اسمها

اسمها

اسم‌ها گسترده‌ترین اقسام کلمات را تشکیل می‌دهند. بطور کلی‌ در زبان انگلیسی‌ می‌توان اسامی‌ را در دو دسته طبقه‌بندی‌ کرد: اسامی‌ قابل شمارش و اسامی‌ غیر قابل شمارش:

اسامی‌ قابل شمارش آن دسته از اسامی‌ هستند که می‌توانند شمرده شوند. این بدین معنی‌ است که می‌تواند بیش از یکی‌ از آنها وجود داشته باشد.

اسامی‌ غیر قابل شمارش اسامی‌ هستند که قابل شمردن نیستند (مانند water یا آب). این اسامی‌ تنها بصورت مفرد بکار می‌روند و حالت جمع ندارند.

چند مثال

1- اسامی‌ قابل شمارش:

جمع	مفرد
the boys	the boy
some answers	an answer
those cars	that car

2- اسامی‌ غیر قابل شمارش:

paper, wood, coal, silk, wool, cotton	بسیاری‌ از مواد و مصالح
gold, iron, silver, steel	فلزات
fish, fruit, sugar, meat, cheese, bread	مواد غذایی‌
water, oil, milk, tea, air, steam, oxygen	مایعات و گازها
money, music, noise, land, hair, ice, snow	چیزهای‌ دیگر

ویژگیهای‌ اسامی‌ قابل شمارش و غیر قابل شمارش

اسمهای‌ قابل شمارش:

1- می‌توانند به دنبال an، a یا one بیایند.

2- می‌توانند به دنبال these، few، many و those بیایند.

3- می‌توانند به دنبال یک عدد (مثلاً two ،three و ...) بیایند.

مثال:

غیر قابل شمارش	قابل شمارش
(not: ... a good work.)	I have a good job.
(not: ... Those foods.)	Those meals were delicious.
(not: ... two breads.)	I bought two loaves.

اسمهای‌ غیر قابل شمارش:

1- نمی‌توانند با حروف تعریف نامعین (a و an) بکار روند، بلکه باید با some مورد استفاده قرار بگیرند.

2- می‌توانند به دنبال much و little بیایند.

3- به راحتی‌ می‌توانند به دنبال اصطلاحاتی‌ از قبیل most of the، all of the، all the و half the بیایند.

مثال:

قابل شمارش	غیر قابل شمارش
(not: ... made of trees.)	It's made of wood.
(not: ... too much vehicle.)	There's too much traffic.
(not: ... all the table.)	I sold all the furniture.

چند نکته

1- می تـوان بسیـاری‌ از اسم های غیر قابل شمارش را بـا استفـاده از بعضی کلمات و عبارات، به قابل شمارش تبدیل کرد. از جمله می‌توان به  a piece of ، a bit of ، a little bit of،‌ pieces of و bits of اشاره کرد: I bought a piece of furniture at the market. I want to give you two bits of advice. 2- لغت news مانند یک اسم جمع به نظر می‌رسد، ولی در حقیقت یک اسم مفرد غیر قابل شمارش است: There is no important news in the newspapers.

جمع

بیشتر اسمها قابل شمارش هستند و می‌توانند به صورت جمع درآیند. معمولاً برای‌ اینکه یک اسم مفرد به صورت جمع درآید، یک -s به انتهای‌ آن اضافه می‌کنیم:

cat, cats
face, faces
boy, boys

ولی‌ آن دسته از اسامی‌ که به ch، x، z، s یا sh ختم می‌شوند، -es می‌گیرند:

bus, buses
box, boxes
brush, brushes
watch, watches

در ضمن اسمهایی‌ کـه به یک حرف بی‌صدا و y ختم می‌شوند، y را حذف کرده و به جای‌ آن ies می‌گذاریم:

baby, babies
country, countries
fly, flies
try, tries

اسامی‌ جمع بی‌قاعده

1- بعضی‌ از اسمها را با تغییر حروف صدادار آنها، به حالت جمع در می‌آوریم:

 

مفرد	→	جمع
man	→	men	مرد(ها)
woman	→	women	زن‌(ها)
mouse	→	mice	موش(ها)
foot	→	feet	پا(ها)
tooth	→	teeth	دندان(ها)
goose	→	geese	غاز(ها)

2- بسیاری‌ از اسمهایی‌ که به -f یا -fe ختم می‌شوند، هنگام جمع این -f یا -fe به -ves تبدیل می‌شود:
 

calf	→	calves	گوساله(ها)
half	→	halves	نیمه‌(ها)
knife	→	knives	چاقو(ها)
leaf	→	leaves	برگ(ها)
life	→	lives	جان(ها)
loaf	→	loaves	قرص(های‌) نان
shelf	→	shelves	قفسه(ها)
thief	→	thieves	دزد(ها)
wife	→	wives	همسر(ها)
wolf	→	wolves	گرگ(ها)

3- اسم بعضی‌ از حیوانات در حالت جمع هیچ تغییری‌ نمی‌کند:

deer     آهو(ها)
sheep  گوسفند(ها)
fish  ماهی‌(ها)

و نیز آن دسته از اسامی‌ ملیتها که به -ese یا -ss ختم می‌شوند:
 

a Chinese	یک چینی‌	→	two Chinese	دو چینی‌
one Swiss	یک سوییسی‌	→	some Swiss	چند سوییسی‌

همچنین آن دسته از اسامی‌ که به اعداد و مقیاسها اشاره می‌کنند، هنگامیکه بعد از یک عدد و ... واقع می‌شوند:

two hundred
three dozen

4- بسیاری‌ از اسمهایی‌ که ریشه خارجی‌ دارند (مثلاً لاتین، فرانسه یا یونانی‌)، گاهی‌ حالت جمع خود را حفظ می‌کنند:
 

cactus	→	cacti/cactuses
octopus	→	octopi/octopuses
syllabus	→	syllabi/syllabuses
alga	→	algae
larva	→	larvae
nebula	→	nebulae
index	→	indices/indexes
analysis	→	analyses
thesis	→	theses
phenomenon	→	phenomena

حالت ملکی‌

اسمها دارای‌ یک حالت ملکی‌ می‌باشند که در آن به اسمهای‌ مفرد (و نیز اسامی‌ جمعی‌ که به s ختم نمی‌شوند) 's و به اسامی‌ جمع -' (یک آپاستروف) اضافه می‌شود:

• my daughter's room  اتاق دخترم
  my daughters' room  اتاق دخترهایم

• men's clothes  لباسهای‌ مردانه

• your friend's new car  ماشین جدید دوستتان

• the boy's teacher  معلم آن پسر

• the students' hostel  خوابگاه دانشجویان

حالت ملکی‌ را اغلب به صورت دیگری‌ هم می‌توان بیان کرد: (قاعده: X's Y= the Y of X)

my daughters' room = the room of my daughters
the ship's side = the side of the ship

اما بهتر است آنجا که صحبت از انسان، گروههای‌ انسانی‌ (مانند دولتها، کمیته‌ها، هیئتها و...)، کشورها، حیوانات و... به میان می‌آید از همان ساختار X's Y استفاده شود.

THE POSSESSIVE FORM OF NOUNS

Forming the possessive

The possessive form is used with nouns referring to people, groups of people, countries, and animals. 'Belonging to' or 'ownership' is one of the relationships it expresses :

• John owns a car. ('John' is the possessor or owner)
• It is John's car.

• America has some gold reserves. ('America' is the owner)
• They are America's gold reserves.

It can also express other relationships, for example:

where someone works or studies or spends time:

• John goes to this school. This is John's school.
• John sleeps in this room. This is John's room.

a family relationship:

• John's mother
• The Queen's daughter

qualities:

• John's patience.
• The politician's hypocrisy.

Form

To form the possessive, add 's ('apostrophe -s') to the noun.
If the noun is plural, or already ends in -s, just add:' (an apostrophe).

For names ending in -s:

In speaking we add the sound /z/ to the name, but in writing it is possible to use either 's or just '. The 's form is more common. e.g. Thomas's book, James's shop.

Examples

• The car of John = John's car.
• The room of the girls = The girls' room.
• Clothes for men = Men's clothes.
• The sister of Charles = Charles' sister.
• The boat of the sailors = The sailors' boat.

There are also some fixed expressions where the possessive form is used:

Time expressions	Other expressions
a day's work	For God's sake!
a fortnight's holiday	a pound's worth of apples.
a month's pay	the water's edge
today's newspaper	a stone's throw away (= very near)
in a year's time	at death's door (= very ill)
	in my mind's eye (= in my imagination)

The possessive is also used to refer to shops, restaurants, churches and colleges, using the name or job title of the owner.

Examples

the grocer's	the doctor's	the vet's
the newsagent's	the chemist's	Smith's
the dentist's	Tommy Tucker's	Luigi's
Saint Mary's	Saint James's

1. Shall we go to Luigi's for lunch?
2. I've got an appointment at the dentist's at eleven o'clock.
3. Is Saint Mary's an all-girls school?

USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS WITH NOUNS

Capital letters are used with:

Names and titles of people

• Winston Churchill
• Marilyn Monroe
• the Queen of England
• the President of the United States
• the Headmaster of Eton
• Doctor Mathews
• Professor Samuels.

Note: The personal pronoun 'I' is always written with a capital letter.

Titles of works, books etc.

• War and Peace
• The Merchant of Venice
• Crime and Punishment
• Tristan and Isolde

Months of the year

January	July
February	August
March	September
April	October
May	November
June	December

Days of the week

Monday	Friday
Tuesday	Saturday
Wednesday	Sunday
Thursday

Seasons

Seasons

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

Holidays

Christmas	Easter	New Year's Day
Boxing Day	May Day	Thanksgiving Day

Geographical names... 
Names of countries and continents

America	England	Scotland
China	Peru	Albania
Africa	Europe	Asia

Names of regions, states, districts etc.

Sussex	California	Queensland
Provence	Tuscany	Vaud
Florida	Costa Brava	Tyrol

Names of cities, towns, villages etc.

London	Cape Town	Rome
Florence	Bath	Wagga Wagga
Vancouver	Wellington	Peking

Names of rivers, oceans, seas, lakes etc.

the Atlantic	the Dead Sea	the Pacific
Lake Leman	Lake Victoria	Lake Michigan
the Rhine	the Thames	the Nile

Names of geographical formations

the Himalayas

the Alps

the Sahara

Adjectives relating to nationality nouns

France - French music

Australia - Australian animals

Germany - German literature

Arabia - Arabic writing

Indonesia - Indonesian poetry

China - Chinese food

Names of streets, buildings, parks etc.

Park Lane	Central Avenue	Pall Mall
George Street	Sydney Opera House	Central Park
Hyde Park	the Empire State Building	Wall Street

NATIONALITIES

NATIONALITIES

1. Country: I live in England.
2. Adjective: He reads English literature.
3. Noun: She is an Englishwoman.

COUNTRY	ADJECTIVE	NOUN
Africa	African	an African
America	American	an American
Argentina	Argentinian	an Argentinian
Austria	Austrian	an Austrian
Autralia	Australian	an Australian
Bangladesh	Bangladesh(i)	a Bangladeshi
Belgium	Belgian	a Belgian
Brazil	Brazilian	a Brazilian
Britain	British	a Briton/Britisher
Cambodia	Cambodian	a Cambodian
Chile	Chilean	a Chilean
China	Chinese	a Chinese
Colombia	Colombian	a Colombian
Croatia	Croatian	a Croat
the Czech Republic	Czech	a Czech
Denmark	Danish	a Dane
England	English	an Englishman/Englishwoman
Finland	Finnish	a Finn
France	French	a Frenchman/Frenchwoman
Germany	German	a German
Greece	Greek	a Greek
Holland	Dutch	a Dutchman/Dutchwoman
Hungary	Hungarian	a Hungarian
Iceland	Icelandic	an Icelander
India	Indian	an Indian
Indonesia	Indonesian	an Indonesian
Iran	Iranian	an Iranian
Iraq	Iraqi	an Iraqi
Ireland	Irish	an Irishman/Irishwoman
Israel	Israeli	an Israeli
Jamaica	Jamaican	a Jamaican
Japan	Japanese	a Japanese
Mexico	Mexican	a Mexican
Morocco	Moroccan	a Moroccan
Norway	Norwegian	a Norwegian
Peru	Peruvian	a Peruvian
the Philippines	Philippine	a Filipino
Poland	Polish	a Pole
Portugal	Portuguese	a Portuguese
Rumania	Rumanian	a Rumanian
Russia	Russian	a Russian
Saudi Arabia	Saudi, Saudi Arabian	a Saudi, a Saudi Arabian
Scotland	Scottish	a Scot
Serbia	Serbian	a Serb
the Slovak Republic	Slovak	a Slovak
Sweden	Swedish	a Swede
Switzerland	Swiss	a Swiss
Thailand	Thai	a Thai
The USA	American	an American
Tunisia	Tunisian	a Tunisian
Turkey	Turkish	a Turk
Vietnam	Vietnamese	a Vietnamese
Wales	Welsh	a Welshman/Welshwoman
Yugoslavia	Yugoslav	a Yugoslav

Note: We use the + nationality adjective ending in -ese or -ish with a plural verb, to refer to all people of that nationality:

The Chinese are very hard-working.
The Spanish often go to sleep in the afternoon.

COMPOUND NOUNS

COMPOUND NOUNS

Formation

Words can be combined to form compound nouns. These are very common, and new combinations are invented almost daily. They normally have two parts. The second partidentifies the object or person in question (man, friend, tank, table, room). The first parttells us what kind of object or person it is, or what its purpose is (police, boy, water, dining, bed):

What type / what purpose	What or who
police	man
boy	friend
water	tank
dining	table
bed	room

The two parts may be written in a number of ways :

1. as one word.
Examples policeman, boyfriend

2. as two words joined with a hyphen.
Examples dining-table

3. as two separate words.
Examples fish tank.

There are no clear rules about this - so write the common compounds that you know well as one word, and the others as two words.

The two parts may be:	Examples
noun + noun	bedroom water tank motorcycle printer cartridge
noun + verb	rainfall haircut train-spotting
noun + adverb	hanger-on passer-by
verb + noun	washing machine driving licence swimming pool
verb + adverb*	lookout take-off drawback
adjective + noun	greenhouse software redhead
adjective + verb	dry-cleaning public speaking
adverb + noun	onlooker bystander
adverb + verb*	output overthrow upturn input

Compound nouns often have a meaning that is different from the two separate words.

Stress is important in pronunciation, as it distinguishes between a compound noun (e.g.greenhouse) and an adjective with a noun (e.g. green house).

In compound nouns, the stress usually falls on the first syllable:

a 'greenhouse = place where we grow plants (compound noun)
a green 'house = house painted green (adjective and noun)
a 'bluebird = type of bird (compound noun)
a blue 'bird = any bird with blue feathers (adjective and noun)

*Many common compound nouns are formed from phrasal verbs (verb + adverb or adverb + verb).

Examples

breakdown, outbreak, outcome, cutback, drive-in, drop-out, feedback, flyover, hold-up, hangover, outlay, outlet, inlet, makeup, output, set-back, stand-in, takeaway, walkover.