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Noun class membership
From Teflpedia
This article discusses noun class membership, that is basically what a noun is in English.
Definition[edit | edit source]
Basic definition[edit | edit source]
A noun:
- Syntactically functions to name concepts, either abstract or concrete.
- can take a determiner, if the noun is not a proper noun.
For example, apple:
- Syntactically functions to name the fruit of Malus domestica
- can take a determiner; the apple.
Other properties[edit | edit source]
- Nouns are an open class.
- A noun may mark the genitive case with genitive 's.
Contrasts[edit | edit source]
Most confusion is likely to result between nouns and pronouns:
Nouns v. pronouns[edit | edit source]
By contrast to nouns, pronouns:
- Reference determined noun phrases,
- Cannot take determiners (e.g. *the he was sad), but can act as determiners.
- are a closed class.
