,
crowd, family, gang, government, group, mob, team, union) and some others such as
army, collective, ministry, nation, parliament, congress (or better their Slovak
equivalents) are not included among collective nouns in Slovak as the Slovak language
does not feel plural correlate here. Also names of formations and amount of individual
units e.g. stádo, kŕdeľ, množstvo are not collectives in Slovak in contrast to their
English equivalents herd, flock, amount which are English collectives (Dvonč et al.,
1966).
There are also collective nouns which do not have regular plural but can be followed
by a singular or plural verb in English (Alexander, 2005): the aristocracy, the gentry,
the proletariat, the majority, the minority, the public, the youth of today.
The youth of today is/are better of than we used to be.
In English, some collective nouns must be followed by a plural verb but they do not
have plural forms (Alexander, 2005): cattle, the clergy, the military, people, the police,
swine, vermin. (They are mentioned above as unmarked plural nouns and are actually
uncountables.)
The police/the military have surrounded the building.
Collective nouns are treated differently in English. They are considered to be
uncountable in Slovak but they are not non-count nouns, but rather are a special subset
of count nouns in English with the exception of unmarked plural nouns which are
considered to be uncountable according Biber et al. (2000).
Collective nouns in English are analysed in the category of gender as in Quirk et al.
(1985). They have only one form, but many collective nouns have other meanings in
which they are count nouns with two forms in English. When you use a collective noun,
you can use either a singular verb or a plural verb after it (Collins, 2004). Singular
stresses the non-personal collectivity of the group (the group as the single unit) and the
plural the personal individuality within the group (the group as a number of individuals)
(Quirk, Greenbaum; 1975).
31
These nouns do not behave like the plural forms of count nouns. For example, we
cannot use numbers before them.
*Three enemy were killed.
Three of the enemy were killed.
Some collective nouns are also partitives e.g. flock, herd (Collins, 2004).
5.1.2 Material nouns and abstract nouns
Material nouns refer to phenomena which occur in continual (not divided into
units/pieces) or only insignificantly divided amount. Here are included (Dvonč, 1966):
liquids: čaj, káva, lieh, mlieko, pálenka, pivo, smotana, tekutina, víno, voda, benzín,
nafta, olej, krv, miazga, moč, mok, pot
articles of food: bryndza, droždie, kaša, lekvár, maslo, masť, mäso, med, múka, pečivo,
slanina, syr, šunka, tuk, tvaroh, bravčovina, teľacina, kuracina
crops: bôb, cibuľa, fazuľa, hrach, hrozno, jačmeň, kapusta, karfiol, kukurica, ľan, mak,
mrkva, obilie, ovos, paprika, petržlen, pšenica, repa, ryža, seno, tráva, žito, osivo,
semeno, slama, vňať, zrno
textiles: hodváb, krep, silon, súkno, taft, tyl, látka, plátno, tkanivo, zamat
household substances and material: farbivo, hnojivo, krmivo, murivo, palivo, rezivo,
slonovina, trhavina, betón, cement, drôt, koža, krieda, lep, malta, mydlo, plech, sklo,
smola, šrot, vlna, živica
natural substances and events: bahno, blato, čečina, drevo, hlina, hornina, íl, kal,
kameň, láva, piesok, prach, prsť, ruda, štrk, vápenec, zem, žula, hmota, masa, energia,
dym, hmla, ľad, para, povetrie, vlaha, vzduch
metals, minerals, compounds: kov, plyn, cín, meď, oceľ, olovo, striebro, zlato, železo,
kyslík, sodík, vápnik, kyselina
Abstract nouns
Real abstract nouns have got similar character like the material nouns. False abstracts
(the smaller part) are the abstract which were transformed into the objects such as: trest
– tresty, úvaha – úvahy, zločin – zločiny.
These are names of (Dvonč et al., 1966):

activities: kreslenie, myslenie, kosba, mlatba, svadba, oberačka, kúpačka,
chôdza, práca, buchot, tlkot, krik, pád, let, plač, spánok, spev, tok
32

states and feelings: opilstvo, šialenstvo, poddanstvo, hluchota, nemota, choroba,
mdloba, staroba, únava, cit, láska, nenávisť, radosť, žiaľ, hlad, smäd,
presvedčenie, sebavedomie

qualities: lajdáctvo, lakomstvo, odrodilstvo, dobrota, ochota, prostota, múdrosť,
skromnosť, slabosť, dĺžka, výška, sila

mental capacity and senses: fantázia, pamäť, rozum, hmat, chuť, sluch, zrak

others abstract phenomena: slovanstvo, vlastenectvo, červeň, zeleň, dobro,
nekonečno, zlo, doba, čas, plocha, priestor, priestranstvo, možnosť, skutočnosť
The compactness of materials and abstracts is unbounded (indefinable), the size
(measure) of it is possible to define only by indefinite numerals or quantitative nouns
(trochu mlieka, veľa spevu, nemálo strachu, trochu hudby; liter vína, pohár vody,
bochník chleba, hruda syra, rezeň slaniny, merica žita, snop slamy, voz kapusty, kopa
sena, oblak dymu; kus šťastia, dva roky práce) (Dvonč et al., 1966).
They can also exist in pieces (jedno mydlo, vyhliadkové lety), but then the meaning is
shifted and has a colloquial colouring (especially used in colloquial style). It is usually
material noun which is used as a metonymic alternative for a noun expressing measure:
dve polievky (dva taniere polievky), štyri kávy, dva čaje, dva syry, tri pivá, tri drevá,
jedna krieda, dve sklá, jeden chlieb, dve šunky. This corresponds to the reclassification
in English – plural forms are used in the meaning of “appropriate unit of”. Also plural
used with material nouns refers to the kinds/sorts/types (syry – ementálsky, pažítkový,
cibuľkový; minerálne vody, pivá, vína, hodváby, piesky, štrky etc.) (Dvonč et al., 1966).
The countability is more often expressed by idiomatic expressions (partitive
constructions in the English language):
kvapka vody, kropaje potu, dve kocky cukru, hlt vody, smidka chleba, dve škvarky
slaniny, štipka soli, chlp vlny, papek dreva, zdrap papiera…
Generally are used words: kus, kúsok, kúsoček, kúštik, kúštiček.
With the abstract nouns are used: kúsok dobra, strap otcovskej lásky, iskierka citu,
nemá za mak rozumu.
5.2 Plural number
With respect to the category of number, Dvonč et al. (1966) distinguished:

Nouns which occur predominantly in plural. These nouns refer to phenomena
which exist more commonly in mass/quantity/amount than in one exemplar.
33
These phenomena are not counted because their number is usually stable or their
counting is impossible or useless for practical reasons. Their counting is marked
(nemá na hlave ani tri vlasy). Indefinite numerals are used to express measure,
not the number of these phenomena (mnoho malín, veľa vlasov).
parts of the body: ďasná, hlasivky, líca, nozdry, pery, uši, parohy, rohy, cievy, črevá,
chlpy, kosti, mozole, nervy, stavce, obrvy, svaly, vrásky, zuby, žily
footwear and clothes: baganče, čižmy, črievice, ihličky, kapce, kopačky, krpce, lodičky,
papuče, pančuchy, prezuvky, rukavice, tenisky, topánky, tretry
fruit and plants: bobuľky, klasy, korene, kvety, listy, čerešne, figy, hrušky, huby, oriešky,
slivky, trnky, uhorky
foodstuffs: cigarety, cukríky, piškóty, sucháre, škvarky
things, equipments: kachličky, karty, klince, koľajnice, kolky, korčule, náboje, parkety,
servítky, schody, súčiastky, šindle, tehly, zápalky, závory
abstracts: výdavky, dane, opatrenia, potreby, príznaky, možnosti, okolnosti, schopnosti,
skúsenosti, starosti, zákonitosti
collectives of people: manželia, rodičia, príbuzní, súrodenci, hostia, obyvatelia, černosi,
belosi, kresťania, Nóri
collectives of animals: bacily, baktérie, termity, včely

Nouns which are very rarely used in singular. We can use singular form of
these nouns only in particular limited conditions, e. g. in specialised practise, in
the case of loss, destruction, construction and repair of thing or its accidental
isolation (Dvonč et al., 1966).
parts of the body: bokombrady, fúzy, hryzadlá, kadere, pačesy, riasy, slabiny,
vnútornosti, žiabre
parts of the footwear and clothes: dreváky, gamaše, palčiaky, plátenky, rukávce
foodstuff and plants: halušky, hrozienka, klinčeky (korenie), rezance, ríbezle, strapačky,
sušienky, šúľance, trhance, údeniny, cereálie, naturálie
rubbish: hobliny, odpadky, odrobiny, omrviny, otruby, piliny, pozostatky, rárohy, smeti,
stružliny, šupiny, výkaly, výlučky, výpary, zvyšky
others: behúle, cepy, devízy, chodúle, kopanice, lazy, peniaze, potreby pre domácnosť,
trosky, úvodzovky, dáta, archiválie, financie, fosílie, chemikálie, machinácie, reálie
collectives of people: blíženci, bračekovci, detičky, deťúrence, detváky, dietky, ľudia,
ľudkovia, Anjouovci, Avari, Huni
34
Some of these nouns have wider or more concrete sense in plural and are
semantically different from singular form (Dvonč et al., 1966): baňa – bane, železnica –
železnice, hra – hry, obrad – obrady, rozum – rozumy, slávnosť – slávnosti, voľba –
voľby.
Nouns with normal (ordinary) plural can create homonyms with these nouns: klinček
– klinčeky, pozostatok – pozostatky, rároh (vták) – rárohy (haraburdy), troska – trosky.
Some of these nouns which occur in fixed amounts, units which we can count
(Dvonč et al., 1966): mám len jedny nervy, troje rukavíc, dvoje karát, jedny zápalky,
dvoje cigariet, dvoje sardiniek, jedny klince.

Pluralia tantum. These nouns have only one form for both singular and plural.
However, plural has both numerical meanings (noviny, všetky noviny). When we
want to express the number or amount we use a special numerals in Slovak
called ‘group numerals’/skupinové číslovky (jedny nohavice).
Oravec et al. (1988) discussed the first category as fixed plural and the two following
categories as pluralia tantum. Dvonč et al. (1966) included here:
parts of the body: kríže, pľúca, prsia, rodidlá, ústa
illnesses: kiahne, osýpky, potničky, suchoty
parts of clothes: gate, háby, spodky, šaty, tepláky, trenírky, nohavice
tools and equipment: bradlá, brány, dvere, hodinky, hrable, husle, jasle, kachle, kliešte,
nožnice, okuliare, sane, váhy
papers and dues: aktíva, alimenty, diéty, pasíva, dejiny, memoáre, noviny, pamäti
social activities, events, festivals: dostihy, hody, narodeniny, raňajky, zásnuby, fašiangy,
litánie
time periods: prázdniny, prvohory
other phenomena: hradby, končiny, kúpele, šachy, mravy, muky, rozpaky, spôsoby
Some of these nouns are homonymous with normal nouns which have both plural
and singular form (Dvonč et al., 1966): bradlo (skala) – bradlá, kúpeľ – kúpele, novina
– noviny, osud – osudy, pamäť – pamäti, peniaz – peniaze, spôsob – spôsoby, suchota –
suchoty, šach – šachy.
Most plural-only nouns (pluralia tantum) in English is considered to be uncountable
according Biber (2000), however, the countability of pluralia tantum is not discussed for
the needs of the Slovak language.
As already mentioned on the beginning, the countability in English is very important
since it influences not only the usage of articles and quantifiers, but basically the
35
singular and plural form of nouns depends on it. When noun is countable there is no
problem to use it in plural form but when it is uncountable it is necessary to be aware of
restrictions on plural here.
There are many problems for Slovak learners in respect of noncount nouns. It is caused
by differences in morphological treatment of countability within the system of the
Slovak and the English languages.
36
6. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF COUNTABILITY IN
THE ENGLISH AND SLOVAK LANUGAGES
Firstly, countability is not analysed so widely for the needs of the Slovak language.
This is the main reason why Slovak students have so many difficulties with the
grammatical issue of countability as they do not deal with this subject so extensively in
their native language. In Slovak, countability influences singular and plural forms of
nouns and quantifiers.
Secondly, one cannot rely on common sense when distinguishing between countable
and uncountable nouns. Students often consider this easy to guess with the help of their
native language but they do not realise that this distinction between countable and
uncountable nouns in English is rather grammatical than the real one. The Slovak
language encodes the countability of some nouns differently e. g. advice, homework,
information are uncountable in English, while their Slovak equivalents rada, domáca
úloha, informácia are countable.
Moreover, countability is changing in dependence on situational context therefore all
strict classifications are useless and can be used only for basic orientation at the first
stages of learning of the English language. Division of countability according Bond et
al. (1994) into five types (fully countable, uncountable, plural only, strongly countable
and weakly countable) shows that classification of a noun as countable or uncountable
is a little bit complicated sometimes. Similar problem is a tendency of abstract nouns to
be uncountable. Students are often confused and make the rule from this tendency.
However, nouns with dual membership (which can be countable and also
uncountable in different situation) exist in Slovak as well as in English. Sometimes they
have countable and uncountable usage equivalent to the Slovak one (e. g. egg / vajce,
chicken/ kurča), sometimes there is a noun expressed by one item which can be
countable and uncountable in English, but is expressed by two different lexical items in
Slovak e. g. iron / žehlička (C), železo (U). For students it is necessary to understand
both uses (countable and uncountable) of these nouns in English and recognise their
countability according to the context.
Also some English countable/uncountable pairs have their Slovak equivalents,
especially nouns for animals are countable and nouns for meat are uncountable in both
languages (e. g. a suitcase – luggage / kufor – batožina, a calf – pork / teľa – teľacina,
37
a cow – a beef / krava - hovädzina). Slovak countable/uncountable pairs are created
mostly by uncountable collective nouns which often have countable equivalents e. g.
lístie – listy, divina – dive zvieratá.
Partitives are widely used by both languages. Besides quality partitives (kind/druh,
sort/trieda, type/typ), measures and general partitives (kus/kúsok/kúštik/kúsoček –
piece/bit) which are almost the same there are also some typical partitives, known as
idiomatic expression in Slovak. Partitives are very often similar in the meaning and
have English/Slovak equivalents (e. g. a drop of water / kvapka vody, a loaf of bread /
bochník chleba). However, not all partitive constructions can be translated into Slovak
as they are typical of English. In the first case these nouns have not got the same
partitives, if any, but are also uncountable in Slovak (e. g. abuse – nadávanie, urážanie
BUT a word of abuse / *slovo nadávania). We can express the meaning of these
partitive constructions by countable nouns (e. g. a word of abuse / nadávka, urážka).
Similarly, general partitive item can be translated as položka, but it is not usually used
with uncountable nouns in Slovak (item of news/*položka správ BUT správa). In the
second case, some typical partitives such as a peal of thunder or a flash of lightening
cannot be translated because thunder / hrom and lightning / blesk are countable nouns in
Slovak.
Another common feature shared by Slovak and English is reclassification.
When comparing English and Slovak morphological category of number we can find
out many differences. The category of number in English and the same category in
Slovak distinguish basically the same types of nouns: variable nouns which can be
singular or plural (countable nouns), singular invariables (singular number only), plural
invariables (plural number only). Slovak and English morphology treat these categories
differently in respect of their content. Nouns with singular number only i. e.
uncountable nouns include collective, material and abstract nouns. But collective nouns
in English are not considered to be uncountable, with the exception of a few unmarked
plural noun (or pluralia tantum) (e. g. clergy, staff) which are not plural in form but are
followed by a plural verb and are considered to be uncountable. Some English
collectives have regular plural forms and can be used with singular or plural verb and
many of them are not considered to be collective nouns in Slovak understanding.
Collectives in Slovak have singular number only and cannot be used with plural verb.
Material and abstract nouns are almost the same in both languages. They have also
countable uses, often with semantic shift. Although morphology of the Slovak language
38
does not deal literally with the countable usage of these nouns it is possible e. g. tiny
freedoms/drobné slobody. Plural invariable in English include summation plural (e. g.
scissors), pluralia tantum ending in -s and unmarked plural nouns – all these are
considered to be uncountable. In Slovak, the noun which are considered to be
summation plural are mostly included among Nouns which occur predominantly in
plural (e. g. pančuchy, čižmy, topánky) and Pluralia tantum (e. g. trenírky, nohavice,
nožnice). The category of pluralia tantum in -s does not exist in the Slovak language but
some words from this category belong to Pluralia tantum in Slovak (e. g.
spôsoby/manners). Unmarked plural nouns, as mentioned earlier, are collective and
uncountable in both languages. But Slovak equivalent of the English collective noun
people – ľudia is not collective but it is in the category of Nouns which are very rarely
used in singular. There is a special category of nouns in -s in English which look like
plural but are used with singular concord, which again does not exist in Slovak (e. g.
mathematics, measles, cards) but diseases from this category (e. g. measles) are
included in the Slovak category of Pluralia tantum.
Concerning the plural number, the countability is not discussed in the Slovak
language at all. We can say that the categories of Nouns which occur predominantly in
plural (e. g. pančuchy/tights, topánky/shoes) and Nouns which are very rarely used in
singular (e. g. odpadky/rubbish, peniaze/money) are only slightly different. Some nouns
from these two categories are uncountable in English, as well as some nouns from the
category of Pluralia tantum (e. g. nohavice/trousers, osýpky/measles). As oppose to the
Slovak, in the English language most plural only nouns are uncountable.
39
7. CONCLUSIONS
It was interesting to find out, that English grammarians do not have the same
approach to the issue of countability as they deal with it differently in terms of range
and aspects of analyses. Even with the same authors, their view on countability was
modified in their latter works. The answer on the controversial point of countability of
English plural-only nouns was given by Biber et al. (2000) who finally clearly stated
that “most plural-only nouns are uncountable”. We have tried to compare even English
grammarians between themselves and to sum up their views for more complex
characteristics. More problematic was the analyses of Slovak countability because the
Slovak grammar does not deal with countability so much.
The main problem in terms of countability in English for the Slovak students is
definitely the interference of their native language, what is manifested by the fact, that
students regard uncountable nouns in Slovak as uncountable in English. As a result they
“logically” classify some English uncountable nouns as countables, because they are
countable in the Slovak language, too (e. g. information). They sometimes use singular
uncountable nouns as though they were countable (e. g. use indefinite article or
inappropriate quantifier with them), or they use plural-only nouns as though they were
singular and countable. We have reminded several times that the countability of English
nouns in rather grammatical issue. Therefore, some Slovak countable nouns are
uncountable in English and vice versa.
Even though not all English uncountable nouns are uncountable in Slovak, there are
many examples which are presented in this paper, by the help of which students can
grasp the basic tendencies for uncountable uses of English nouns. We have also dealt
with grammatical phenomenon which are influenced by countability in English and
pointed out the exceptions from this grammar rules. As we have analysed all differences
respecting countability and uncountable nouns between these languages, specific
features of English and Slovak number systems and explained the possibility of
changing countability, we believed that this paper will help students to better understand
the issue of countability. The exercises in the appendix should help students to practise
the use of uncountable and countable nouns in various contextual situations and to
remove the interference of their native language into English by realising the different
treatment of countability in the English language.
40
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