Many non-count nouns combine with a set of nouns showing some part of material or abstract notion. Here are some typical partitives for material and abstract nouns:
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a slice of cake
| a piece a lump | of coal | ||
    a piece
a loaf
| of bread | a piece a lump | of sugar | |
  a piece
a stick
| of chalk | a blade of grass
| ||
  a piece
a bar
| of chocolate | a piece a block | of ice
| |
| a piece
a sheet
| of paper | a piece a strip | of land | |
| a grain of rice
| a piece an article | of furniture | ||
| a pile a heap | of rubbish |
a piece of evidence
a fit of passion
a piece of research | ||
| a piece a word | of advice | |||
| a piece an item | of information, news | |||
178. In some cases there is no obvious logical reason for the assignment of various English nouns to the count or non-count class. In Russian and English the attribution of the corresponding nouns may be different. Here are some cases when the classes of nouns in English and Russian do not coincide:
| English non-count nouns | Russian count nouns |
| advice (they gave us some valuable advice) news progress (they are making slow progress) research (do some research) knowledge (you have a fairly good knowledge of the subject) | / / / /, / |
| English singular invariable nouns | Russian plural invariable nouns |
| ink cream yeast money hair fruit applause chess |
Note:
Hair is a count noun in the sense of , . Fruit as a count noun means kinds of fruit: dried fruits keep long.
| English plural invariable nouns | Russian singular invariable nouns |
| sweepings clothes greens contents odds | cop () () |
The category of case
179. Case is a grammatical category which shows relation of the noun with other words in a sentence. It is expressed by the form of the noun.
English nouns have two cases: the common case and the genitive case. However, not all English nouns possess the category of case; there are certain nouns, mainly nouns denoting inanimate objects, which cannot be used in the genitive case.
The common case is unmarked, it has no inflexion (zero inflexion) and its meaning is very general.
The genitive case is marked by the apostrophe s (s).
180. In writing there are two forms of the genitive: for most nouns it is s (mothers) and for nouns ending in -s and regular plural nouns only the apostrophe (mothers).
In speech there are four ways of pronunciation of the genitive case.
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1. [z] after vowels and voiced consonants: Negros, dogs;
2. [s] after voiceless consonants: students;
3. [Iz] after sibilants: princes, judges;
4. zero endings: girls, boys.
The zero form is used:
a) with regular plural nouns students, drivers, doctors;
b) with Greek nouns in -s of more than one syllable:
Socrates ['sokrati:z] wife,
Xerxes [ 'z ǝ ksi: z] army,
Euripides |juǝ'rɪpɪdi:z] plays.
In many other names ending in the voiced sibilant [z] the normal spelling of the genitive case is with the apostrophe only (though sometimes 's occurs too): Burns (Burnss) poems, Dickens (Dickenss) novels.
Names ending in sibilants other than [z] have the regular [ɪz] in the genitive:
Marxs [sɪz] ideas,
Tesss [sɪz] misfortunes.
Irregular plural nouns forming their plural by vowel change also have the regular [z] in the genitive:
Childrens games,
womens faces.
Compound nouns have s joined to the final component:
the editor-in-chiefs office,
my mother-in-laws garden,
a passer-bys comment.
181. A specific feature of the English genitive case is the so-called group genitive when s can be joined:
1) to a group of two coordinated nouns if such a group refers to a single idea (when two persons possess or
are related to something they have in common):
Mum and Dads room.
John and Marys car.
2) to a more extensive phrase which may even contain a clause:
the Duke of Norfolks sister,
the secretary of states private room,
the man I saw yesterdays son.
3) to a noun (pronoun) + a pronoun group:
someone elses benefit.
4) to a group ending in a numeral:
in an hour or twos time.
182. The main meaning of the genitive case is that of possession, hence the traditional term the possessive case. This general sense undergoes a number of modifications under the influence of the lexical meaning of both the noun in the genitive case and the noun it modifies.
The main modifications of this meaning are:
1. The idea of belonging: Johns coat, Marys car.
2. Different kinds of relations, such as:
a) relation of the whole to its parts: Johns leg, the cats tail;
b) personal or social relations: Johns wife, Johns friend.
Besides the genitive case retains some of its old meanings:
subjective relations:
Chekhovs observation = Chekhov observed;
the doctors arrival =- the doctor arrived;
authorship:
Byrons poem, Shakespeares tragedy;
objective relations:
Caesars murder = Caesar was murdered;
Jules arrest = Jule was arrested;
measure:
an hours trip, a miles distance.
In some cases the form s completely loses the meaning of possession and comes to denote a quality, as in mans blood, womans work (serving in works canteen or a transport cafe, is generally regarded as womans work), his sly idiots smile - , youve got angels eyes - , this is a womens college - .
The use of the genitive case and its equivalent of-phrase
183. The genitive case is used:
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1. With nouns denoting persons and animals.
Johns idea, the swallows nest, the mares back.
With other nouns (denoting inanimate objects or abstract notions) the of + noun phrase is used: the back of a train, the legs of a table.
2. With nouns denoting time and distance, such as minute, moment, hour, day, week, month, year, inch, foot, mile and substantivized adverbs: today, yesterday, tomorrow, etc.
| a moments delay an hours drive todays newspaper a weeks time a nights rest | a months absence a miles distance a few minutes silence yesterdays telephone conversation |
With these nouns the of-phrase is either impossible, as in the first three examples, or if it is possible the two variants are not interchangeable.
todays papers -
the papers of today -
3. With the names of countries and towns.
Britains national museums
Canadas population
Londons ambulance services
4. With the names of newspapers and nouns denoting different kinds of organizations.
The Guardians analysis, the Tribunes role, the companys plans, the firms endeavours, the Coal Boards Offer, the governments policy, the organisations executive board, the Geographical Societys gold medal.
5. Often with the nouns world, nation, country, city, town:
the worlds top guitarists, the nations wealth.
6. With the nouns ship, boat, car:
the ships crew, the cars wheel.
7. With nouns denoting planets: sun, moon, earth:
the suns rays, this earths life.
8. With some inanimate nouns in the following set expressions:
to ones hearts content (desire), at deaths door, at arms length, out of harms way, a hairs breadth, a
needles eye, at a stones throw, to move at a snails pace, at the waters edge.
