M. Iriskulov, A. Kuldashev a course in Theoretical English Grammar Tashkent 2008

The Problems of Number and Case in Modern 
 
English Nouns 
Number is a grammatical category of nouns which denotes the number of 
objects, expressed by a word. 
In English there are two numbers: singular and plural. The formal signal of 
the singular number is a zero morpheme, while the usual signal of plurality -/e/s. 
The formation of plural by means -/e/s is considered to be productive, but in 
Modern English there are some non-productive types of plural number, as for 
instance: 
a) suffix - en : ox - oxen 
b) variation of vowels in the root of a word: 
tooth-teeth; goose-geese; mouse-mice; man-men, 
c) variation of vowels of the root қ suffix- "ren" children; 
d) homonymous forms for both sing and plural: 
sheep – sheep 
deer – deer 
swine – swine 
This type of formation of plurality was a norm for the whole group of words 
in Old English, but in Modern English only some words have been preserved. 
Non-productive type of number we find in some borrowed words from Latin 
and Greek, such as: 
datum – data 
basis – bases /si:z/ 
memorandum – memoranda 
crisis – crises /si:z/ 
formula – formulae /i: /
analysis – analyses /si:z/ 
These words form their plural as per the norms of Latin and Greek 
languages, though some of them form their plural according to English: formulas, 
memorandums. 

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With regard to the category of number English nouns fall under two sub-
classes: countable and uncountable. The latter is again subdivided into those 
having no plural form and those having no singular. The former type is called 
Pluralia tantum: clothes, goods, the latter - singularia tantum: milk, water.
The lexical and grammatical morphemes of a word linked together so 
closely that sometimes it seems impossible to separate them. The relation between 
foot and feet, goose and geese, man and men is similar to the relation between. 
bag – bags; desk – desks 
The examples above remind us the facts of the Arabic language. In this 
language lexical morphemes are usually consist of consonants. They are united 
with vocalic morphemes grammatical in character and occurring between 
consonants, e.g.,
Ktb 
ktaab - a book 
kutub - books 
katab - he wrote 
kaatib - clerk 
kattab - he dictated. 
In these examples consonants Ktb are lexical morphemes as well as English 
f...t, g...s, m...n and so on. But there are two different things here to be 
distinguished. Arabic is a Semitic synthetic language while English is an Indo-
European analytical one. If a discontinuous lexical morpheme is characteristic to 
the system of Arabic, for English it is an exception. English forms its plural forms 
by - /e/ s. 
Some linguists consider the case as above as internal inflection inserted into 
a lexical one / -u- / and / - i : - / / as it is in Arabic / and others think of vowel 
change / u > i: /. 
To be consistent we'll regard nouns above as follows: 
sing. Man - pl /man қ s/ = men 
The group of pluralia tantum is mostly composed on nouns which express 
things as objects consisting of two or more parts, e.g. trousers, scissors. Nouns like 
clothes, sweets must also be referred to pluralia tantum since they denote collective 
meaning. The - s, here is lexicalized and developed into an inseparable part of the 
stem. The suffix here is no longer a grammatical morpheme. 
In compound nouns both the 1
st
and 2
nd
components may be pluralized: 
father-in-law / 1
st
/, suitcase / 2
nd
/, Manservant—menservants etc.