Grammar as a phenomenon – a subsystem of language as a linguistic discipline

The class of nouns can be described as a lexico-grammatical field. Nouns denoting things constitute the centre (nucleus) of the field. Nouns denoting processes, qualities, abstract notions (predicate nouns) are marginal, peripheral elements of the field.

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  Nucleus and periphery are distinguished on the basis of lexico-semantic properties and morph. characteristics – subclasses of Nouns
  
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  The nucleus -> common- concrete-countable- animate Nouns
  
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  The periphery -> abstract – material- uncountable Nouns
  

The category of number
The only category of nouns, which is generally accepted, is the category of number. Many scholars think that the notion of case applies to English pronouns, but not to nouns. Gender distinctions are not marked morphologically.
The category of number - is a semantically rooted morphological category ,

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  depends on how the referent is perceived: as a discrete, hence countable entity, one or more than one, OR as an indiscrete indivisible, hence uncountable entity
  
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  this semantic contrast is revealed through lexical and morphological means which are accompanied by syntactic marking
  

Lexical ( lexico-syntactic) means:

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  The process of lexicalizing semantic contrast consists in denoting a discrete countable entity by one word – a meal and an indiscrete uncountable entity – by another – food.
  

We made a journey – we made a travel
Lexico- grammatical means:

-s – news – singularia tantum, goods – pluralia tantum, marked through syntactic patterning – the form of the predicate verb, use of articles and corresponding pronouns

Lexicalization of the plural form (the process when a word requires a new name, a word already having a meaning gets a new one)
Colours - > flag, pains -.> efforts


Grammatical means:
The morph. Category of Number is realized through inflectional marking (categorial forms) and/or syntactic patterning
Form: the category of Number is constituted by the inflectional opposition of 2 categorial forms of Noun:
Non-pl.(sg.) - Pl⁺ binary, privative opposition
Dog⁻ dogs⁺ ⁺ -a strong marked member, marked through the inflexion, ⁻- zero morpheme.
Sg. – no positive mark, zero inflexion, a weak unmarked member, many a river
Pl. – morpheme of plurality – (e)s, represented by:

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  the allomorphs ( variants of 1 morpheme) books (s), boys(z), boxes(iz)
  
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  by some other allomorphs ex. oxen
  
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  internal inflexion – sound interchange mouse-mice
  
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  zero inflexion (NB! – only in grammar) – sheep, means
  

Meaning of their category of Number and its members the foundation is laid by the opposition