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A very important basic division between nouns, from the point of view of their function, is the distinction between <<countable>> and <<uncountable>> nouns, or <<count>> nouns and <<mass>> nouns. Countable nouns are those which have both singular and plural forms i.e. they can be <<counted>> e.g. pencils (lápices), apples (manzanas), houses (casas), etc. Words which do not usually occur in the plural, i.e. cannot be <<counted>>, are uncountable or mass nouns. Examples of these are nouns referring to food, such as milk (leche), bread (pan), sugar (azúcar), etc.; nouns which refer to materials, such as wood (madera), wool (lana), gold (oro), etc. and abstract nouns like courage (valor), poverty (pobreza), etc. The division into countable and uncountable nouns is grammatically important in English because:

- 1 Uncountable nouns cannot be used with the indefinite article a / an. To use them as a single item another word has to be placed in front of them, as a partitive, such as:

a) of a general kind: piece (trozo, pedazo); bit (un poco de), item (unidad,

elemento): a piece of information / research una información / una investigación a piece of wood / iron / glass, etc. un trozo de madera / hierro / cristal, etc. a piece of cake / bread / chocolate, etc. un trozo de pastel / pan / chocolate, etc. a piece / an item of furniture un mueble. a piece of advice un consejo a piece / an item of news una noticia a piece of grass / paper un poco de hierba / papel, etc.

b) of a specific kind:

a loaf of bread un pan o barra de pan a slice of meat una loncha de carne a slice of bread / cake, etc. una rebanada de pan / pastel, etc. a lump of sugar un terrón de azúcar a cake / bar of soap una pastilla de jabón a bar of chocolate una tableta / barra de chocolate a clap / peal of thunder un trueno a blade of grass una brizna de hierba a block of ice una barra de hielo a cut of lamb / meat un trozo de cordero / carne a joint of meat un redondo de carne a drop of water / oil / whisky, etc una gota de agua / aceite / güisqui, etc. a grain of corn / rice / sand / salt un grano de trigo / arroz / arena / sal

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a sheet of paper / metal / ice una hoja de papel / lámina de metal / capa de hielo a speck of dust una mota de polvo a stick of chalk una barra de tiza a stroke of luck un golpe de suerte a peal of laughter una carcajada

c) expressions of measurement:

a pound of butter / flour, etc. una libra (0,454kgs.) de mantequilla / harina, etc. a litre of beer / wine / oil, etc un litro de cerveza, etc. a spoonful of sugar / honey, etc. una cucharada de azúcar / miel etc a ton of coal una tonelada de carbón, etc. a kilo of rice, etc. un kilo de arroz, etc. a metre / yard of cloth, etc. un metro / una yarda (91,44cms.) de tela a gallon of petrol un gallon (4,55 I.) de gasolina a pint of beer / milk, etc. una pinta (0,568 I.) de cerveza / leche, etc.

Containers, of course, come under this heading: a bottle of beer / wine / oil, etc. una botella de cerveza / vino / leche, etc. a glass of water / milk, etc. un vaso de agua / leche, etc. a cup of tea / coffee, etc una taza de té / café, etc.

- 2 Uncountable nouns do not have a plural form. When necessary, plurality is

expressed by means of an appropriate partitive:

two loaves of bread dos barras de pan three pieces of furniture tres muebles two items of news dos noticias

Sometimes a noun can be countable or uncountable according to the function it fulfils. For example, Cake (pastel) is uncountable when it refers to the substance:

‘Give me some cake’ ‘Dame un poco de pastel’

Cake is countable when it refers to an item or unit:

‘Give me a cake’ ‘Dame un pastel’ Beauty (belleza) is not countable when it expresses the quality:

‘Perfect beauty is unattainable’ ‘La belleza perfecta es inalcanzabl’e Beauty is countable when it refers to a person.

‘She’s a beauty’ ‘Ella es una belleza’ Wine (vino) is uncountable when it refers to the substance: ‘I like wine’ ‘Me gusta el vino’ Wine is countable when it refers to the different types:

‘I like Spanish wines’ ‘Me gustan los vinos españoles’

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A noun which is usually countable may become uncountable by placing a partitive or singular determiner in front of it. This tends to be literary usage or done for stylistic effect:

A lot of car ( as in: ‘You get a lot of car for your money’ ) Demasiado coche Finally, it should be pointed out that there are some nouns whose meanings vary according to whether they are used as countable or uncountable nouns. The countable version naturally has a plural form: iron (uncountable) hierro (countable) plancha; irons planchas glass (uncountable) crystal (countable) vaso; glasses vasos wood (uncountable) madera (countable) bosque; woods bosques ice (uncountable) hielo (countable) helado; ices helados NOTE: Usage sometimes changes traditionally uncountable nouns into countable nouns. For example, you will often hear: ‘A beer, please’ ‘A glass of beer, please’ ‘Two coffees’ ‘Two cups of coffee, etc’ OTHER GROUPS OF NOUNS Apart from the division into <<countable>> and <<uncountable>> nouns, the following groups should be noted: -1 Proper Nouns: John, London, etc. and Common Nouns: pencil, book -2 Individual Nouns: pig, hen and Collective Nouns: herd, army, etc. -3 Concrete Nouns: table, chair, etc. and Abstract Nouns: friendship, bitterness, etc.

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We shall only deal with collective nouns and abstract nouns in any detail since these are the ones which present most difficulty for Spanish speakers. COLLECTIVE NOUNS A collective Noun is one which refers to a collection of people, animals or things as a group. a flock of sheep un rebaño de ovejas a flock of birds una bandada de pájaros a herd of cattle (goats / pigs / buffaloes)un rebaño / manada / piara, etc ( cabras / cerdos etc.) an army n ejército a bunch of flowers / keys, etc. un ramo de flores / un manojo de llaves, etc. a swarm of insects una nube / enjambre de insectos a staff of teachers / employees, etc. una plantilla de profesores / empleados, etc. a crew una tripulación a crowd of people una multitud de personas a choir of singers un coro de cantantes a shoal of fish un banco de pescado a school whales un banco de ballenas a brood of chickens una nidada de pollos a litter of pups / puppies / cubs una camada de cachorros a pack of dogs / hounds / wolves una jauría de perros, lobos, etc. a gang of thieves una banda de ladrones a pride of lions un grupo de leones a gaggle of geese una manada de gansos a posse of policemen un grupo de policías a board of directors / examiners una junta de directivos / un tribunal de examinador a cluster of stars, etc. un grupo / racimo de estrellas, etc. a galaxy of stars una galaxia de estrellas a team of players un equipo de jugadores ABSTRACT NOUNS AND CONCRETE NOUNS A noun which refers to a quality, state or action is called an Abstract Noun, whereas a noun which refers to a physical thing is called a Concrete Noun. To sum up, we can divide nouns as follows:

Countables: pencil, tree, house, man, etc. CONCRETE Uncountables: butter, meat, wool, pork, etc. COMMON Countables: difficulty, thought, etc. ABSTRACT NOUNS Uncountables: courage, whiteness, friendship etc. PROPER Susan, Peter, Smith, London, etc.

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NOTE: It is interesting to note the distinction made in English between countable concrete nouns and uncountable concrete nouns that refer to certain animals and the meat that they produce. The name of the animal usually derives from Old English whereas the name of the meat comes from Norman French: Ox buey Beef carne de buey (o de vaca) Pig cerdo Pork carne de cerdo Sheep oveja Mutton carne de oveja Deer ciervo Venison carne de ciervo Calf ternera Veal carne de ternera As with all nouns groups, the classification of abstract nouns is based on their function rather than their form. Therefore the same noun may occur as an abstract noun in one sentence and a concrete noun in another: ‘She is a person of great beauty’ ‘Es una persona de gran belleza’ (abstract noun) ‘She’s the beauty of the place’ ‘Es la belleza del lugar’ (concrete noun) ‘Poetry is beautiful’ ‘La poesía es hemosa’ (abstract noun) ‘I like the poetry he writes’ ‘Me gusta la poesía que escribe’ (concrete noun)

THE FORMATION OF ABSTRACT NOUNS Abstract Nouns can be formed from adjectives, common nouns or verbs by adding suffixes or by simply adopting the same form and changing its meaning. -1 Abstract nouns formed from adjectives wise sabio wisdom sabiduría poor pobre poverty pobreza high alto height altura short corto shortness cortedad long largo length longitud proud orgulloso pride orgullo -2 Abstract nouns formed from common nouns man hombre mankind humanidad manhood virilidad king rey kingship realeza kingdom reino thief ladrón theft robo father padre fatherhood paternidad neighbour vecino neighbourhood vecindario

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-3 Abstract nouns formed from verbs live vivir life vida choose escoger choice elección see ver sight vista think pensar thought pensamiento hope esperar hope esperanza NUMBER: GENERAL RULES The formation of the plural. The general rule: The plural of nouns is usually formed by adding s to the singular: Bird (pájaro) Birds (pájaros) Town (ciudad) Towns (ciudades) SPECIAL CASES -1 Nouns ending in s or a similar sibilant sound (ss,sh,ch,x,z,zz) add es: Kiss (beso) Kisses Brush (cepillo) brushes Church (iglesia) churches Box (caja) boxes Bus (autobús) buses Quiz (concurso) quizzes (NB. The duplication of the Z) Buzz (zumbido) buzzes -2 Those ending in o preceded by a consonant also add es: Tomato (tomate) tomatoes Potato (patata) potatoes Negro (Negro) Negroes Hero (héroe) heroes Exceptions to this rule include some words of foreign origin: Piano (piano) pianos Photo (foto) photos

In some cases, both forms are acceptable: volcano(e)s, buffalo(e)s. Those ending in o preceded by a vowel follow the general rule: Folio (folio) folios Cameo (camafeo) cameos Studio (estudio) studios Cuckoo (cuco) cuckoos -3 those ending in y preceded by a consonant change the y to i and add es: Body (cuerpo) bodies

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Fly (mosca) flies Army (ejército) armies On the other hand, nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel follow the general rule: Day (día) days Toy juguete) toys Proper nouns ending in y generally keep the y in the plural: The Colbys, The Kennedys. -4 Those ending in f or fe change the f or fe to v and add es: Wife (esposa) wives Leaf (hoja) leaves Thief (ladrón) thieves Wolf (lobo) wolves Knife (cuchillo) knives Calf (becerro / pantorrilla)calves Loaf (barra / hogaza) loaves Self (personalidad / ser / yo) selves Sheaf (gavilla) sheaves Shelf (estantería) shelves Half (mitad) halves Life (vida) lives There are some exceptions to this rule, of which the most common are: Chief (jefe) chiefs Roof (tejado) roofs Proof (prueba) proofs Cliff (acantilado) cliffs Safe (caja fuerte) safes Handkerchief (pañuelo) handkerchiefs Some nouns use both plurals: Scarf (bufanda) scarfs or scarves Hoof (pezuña) hoofs or hooves Dwarf (enano) dwarfs or dwarves IRREGULAR PLURALS -1 Old English plurals:

(a) Mutation plural:

Man (hombre) men Woman (mujer) women Foot (pie) feet Tooth (diente) teeth Goose (ganso) geese Mouse (ratón) mice Dormouse (lirón) dormice Louse (piojo) lice

(b) –en plural

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Child (niño) children Ox (buey) oxen Brother (hermano) brethren (members of a brotherhood, etc.)

NOTE 1: penny (penique)has two forms in the plural: Pence (in informal English for amounts of money) ‘30 pence’ Pennies (for the coins) ‘Save your pennies’ ‘Have you got any pennies?’ NOTE 2 : dice (dados) does not have a singular in contemporary English: ‘the dice’ / ‘a dice’ / ‘one of the dice’ The archaic singular form die is only used nowadays in the expression:

‘the die is cast’ La suerte está echada -2 Foreign Plurals: Certain nouns of foreign origin, mostly learned words borrowed from Greek and Latin, have special plurals: Axis(eje) axes (the ending –es is pronounced / i:z / Larva (larva) larvae (the ending –ae is pronounced / i: / Crisis (crisis) crises Phenomenon (fenómeno) phenomena Criterion (criterio) criteria Bacillus (bacilo) bacilli (the ending –i is pronounced / ai / Thesis (tesis) theses Basis (base) bases Oasis (oasis) oases Alga (alga) algae Stimulus (estímulo) stimuli Analysis (análisis) analyses Diagnosis (diagnóstico) diagnoses Some nouns of foreign origin which are in the process of being assimilated by the language have a regular English plural as well as a Latin or Greek one: Appendix (apéndice) appendixes or appendices Terminus (término) terminuses or termini Maximum (máximo) maximums or maxima Memorandum (memorándum) memorandums or memoranda Cactus (cacto) cactuses or cacti Nucleus (núcleo) nucleuses or nuclei Formula (fórmula) formulas or formulae

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Others which have been completely assimilated have a plural only in s or es: Bonus (bono, premio) bonuses Circus (circo) circuses Bus (autobús) buses Encyclopaedia (enciclopedia) encyclopaedias Album (álbum) albums Museum (museo) museums

Campus (campus) campuses Virus (virus) viruses -3 Zero plural: Some words, particularly the names of certain animals, have the same form in the singular as in the plural (zero plural): Sheep(oveja, ovejas) Salmon (salmón, salmones) Deer(ciervo, ciervos) Cod (bacalao, s) Duck (pato, s) Grouse (urogallo, s) Quail (codorniz) Some of these words, such as duck, grouse, quail, and salmon have two forms in the plural: the zero plural, when they are being referred to as game and the regular when being referred to as examples of their species. Others, such as sheep, deer and cod are always invariable. The word fish has two plurals: fish and fishes. The zero plural is generally used when it is referred to as game: ‘He’s caught only a few fish’ ‘Ha cogido solo unos cuantos peces’ The regular plural is generally used to denote different individuals, species, etc.:

‘The fishes of the Mediterranean’ In some cases usage is variable:

‘I caught three little fishes / several fish’ Fish used to mean food is an uncountable noun and so has no plural. ‘There were several kinds of fish on the menu’‘Había varias clases de pescado en el menú’ This group could also include some nouns which indicate quantities or measures, such as: dozen (docena), hundred (cien), thousand (mil), million (millón), etc. These words are invariable when followed by a noun, e.g. two dozen eggs (dos docenas de huevos), otherwise they add s in the plural: dozens of eggs (docenas de huevos).

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Finally, nationality nouns ending in –ese have zero plurals ‘Ten Chinese / Japanese / Portuguese / Lebanese / Vietnamese, etc’ OTHER SPECIAL CASES -1 Words which are used only in the plural and take a plural verb:

(a) items of clothing and instruments or tools which consist of two parts joined together:

binoculars prismáticos glasses gafas jeans pantalones vaqueros pliers alicates pyjamas pijama scissors tijeras

slacks pantalones (generalmente de mujer) tongs tenazas trousers pantalones braces tirantes breeches pantalones de montar pants calzoncillos knickers bragas tights leotardos, medias shorts pantalones cortos bellows fuelle pincers tenazas shears tijeras de podar clippers tijeras, cortauñas tweezers pinzas spectacles gafas scales balanza, bascule, peso forceps forceps

To count such objects, “a pair of” has to be placed in front:

a pair of pliers unos alicates a pair of trousers unos pantalones

(b) various: annals anales clothes ropa (cloths is the plural of cloth which in Spanish means paño, trapo) dregs poso, sedimento, heces (coffee dregs, the dregs of society) goods mercancías, géneros (a goods train) outskirts el extrarradio, las afueras de una ciudad particulars detalles riches riqueza credentials credenciales customs aduana banns amonestaciones mains la red (eléctrica)

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minutes acta(s) -2 Words which end in S, but which usually take a singular verb: (a) certain illnesses:

measles sarampión mumps paperas German measles rubeola Shingles herpes Rickets raquitismo (b) certain games: billiards billar dominoes dominó draughts damas chequers damas (Inglés norteamericano) darts dardos (c) certain academic disciplines (they can also take a plural verb) :

Politics Política Mathematics Matemáticas Linguistics Lingüística Physics Física (d) News Noticia The news is bad Las noticias son malas

-3 Words which only have a form ending in s that can be singular or plural:

Barracks cuartel Gallows horca Headquarters cuartel general / jefatura Means medios Series serie Species especie

-4 Words which are singular in form but are always used in the plural: People gente Pólice policía Cattle ganado Livestock ganado Clergy clero Poultry aves de corral Vermin bichos / sabandijas There are a lot of people inside Hay mucha gente dentro The police are looking for her La policía esta buscando -5 Words with a different meaning in the singular and in the plural:

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Air aire (de la atmósfera) airs aires (darse aires) Look mirada looks aspecto Premise premise premises local, edificio Saving ahorro (economía) savings ahorros Work trabajo works fábrica, taller Manner manera manners modales Have a look at this picture Echa un vistazo a este cuadro The accident spoilt her good looksEl accidente le estropeó su aspecto -6 Words with two meanings in the plural as opposed to one in the singular: Colour color colours colores, bandera de un regimiento o club. Custom costumbre customs costumbres, aduana -7 Words with two meanings in the singular as opposed to one on the plural: People pueblo, nación, gente peoples naciones, pueblos Stone piedra; stones 14 libras (6,350kg) piedras Wood bosque, madera woods bosques RULES OF CONCORD The general rule is that a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject, a plural verb. But the following special cases should be noted: -1 With a collective noun, the verb can be in the singular or the plural according to whether the group is considered as a whole or as individuals: My family is a happy one Mi familia es una familia feliz The football team are having a shower El equipo (los jugadores) se están duchando -2 The nouns people (la gente), police (la Policía), public (el público), clergy (el clero), and cattle (ganado) always take a plural verb. The police have arrived La Policía ha llegado -3 Two or more subjects joined by the construction and take a plural verb: The boy and his dog are playing El niño y su perro están jugando. However, if they are considered to be one unit, then the verb is in the singular: Whisky and soda is what I like best Lo que más me gusta es el whisky con soda. -4 Two singular subjects joined by the correlatives either … or, neither … nor, take a singular verb:

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Neither he nor she likes you Ni a él ni a ella les gustas tú. If one of the subjects is singular and the other plural, the verb agrees with the nearest, but it is better to put the plural noun last and use the verb in the plural: Either he or the boys are wrong O él o los muchachos estám equivocados -5 The distributives everybody, each, etc. take a singular verb: Everybody is here Todo el mundo está aquí As far as the use of the possessive adjective with everybody and everyone is concerned, there is some dispute. Some say that the masculine singular his should be used, while others prefer his or her, but the commonest solution nowadays is for the plural their to be used since it covers both genders. Everybody has their ticket Todo el mundo tiene su billete Instead of Everybody has his ticket Everybody has his or her ticket GENDER In English, nouns have no purely grammatical gender, unlike Spanish and French. The gender of nouns in English depends on the sex of the person or thing referred to. For instance, a noun which refers to a person of the male sex is masculine and consequently uses the pronoun he as a referent: There was a man in the room. He was sitting by the fire. A noun which refers to a person of the female sex is feminine and uses the pronoun she as a referent: The girl was reading a novel; she was about sixteen. Things are neuter and use the pronoun it: I have a house in Spain; it overlooks the sea Animals are also neuter, except when their sex needs to be specified as characters in a story or for scientific reasons, etc. The female sex may be marked in one of the two following ways, although there is no general productive rule, only isolated cases: -1 By a change of word: Bachelor soltero spinster soltera Boy muchacho girl chica

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Brother hermano sister hermana Bull toro cow vaca Cock gallo hen gallina Dog perro bitch perra Father padre mother madre horse / stallion caballo mare yegua King rey queen reina Son hijo daughter Uncle tio aunt tía Nephew sobrino niece sobrina Wizard brujo witch bruja Monk monje nun monja Buck macho de algunos animals doe hembra boar / pig cerdo sow cerda gander ganso goose gansa drake pato duck pata bridegroom novio bride novia The words horse, dog, pig, goose, and duck are generic and are used when the sex of the creature concerned is not important: Two ducks dos patos Some geese algunos gansos -2 By a change of ending: Abbot abad abbess abadesa actor actor actress actriz duke duque duchess duquesa emperor emperador empress emperatriz god dios goddess diosa hero heroe heroine heroina host anfitrión hostess anfitriona lion león lioness leona tiger tigre tigress tigresa waiter camareiro waitress camarera czar / tzar zar czarina / tzarina zarina prince principe princess princesa steward camarero / auxiliar stewardess azafata usher acomodador usherette acomodadora widower viudo widow viuda The vast majority of nouns, however, have one word for both sexes and are of common gender: Artist artista Child niño,a / hijo,a Cook cocinero,a Cousin primo,a Criminal criminal Doctor doctor,a Friend amigo,a Guest invitado,a Librarian bibliotecario,a Musician músico Neighbour vecino,a Novelist novelista Parent progenitor

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Professor professor,a Foreigner extranjero,a Speaker hablante Enemy enemigo,a Singer cantante Typist mecanógrafo,a Inhabitant habitante Person persona Relation pariente Servant sirviente,a Student estudiante Teacher professor,a Writer escritor,a If for reasons of clarity it is necessary to specify the sex, it is done by adding an appropriate word. Boy friend amigo / novio girl friend amiga / novia Man servant sirviente maidservant sirvienta Male student estudiante (varón) female student estudiante (hembra) Schoolmaster maestro schoolmistress maestra Billy goat / he-goat cabra macho nanny goat / she-goat cabra hembra Cock sparrow gorrión hen sparrow gorriona Peacock pavo real peahen pava real Landlord casero landlady casera THE GENITIVE CASE: Introduction One of the ways of indicating possession in English is the use of ‘s; the other is by using the preposition of. The form ‘s is normally used to indicate personal possession: John’s case La maleta de Juan When the possessor is not a person, then the form with of is used: The door of the house La puerta de la casa NOTE 1: It is possible to have two examples of ‘s in the same sentence: John’s father’s friend El amigo del padre de Juan NOTE 2: The use of ‘s is so common in English that it is no usual to find it applied to an entire sentence as the possessor. This is the so called <<group genitive>>: The man I met at Manchester’s ideaLa idea del hombre que conocí en Manchester

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THE FORMATION OF THE GENITIVE WITH THE APOSTROPHE There are two different applications: A) a single possessor and B) more than one possessor:

A) If there is only one possessor, the order is: 1) the possessor 2) the apostrophe 3) an “s” 4) the thing possessed without an article

My father’s book El libro de mi padre

B) If there is more than one possessor, the order is: 1) The possessors (the plural of the word should end in s) 2) The apostrophe 3) The thing possessed without an article

My sisters’ house

If the noun is plural, but dos not end in an s (an irregular plural) then the rule for a single possessor applies: The children’s toys Los juguetes de los niños If the possessors are two or more, joined by the conjunction and, the possessive is applied only to the last one: John and Mary’s daughter La hija de Juan y María Notice the difference between: John and Mary’s books (the books belong to both of them) John’s and Mary’s books (each has their own) Nouns which end in s in the singular normally add another s, following the standard rule: Charles’s shirt La camisa de Carlos However, some polysyllabic or classical names are an exception to this: Hercules’ labours Los trabajos de Hércules Note, however, that it is more usual to say ‘the labours of Hercules’. THE USE OF THE POSSESSIVE WITH S’ -1 As we have already said, the possessive with s’ is used mainly to indicate that something belongs to a person or animate beings:

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John’s car El coche de Juan The horse’s legs Las patas del caballo -2 It is also used with the pronouns someone, somebody, etc. referring to people: Somebody’s cup La taza de alguien -3 It is also used with the names of institutions, countries, status, cities or human activities: Japan’s economic boom El florecimiento económico del Japón The country’s population La población del país California’s immigrants Los inmigrantes de California The city’s museums Los museos de la ciudad -4 It is also used in certain idiomatic expressions of time, space, distance, measurement, weight, etc.: Yesterday’s meeting La reunión de ayer a month’s rest Un mes de descanso a week’s holiday una semana de vacaciones ten minutes’ walk A diez minutos de camino a pie two days’ journey Dos días de viaje at a stone’s throw A tiro de piedra -5 In a few idioms and in poetry: For heaven’s sake ¡Por Dios! For goodness’ sake ¡Por lo que más quieras! OMISSION OF THE THING POSSESSED The thing possessed may be omitted without altering the sense of the sentence in the following cases: -1 translating the expression <<casa de>>: At my uncle’s En casa de mi tío -2 When referring to shops or similar establishments (hotels, restaurant, offices, surgeries, etc.): The butcher’s La carnicería The baker’s La panadería The grocer’s La tienda de ultramarinos The chemist’s La farmacia The fishmonger’s La pescadería

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The newsagent’s La tienda de periódicos y revistas The tobacconist’s El estanco The confectioner’s La pastelería The stationer’s La papelería The ironmonger’s La ferretería The doctor’s La consulta del medico The bookseller’s La librería The fruiterer’s La frutería The greengrocer’s La verdulería The cobbler’s El zapatero remendón Sometimes the apostrophe is omitted: Harrods, a cleaners etc -3 When referring to churches, cathedrals or well-known hospitals: St. Paul’s La catedral de San Pablo -4 To avoid repeating the thing possessed in the same sentence: This is my car and that is my brother’s Este es mi coche, y ése es el de mi hermano COMPOUND NOUNS One characteristic of English is the facility it has for forming compound nouns. By combining two words, which separately have individual, independent meanings, a third word is formed with a different meaning: Bedroom dormitorio For a noun to be a real compound and not merely a combination or group of words (a qualifying adjective and a noun, for example) it should be heard as a single word and therefore, even though the elements which make it up may each have their own individual stress, in combination the resulting word will have only one stress, which nearly always falls in the first syllable: Blackbird mirlo Whereas Black bird pájaro negro The written form of compound nouns is erratic since they are sometimes written as one word, such as postcard (tarjeta postal), sometimes with a hyphen, e.g. fortune-teller (echadora de cartas) and sometimes as two separate words e.g. fountain pen (pluma estilográfica). If the compound is formed with –ing plus a noun, it is nearly always written with a hyphen, e.g. washing-machine (lavadora). Compound nouns can be formed with the following elements:

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-1 Adjective plus noun, or noun plus adjective: bluebell campanilla redskin piel roja sweetheart novia handful puñado spoonful cucharada -2 Noun plus noun: shopkeeper tendero toothbrush cepillo de dientes postcard tarjeta postal race-horse caballo de carreras horse-race carrera de caballos bathroom cuarto de baño -3 Form in –ing plus noun: finishing stroke / touch toque final dining-room comedor boarding-house pensión rocking-chair mecedora washing-machine lavadora -4 Pronoun plus noun he-goat macho cabrío she-goat cabra hembra -5 Verb plus noun pickpocket carterista breakfast desayuno driftwood madero a la deriva grinstone piedra de afilar turntable plato de tocadiscos -6 Particle plus noun, or vice-versa overcoat abrigo underclothes ropa interior looker-on mirón passer-by transeúnte -7 Verb plus particle, or vice-versa breakdown avería drawback inconveniente outcome resultado off-spring descendencia income ingresos by-pass carretera de circunvalación / variante -8 Noun plus a form in –ing fox-hunting caza del zorro

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horse-riding equitación -9 Whole phrases forget-me-not nomeolvides man-of-war buque de Guerra son-in-law yerno good-for-nothing inútil commander-in-chief comandante en jefe state-of-the-art muy moderno, lo último PLURAL OF COMPOUND NOUNS Since the compound noun is considered as one word, it is usual to form the plural by adding s to the end: armchair armchairs breakdown breakdowns forget-me-not forget-me-nots boy friend boy friends close-up close-ups grown-up grown-ups gin-and-tonic gin-and-tonics However, in compounds where the first element is a noun followed by a particle, only the noun takes the plural form: son-in-law sons-in-law passer-by passers-by commander-in-chief commanders-in-chief Finally, in a few compounds, where two nouns are combined, both elements are made plural: man-servant men-servants gentleman framer gentlemen farmers

woman doctor women doctors THE GRAMMATICAL FUNCTION OF NOUNS In English, nouns can perform the same function is sentences as nouns in Spanish; so they may be: -1 Subject of the verb: The girl was pretty La chica era guapa -2 Predicate: She was a pretty girl Era una chica guapa -3 Direct object: We saw the girl at the party Vimos a la chica en la fiesta

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-4 Indirect object: I gave the girl the key Le di a la chica la llave -5 Complement of another noun or pronoun: They elected him president Le eligieron presidente -6 Prepositional complement: Behind the girl Detrás de la chica -7 Relative antecedent: The girl that we saw was pretty La chica que vimos era guapa -8 An important function of the English noun is its ability to act as a qualifier of another noun: a bedroom window la ventana de un dormitorio a car door la puerta de un coche a football team un equipo de fútbol a silk handkerchief un pañuelo de seda As these examples show, the relationship expressed is extremely varied: a place where something is (a bedroom window), a category or unit to which one belongs (a football team), the material of which something is made (a gold watch), etc. Notice the difference between:

a tea-cup una taza para té a cup of tea una taza de té a wine-glass un vaso para vino a glass of wine un vaso de vino

When the noun is functioning as an adjective, it is not usual to add s to it even if it is in the plural: a four-hour walk un paseo de cuatro horas a five-pound note un billete de cinco libras a sixty acre farm una granja de 60 acres a forty-year old man Un hombre se cuarenta años

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