SUBSTANTIVUL IN ENGLEZA

I.          SUBSTANTIVUL

Substantivele au diferite functii intr-o propozitie.

Ele pot fi:

Subiectul sau complementul direct sau indirect al unui verb

Numele predicativ al verbelor be, become si seem

Complement prepozitional

In cazul genitiv (Genitivul saxon sau sintetic)

In engleza substantivele au in toate aceste cazuri aceeasi forma - cu exceptia genitivului sintetic.

Nota

In engleza toate propozitiile trebuie sa aiba subiect. Subiectul poate fi un substantiv sau un pronume.

Substantivele in limba engleza se pot imparti in patru tipuri:

Substantive proprii: Ann, China, Paris, Dr Moody

Substantive comune: doll, apple, plate, tree

Substantive abstracte: happiness, love, honesty, fear

Substantive colective: family, group, herd, staff

Nota

Substantivele proprii se scriu intotdeauna cu initiala majuscula.

Substantivele limbii engleze pot varia dupa gen si numar.

GENUL

Cele mai multe substantive au aceeasi forma pentru toate genurile.

friend child doctor cousin baby teenager artist cook

dancer driver teacher

genul poate fi indicat de un pronume insotitor.

My friend sent her son a present.

The doctor opened his bag.

Child si baby pot fi considerate neutre.

The baby closed its eyes and fell asleep.

Numele de tari sunt si ele considerate neutre.

Lately, Kenya has greatly improved its economy.

Multe substantive care denumesc oameni si animale au o forma feminina si una masculina

Son, daughter nephew, niece uncle, aunt

Actor, actress waiter, waitress gentleman, lady

Father, mother husband, wife man, woman

Bachelor, spinster heir, heirwss hero, heroine

Male, female bull, cow rooster, hen

Genul poate fi indicat combinand substantive fara gen cu: boy, girl, male, female, man, woman

Boyfriend, girlfriend male pilot, female pilot

Man dentist, woman dentist policeman, policewoman

Nota

Recent, in incercarea de a elimina "discriminarea de gen", exista o tendinta de a inlocui "terminatiile" man si woman cu person sau de a le elimina complet. In alte cazuri au fost create alte expresii sau alte cuvinte lipsite de gen.

Vechea folosire Noua folosire

Salesman, saleswoman salesperson

Chairman, chairwoman chairperson, chair

Steward, stewardess flight attendant

NUMARUL

In enlgeza substantivele se impart in doua categorii: numarabile si nenumarabile.

Substantivele numarabile se pot numara, adica au numar. Pot avea atat forme de singular cat si de plural. La singular pot fi precedate de a(n) sau one.

Plural

Forme regulate:

La majoritatea substantivelor se adauga -s formei de singular.

Book, books day, days house, houses

Donkey, donkeys safe, safes girl, girls

Substantivele terminate in o, ch, sh, s sau x primesc -es.

Potato, potatoes church, churches brush, brushes

Bus, buses box, boxes kiss, kisses

Substantivele terminate in consoana + y pierd pe y si primesc -ies.

Baby, babies factory, factories fly, flies

Nota

Exista exceptii: kilo, kilos photo, photos piano, pianos radio, radios soprano, sopranos

Forme neregulate

Unele substantive elimina -f / fe de la final si primesc -ves.

Calf, calves wife, wives wolf, wolves

Loaf, loaves leaf, leaves life, lives

Shelf, shelves thief, thieves knife, knives self, selves

Unele substantive isi modifica vocalele.

Foot, feet tooth, teeth goose, geese man, men

Woman, women mouse, mice louse, lice

Nota

Atentie! Child, children person, people

Unele substantive au aceeasi forma la singular si la plural:

Sheep,deer, aircraft, trout, series, species, salmon, means, fish, headquarters

Unele substantive exista numai la forma de plural.

Clothes, pants, pyjamas, scissors, glasses, scales, stairs, savings, outskirts, grounds, goods, earnings, valuables, surroundings, arms (weapons), archives, belongings, proceeds, wages, premises, the Middle Ages, braces, customs, trousers

Nota

Police este considerat a fi la plural.

The police are inspecting their house.

Nota

Aceste substantive nu sunt Niciodata precedate de numere (one, two, three etc.). pentru a indica numarul, folositi some, a little, etc. sau pair/set, group etc. + of.

Ten pairs of pants, three sets of archives, a roomful of belongings etc.

Unele substantive imprumutate pastreaza pluralul greces, italian sau latin.

Crisis, crises cactus, cacti phenomenon, phenomena

Datum, data libretto, libretti fungus, fungi

Nucleus, nuclei stimulus, stimuli criterion, criteria

Basis, bases thesis, theses oasis, oases

Axis, axes medium, media bacterium, bacteria

Nota

Engleza moderna foloseste adesea data, media si bacteria cu sens plural dar cu un verb la singular

The latest data is highly encouraging.

Numele de familie se pot folosi la plural pentru a indica intreaga familie. Numelui i se adauga un -s. Nu au loc schimbari de ortografie.

The Kennedys are world-famous.

Substantivele colective se refera la un grup de oameni sau lucruri. Sunt in mod normal folosite la singular. In engleza britanica se pot folosi atat verbe la singular cat si la plural. In engleza americana au intotdeauna un verb la singular.

Family aristocracy enemy company council

Nobility gouvernment group proletariat press

Opposition gang jury community army public

Audience crew navy staff team committee

The jury are about to give their verdict. (engleza britanica)

The public is opposed to the new tax.

Nota

Spre deosebire de substantivele numarabile normale, substantivele colective nu pot fi direct precedate de numere sau "some".

Five OF THE group stayed past midnight.

Some OF THE opposition switched sides.

Nota

Ocazional substantivele colective sunt folosite la plural si sunt numarabile.

Romeo and Juliet came from two feuding families.

Only two teams can get to the finals.

Substantivele nenumarabile nu pot fi numarate, adica nu au numar. De obicei au numai forma de singular. Nu pot fi precedate de a(n) sau de numere.

Substantivele nenumarabile se impart in urmatoarele grupuri:

substantive concrete

water wood metal paper grass glass oil

silver gold sand snow rain bread milk

coffee butter wine fire food salt

substantive abstracte

love beauty hope relief experience advice

purity joy freedom information courage

design duty capacity education evil

time patience reality intelligence

Nota

Work este nenumarabil dar job este numarabil:

Harriet is looking for work. John has found two jobs.

Works inseamna: fabrica, parte mecanica, productie literara, fapte sau acte.

Mother Theresa of Calcutta is known for her good works.

Nota

Iata cateva substantive nenumarabile care in alte limbi se pot deseori numara:

Advice baggage luggage furniture

Damage hair shopping homework information

Knowledge money weather research progress

Business spaghetti news equipment

Substantive verbale (gerunzii sau verbe in -ing).

Camping dancing shopping jogging singing

Smoking is bad for your health.

Nume de limbi

German English Chinese Italian Spanish

Unele nume de boli, stiinte si jocuri au forma de plural dar in mod normal primesc un verb la singular. Sunt considerate nenumarabile.

Measles mumps billiards dominoes

Physics politics ethics acoustics

Statistics mathematics news electronics

Mathematics is an important subiect.

Nota

Unele substantive sunt atat numarabile cat si nenumarabile. Dar sensul lor e diferit in fiecare caz.

numarabile    nenumarabile

a paper paper

a light light

a wood wood

a glass glass

an iron iron

a hair hair

He buys a paper everyday. The student had written an interesting paper on Keats. Paper is made of wood pulp.

Nota

Substantivele nenumarabile nu sunt niciodata precedate de numere (a, an, one, two, three etc). Iata cateva expresii folosite pentru a indica numarul/cantitatea:

A piece of information/furniture/advice/equipment/glass/paper/news

A type of atmosphere/behaviour/violence

An item of luggage/news/baggage

A case of mumps/measles/flu

A ray of hope/sunshine

A lot of strenght/security

Adjective folosite ca substantive

Folositi the + adjectiv pentru:

grupuri de persoane cu aceleasi caracteristici. Urmeaza un verb la plural.

The rich are not always as happy as we imagine.

calitate impersonala. Urmeaza un verb la singular.

The impossible has strong attraction for some people.

nationalitate (daca exista un cuvant separat).

The French the Chinese the English the Japanese

Dar

The Poles the Germans the Scots the Finns

Substantive compuse

Substantivele compuse sunt formate din doua sau mai multe cuvinte care, impreuna, creeaza un nou substantiv cu un nou sens

Babysitter chec-kup swimming pool mother-in-law

Substantivele compuse pot fi:

scrise ca un singur cuvant, cuvinte separate sau cu cratima. Daca aveti indoieli cel mai bine e sa consultati intotdeauna dictionarul.

Armchair can opener cover-up one-way street

numarabile sau nenumarabile

alarm clock fast food

compact disc human race

toothbrush drinking water

waiting room welfare state

yellow pages pocket money

compuse din doua substantive. Primul substantiv este folosit ca adjectiv si este la singular.

Chain factory (a factory for chains)

Cotton skirt (a skirt made of coton)

A ten-year-old girl (a girl who is ten years old)

Car accident (accident involving cars)

A two-week cruise (a cruise lasting two weeks)

substantivele compuse numarabile formeaza pluralul aplicand regulile normale de plural ultimului substantiv.

Mail boxes dish washers sleeping bags T-shirts

Nota

Uneori (dar rar) substantivele la plural pot fi folosite ca adjective:

Sports car customs department clothes store

Sales divison savings bank news item

substantivele compuse formate din verbe complexe sau substantive legate cu of si in au plurale neregulate.

Passers-by runners-up sisters-in-law

Lilies of the valley

Posesia: of si genitivul sintetic

Posesia se poate exprima folosind:

OF

In multe cazuri folosim of pentru a exprima posesia. Substantivele, folosite ca adjective, pot si ele uneori indica posesia.

Door of the car car door

Frame of the picture picture frame

Headquarters of the company company headquarters

The color of the wall the wall color

Needles of the pine tree pine tree needles

Engine of the car car engine

Nota

Adjectivele nu au numar. Substantivele care devin adjective sunt la singular.

The tops of the boxes. The box tops

Genitivul sintetic

In cazul persoanelor si animalelor folosim genitivul sintetic pentru a exprima posesia.

Forma: formati genitivul saxon adaugand 's sau ' substantivelor

's    '

toate substantivele singulare substantivele plurale terminate

substantivele plurale care in -s

NU se termina in -s

Nancy's the teachers'

James's    the Gallaghers'

His mother's the Waleses'

My children's his sisters'

Utilizare: folositi genitivul sintetic:

pentru a exprima posesia cu referire la persoane si animale

Helen's mother is ill.

The old horse's mane is still very beautiful.

in expresii temporale

one week's pay today's news a year's leave

two hour's wait a month's holiday yesterday's partythe The plane had an hour's delay.

In two weeks' time I'll be lying on the beach in Bali.

cu pronume nehotarate ca: everybody, someone, anybody, anyone, nobody, no one - mai ales daca sunt insotite de else.

It's nobody's fault.

That must be somebody else's bag.   

cu anumite institutii, grupuri, expresii geografice

The government's decision will be made public tomorrow.

The world's lakes and rivers are in a disastruous condition.

singur, cand al doilea substantiv inseamna: store, shop, studio, office, restaurant, church sau cathedral.

Go and buy a loaf of bread at the baker's (shop).

Their weeding was at St.Patrick's (cathedral).

cu OF (posesiv dublu).

Mandy is a friend of Ann's. = Mandy is one of Ann's friends.

Nota

Obiectul posedat pierde articolele si pronumele care il preced cand este folosit cu un genitiv sintetic.

His child owns THAT bicycle. It is broken. His child's bicycle is broken.

Nota

NU folosim genitivul sintetic:

Cu adjective folosite ca substantive:

He intends to improve the condition of the poor.

Cand posesorul este determinat de propozitii subordonate sau expresii lungi.

I'd like you to meet the mother of the boy who won first prize.

Exercitii:

Alegeti forma potrivita a verbelor. Observati diferenta de sens a substantivelor care primesc atat verbe la singular cat si la plural

1. His phonetics is/are much better than hers. 2. My trousers is/are flared. 3. The scissors is/are lost for ever, I guess. 4. Statistics is/are his favourite study. 5. Cod eats/eat a variety of food. 6. Acoustics is/are a branch of physics. 7. The new statistics shows/show a great increase in manufactured goods. 8. Youth today is/are turning away from the church. 9. What is/are the most efficient means of dealing with this problem? 10. The pliers is/are on the table. 11. The acoustics of the National Theatre Hall is/are excellent. 12. Politics is/are the art of the possible. 13. Poultry was/were expensive that winter. 14. What is/are your politics? 15. The people of the country lives/live beyond their means. 16. He had no time for visitors while the poultry was/were being fed. 17. Everybody's means is/are being tested. 18. Mathematics is/are given top priority nowadays. 19. What is/are cattle good for? 20. The police has/have made no arrest yet. 21. Fresh-water fish includes/include salmon, trout, carp and eels. 22. Gymnastics is/are not given enough attention in our school. 23. The Italian clergy was/were opposed to divorce. 24. Advice is/are readily given on all the technical aspects.

Combinati expresiile partitive din coloana A cu substantivele nenumarabile din coloana B. Traduceti-le in limba romana.

A B

An article of sugar

A bar of meat

A cake of bread

A grain of paper

A heap of soap

An item of chocolate

A loaf of land

A lump of rice

A pice of rubbish

A pile of evidence

A sheet of information

A slice of advice

A strip of luggage

A word of furniture

News

Cheia exercitiilor:

1. Are 2. Are 3. Are 4. Is 5. Eat 6. Is 7. Show 8. Are 9. Is 10. Are 11. Are 12. Is 13. Was 14. Are 15. Live 16. Were 17. Are 18. Is 19. Are 20. Have 21. Include 22. Are 23. Were 24. Is

a lump / a piece of sugar (o bucata de zahar)

a piece of meat (o bucata de carne)

a slice / loaf of bread (o felie de paine / o franzela, o paine)

a sheet / piece of paper (o foaie / bucata de hartie)

a cake / bar of soap (un sapun)

a bar / piece of chocolate (un baton de ciocolata)

a piece / strip of land (o bucata, o fisie de pamant)

a grain of rice (un bob de orez)

a pile / heap of rubbish (o gramada de gunoi)

a piece of evidence (o proba)

a piece / an item of information (o informatie)

a piece / word of advice (un sfat)

a piece of luggage (un bagaj)

a piece / an article of furniture (o piesa de mobilier)

a piece / an item of news (o stire)