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

Article and the category of number

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  the definite article –show o connection
  
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  the indefinite article – takes part in the expression of number in Enlish
  
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  Plotkin suggests the following opposition:
  

A stone(sg.analytical) – stones(pl.)- stone(sg. synthetical)
1^st – a discrete single object with distinct limits
2^nd – an indiscrete entity with neither inner nor outer limits (boundaries)
So there are reasons to speak about the category of article determination which determines the type of a referent (discr./indiscr.) and involves the use of the noun with the indef. article or without it.
10. The adjective. The category of degrees of comparison

The adjective expresses the categorial semantics of property of a substance. It means that each adjective used in the text presupposes relation to some noun the property of whose referent it denotes, such as its material, colour, dimensions, position, state, and other characteristics both permanent and temporary.

The following features are commonly considered to be characteristic of adjectives.
1. Meaning:
a) generalized lexico-grammatical primary meaning of non-temporal property, e.g.: black, big, clever, etc.;
b) generalized grammatical secondary meaning of non-temporal property, e.g.: comfortable, national, graceful, etc.
2. Combinability with:
a) nouns, mostly in postposition, e.g.: He was a pleasant fellow (T. Mori);
b) verbs in preposition, e.g.:
/ married young (M. Burgess);
c) adverbs of degree in preposition, e.g.:
...he was a deeply emotional man (S. Sheldon);
d) prepositional combinations in postposition, e.g.: It is full of clean paver (W. Deeping).
3.Syntactic Functions:
a) attributive,
b) predicative.
In attributive function, the adjective is part of a noun phrase: it generally precedes and modifies the head noun, e.g.:
She had a small child in her arms (W.S. Maugham).
Predicative adjectives characterize a noun phrase that is a separate clause element. Predicative adjectives have two syntactic roles: subject predicatives and object predicatives. Subject predicatives complement a copular verb, characterizing the noun phrase in subject position, e.g.:
She was wonderful to me (D. Robins).
Object predicatives follow a direct object, making a predication about that noun phrase, e.g.:
He made the children happy (R. Quirk et al.).
4.Morphological structure.
As far as their morphological structure is concerned, adjectives fall under the following types:
a) simple,
b) derived,
c) compound.
Simple adjectives have neither prefixes nor suffixes, e.g.: green, high, low, fat, etc.
Derived adjectives have either a prefix or a suffix or both. Derived adjectives are usually formed from nouns and verbs. The most productive adjective-forming suffix is -al, e.g.: international, local, natural, formal, usual, etc.
Compound adjectives are made from a combination of more than one word and represent compact, integrated forms of expression, which are not easy to produce 'online' except for lexicalized components, such as tongue-tied, old-fashioned, etc.