THE CASE OF NOUNS

Case is the form of the noun which shows the relation of the noun to the other words in the sentence.

English nouns have two case forms – the COMMON case and the GENITIVE case (the child – the child’s father, an hour – an hour’s time).

The genitive case is formed by means of the suffix –’s or the apostrophe (-’) alone.

The suffix –’s is pronounced [z] after vowels and voiced consonants (boy’s, girl’s), [s] after voiceless consonants (student’s, wife’s), [iz] after sibilants (judge’s). The –’s is added to singular nouns and to irregular plural nouns (men’s, children’s, women’s).

The apostrophe (-’) alone is added to regular plural nouns (soldiers’, parents’, workers ’) and also to proper nouns ending in –s (Soames’ collection, Archimedes’ Law, Hercules’ labours).

The number of nouns which may be used in the genitive case is limited.

Here belong:

Names of persons (John’s secretary, friend’s parents);

Nouns denoting time, distance and measure (a day’s work, a two year’s absence, a mile’s distance, a shilling’s worth).

The use of the genitive case with nouns denoting animals is not common, though possible (the cat’s tail, a bird’s nest).

The use of the genitive case with nouns denoting inanimate things may be found only in the literary style (the island’s outline, the play’s title, Nature’s sleep).

In English, however, there are a considerable number of set-phrases in which all sorts of nouns are found in the genitive case (in one’s mind’s eye, a pin’s head, to one’s heart’s content, at one’s finger’s end, for goodness’ sake, at one’s wit’s end, out of harm’s way, duty’s call, a needle’s point).

A noun in the genitive case generally precedes another noun which is its head-word. This is THE DEPENDENT GENITIVE.

The relations between the head-word and the noun in the genitive case may be of two kinds.

a) The SPECIFYINF genitive indicates the owner of a thing (my uncle’s car),

the doer of an action (the minister’s speech), the bearer of a state (my sister’s illness).

The specifying genitive may be replaced by an of-phrase (the boys’ father – the father of the boys).

b) The CLASSIFYING genitive refers to a class of similar objects (a doctor’s degree, a soldier’s uniform, a farmer’s wife, lady’s wear).

The classifying genitive is normally not replaced by an of-phrase.

The suffix –’s may be added not to a single noun but to a whole group of words. It is called the GROUP genitive (somebody else’s umbrella, the Prime Minister of England’s residence, the man we saw yesterday’s son).

Sometimes we find the use of –’ and of together. This is called a DOUBLE genitive (He was an old business client of Grandfather’s).

A noun in the genitive case may be used without a head-word. This is called THE INDEPENDENT GENITIVE. The independent genitive is used with nouns denoting trade and relationship or with proper nouns. It serves to denote a building or a shop. It is mainly found in prepositional phrases (in the grocer’s, at St. Paul’s, at her parents’).

Forms	Patterns	notes
The boy's book	This is the boy's book	A single noun is changed to a possessive form by adding an apostrophe s to the end of the word
Jones' wife	Jones' wife is a teacher	If a proper noun ends in–-s we may use only an apostrophe
James's house	James's house is small	After proper nouns ending in –s the s-form is more common
Our sons' school	Our sons' school is here	A regular plural noun is changed to a possessive form only by an apostrophe
The children's toys	The children's toys are on the table	When an irregular plural noun does not end in –s, use the s-form

Exercise 1. Put together the words under A and B, making possessive forms:

Model: student – book → the student's book; eye – needle → the eye of the needle

A B

Student book

Eye needle

Teacher question

Yesterday newspaper

Children mother

Pupil dictionary

Girl answer

Boy uncle

A day trip

Mother hair

Branches tree

Tomorrow concert

John sister

Bottom river

Exercise 3. Fill in the blanks with the correct possessive form:

Model: My wife' s cooking is even better than my mother' s cooking.

1. Stop! That is James_ toothbrush.

2. Can you get me Mr. Reese_ e-mail address?

3. Football players_ uniforms are very hard to get clean.

4. Your company_ new Web site is really well designed.

5. Other companies_ Web sites aren't nearly so attractive.

6. You'll find the dresses you want in the girls_ department.

7. You should go to the children_ shoe department.

8. Women_ clothing is on the fourth floor.

9. Go to the third floor for men_ clothing.

10. Children! Don't pull the cat_ tail!

11. She is wearing her grandmother_ diamond bracelet.

12. Everyone wants to go to John_ party Saturday night.

13. Quick, hide the cake! I hear Daddy_ footsteps!

14. Let me take a look at my boss_ schedule.

15. Wait a minute. This is not Dr. Williams_ signature.

16. Our club is reading my favourite author_ latest book.

17. Show us that picture of your family_ new house.

18. The hurricane washed away many families_ houses.

THE ARTICLE

There are two articles in English:

1) the indefinite article a pronounced [ə] before consonants, e.g.: a university, a man and an [ən] before vowels, e.g.: an apple, an hour. The indefinite article is used only with singular nouns to introduce a new object into a sentence or to present an object as belonging to a class.

I saw a good movie yesterday.

2) the definite article the pronounced [ðə] before consonants, e.g.: the rice, the chairs and [ði] before vowels, e.g.: the apples, the institute. The use of the definite article shows that a particular object is meant.

The movie I saw yesterday is a comedy.

The absence of article is also meaningful.

THE USE OF ARTICLES WITH CLASS NOUNS

No article	The definite article	The indefinite article
With plural nouns in general sense Cats have tails.	When the speaker and the listener mean the same object Open the door, please.	With nouns denoting objects belonging to a definite class (to introduce a new object into the sentence) I have a car.
After the verbs to elect, to appoint, to make He was elected President.	With nouns modified by a particularizing attribute This is the house that Jack built.	With nouns used in general sense (any) A good dog deserves a good bone.
In newspaper headings, telegrams Fog stops play	With nouns denoting a thing unique The Earth, the sky	In the meaning “one” It costs a hundred.
In direct address Porter, take the key, please.	With nouns used in generic sense (as a genre) The cat is a domestic animal.	In sentences beginning with it is, there is There is a book on the desk
	With nouns modified by some, most, none, same, next, wrong, right, very He asked the same question. This is the very book I need. Most of the ladies looked pleased.
	With nouns defined by the adjectives in superlative degree This is the biggest task I ever had.

THE USE OF ARTICLES WITH PROPER NOUNS

No article	The definite article	The indefinite article
With names of persons Mr.Brown, Richard	With names denoting the whole family The Browns are friends of ours.	With names of persons modified by the adjective certain I heard it from a certain Mr,Brown
With nouns expressing relationship Aunt Polly, Father	With names of persons modified by a particularizing attribute You are not the Andrew I married
With nouns denoting military ranks and titles Lord Hamilton, Doctor Smith
	With names of oceans, seas, rivers The Atlantic ocean, the Baltic sea, the Dnieper
With names of lakes if the word lake is used Lake Ontario	With names of lakes if the word lake is not used The Ontario
With names of mountain peaks Elbrus, Ben Nevis	With names of mountain chains The Carpathians
With names if single islands Madagascar	With names of groups of islands The British Isles
With names of towns, countries, provinces London, Ukraine	But: The Hague, the Netherlands, the Riviera, the Crimea, the Caucasus, the Crimea, the Congo
With names of streets Wall street	But: The High Street, the Strand
	With names of hotels, ships, newspapers The Independent, the Times
But: from East to West, from North to South	With names of cardinal points The East, the South
With names of months and days Monday is the second day of the week	With names of dates modified by a particularizing attribute The November of 2004	With names of days when we mean “one” Robinson Crusoe found his servant on a Friday
With nouns modified by a proper noun in the Genitive case I met Stella’s boy-friend	With nouns modified by a proper noun in the Common case I met Stella’s boy-friend in Victoria and Albert Museum

THE USE OF ARTICLES WITH NOUNS OF MATERIAL

No article	The definite article	The indefinite article
With nouns used in general sense Caviar is expensive.	With nouns denoting a definite part of the substance The caviar in the fridge is for tomorrow.	With nouns denoting different sorts of material (as class nouns) It’s a pleasure to taste a good caviar.

THE USE OF ARTICLES WITH ABSTRACT NOUNS

No article	The definite article	The indefinite article
With nouns used in general sense Knowledge is power.	With nouns modified by a particularizing attribute I enjoyed the music on the disc.	With nouns denoting a certain kind of a quality (as class nouns) It’s a capital idea if to think it over
With the noun weather What fine weather!	With the noun weather used in general sense The weather influences people’s mood.	With the nouns period, population, distance, salary etc. followed by of A period of ten days, a distance of ten miles.

THE USE OF ARTICLES IN SET EXPRESSIONS

No article	The definite article	The indefinite article
At night вночі At home вдома Out of doors надворі To take to heart брати близько до серця To take offence ображатись To give (to ask) permission давати (просити) дозвіл To lose heart падати духом At present в даний час From morning till night з ранку до вечора From beginning to end з початку до кінця At first sight з першого погляду By chance випадково By mistake помилково For hours годинами For ages віками To keep house вести господарство At work на роботі By name на ім’я in debt в боргу In fact фактично In conclusion на завершення, як висновок On sale в продажу To have dinner (breakfast, supper) обідати (снідати, вечеряти)	It is out of the question це виключено, про це не може бути мови To take the trouble to do smth взяти на себе турботу зробити щось In the original в оригіналі To keep the house сидіти вдома To keep the bed дотримуватися постільного режиму On the whole в цілому The other day днями (про минуле) On the one hand…on the other hand з одного (другого) боку To tell the truth правду кажучи To be on the safe side про всяк випадок To play the piano грати на піаніно In the morning, in the evening, in the afternoon вранці, ввечері, вдень On the right (left) справа (зліва) The day before yesterday позавчора The day after tomorrow післязавтра What is the time? Котра година? To go to the theatre (the cinema) іти в театр (в кіно) To pass the time проводити час	In a hurry поспіхом To fly in a passion, to get in a fury розгніватись In a low (loud) voice голосно (тихо) A great many багато A great deal багато A lot of багато It is a pity жаль It is a shame соромно, жаль It is a pleasure приємно As a result в результаті To have a good time гарно провести час To be at a loss розгубитись At a glance з одного погляду All of a sudden раптом As a matter of fact фактично, по суті For a long (short) time довго (недовго) To go for a walk іти на прогулянку To have a headache мати головний біль

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