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Singulative number

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49: 1610:
In some cases, in addition to the collective and singulative forms, a third form, called the "plurative" in the terminology of some scholars, is distinguished from the collective. The collective form, in these cases, denotes multiple items as a class while the plurative denotes them as individuals.
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Joseph H. Greenberg. "Some universals of grammar with particular reference to the order of meaningful elements". In: Joseph H. Greenberg (ed.). 1963. Universals of Language. London: MIT Press, pp. 73-113. Via
1312:, which are basically of singular–plural system, the singular suffix -ин- ('-in-', Russian, '-yn-', Ukrainian), resp. '-ін-' ('-in-', Belarusian) performs the singulative function for collective nouns. 925:→ 'strawberries'. However, the Welsh collective also has a sense of a homogenous whole which the English plural cannot convey; compare the English 'foliage' vs. 'leaves'. 1450:
Notice the affix '-a' in all these examples, which indicates the feminine form. Notice also that plural forms may be derived from these singulatives in a regular way:
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Compare, for example, "people" in "People are funny" with "people" in "the people in this room", though in English the same plural form is used for both purposes.
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process of forming singulative nouns (just phrases such as "a grain of rice"). Therefore, English cannot be said to have singulative number.
1747: 1677: 832:(for feminine nouns). Most nouns which inflect according to this system designate objects that are frequently found in groups, for example 663: 743: 66: 746:#35 states that no language is purely singulative-collective in the sense that plural is always the null morpheme and singular is not. 1782: 1720: 132: 113: 1429: 656: 85: 696: 70: 1351: 92: 1706: 1804: 1598:
such as "rice", which in fact refers to a collection of items which are logically countable. However, English has no
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In some cases, a further distinction is made between the collective and what is known in some terminologies as the
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In some cases, the singulative has a further plural indicating a collection of the singular units, which may be
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pattern, where a noun is unmarked when it represents one item, and is marked to represent more than one item.
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has two systems of grammatical number, singular–plural and collective–singulative. Since the loss of the noun
1809: 1737: 793: 610: 495: 448: 337: 59: 1469: 615: 587: 548: 528: 483: 478: 347: 1371: 1309: 488: 251: 1332: 740:, the former referencing multiple items as a class, the latter referencing them as individual units. 422: 412: 148: 580: 508: 172: 1651: 1462: 726: 715: 372: 352: 273: 246: 31: 106: 1778: 1743: 1716: 1594:("pig meat", "pork"). The collective form is therefore similar in many respects to an English 1588:, "a pig". It is generally the collective form which is used as an adjectival modifier, e.g. 934: 575: 568: 558: 523: 513: 453: 387: 327: 309: 197: 1694: 938: 767: 518: 382: 167: 1739:
Constructing Feminine to Mean: Gender, Number, Numeral, and Quantifier Extensions in Arabic
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When translating the Welsh collective noun into English the plural is usually used, e.g.
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does not exist); these are similar to nouns formed from other categories of words (e.g.
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In Dutch, singulative forms of collective nouns are occasionally made by diminutives:
1798: 1205: 1196: 719: 342: 880:"a tree". Still other nouns use suffixes for both singular and plural forms (e.g. 770:, plurals have become unpredictable and can be formed in several ways: by adding a 592: 427: 241: 209: 177: 1461:
In both East Slavic and Arabic, the singulative form always takes on the feminine
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form of a noun, and the noun is specially marked to indicate a single item.
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Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics. Cambridge University Press.
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Bender, M. Lionel. 1983. "Majang phonology and morphology". In
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Tiersma, Peter Meijes. 1982. "Local and General Markedness."
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These singulatives can be pluralized like most other nouns:
30:"Collective number" redirects here. Not to be confused with 1715:. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press. p. 147. 1434: 1415: 1395: 1376: 1356: 1337: 820:"sisters". Other nouns take the singulative suffixes 1296: 1281: 1266: 1246: 1231: 1216: 1181: 1166: 1151: 1136: 1093: 1078: 1061: 1046: 1029: 1014: 1770:, 114–147. East Lansing: Michigan State University. 967:, applies to animals, plants, and inanimate objects 808:"boys", or through a combination of the two, as in 73:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. 954:, "noun of unity". It is formed by the suffixes: 1582:, "pigs", is more basic than the singular form 1641:, plurative, as in "many fish" or "three fish" 1558:{"sweets, candy"} {} {"sweet, piece of candy"} 1468:Singulative markers are found throughout the 664: 8: 1290: 1275: 1260: 1240: 1225: 1210: 1175: 1160: 1145: 1130: 1109: 1087: 1072: 1055: 1040: 1023: 1008: 987: 970: 958: 949: 1589: 1583: 1577: 920: 911: 905: 899: 893: 887: 881: 875: 869: 863: 857: 851: 845: 839: 833: 827: 821: 815: 809: 803: 797: 787: 781: 775: 1736:Fehri, Abdelkader Fassi (15 August 2018). 671: 657: 144: 1425:in mass", e.g. as a crop or as a species 133:Learn how and when to remove this message 1314: 1201: 1106: 984: 725:This is the opposite of the more common 1742:. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 9. 1668: 147: 1287:'a soldier, private, or enlisted man' 774:to the end of the word (most commonly 1690: 1688: 1686: 7: 1576:A collective form such as the Welsh 71:adding citations to reliable sources 1568:"several sweets, pieces of candy". 1302:'soldiers, privates, enlisted men' 1291: 1276: 1261: 1241: 1226: 1211: 1176: 1161: 1146: 1131: 1110: 1088: 1073: 1056: 1041: 1024: 1009: 988: 971: 959: 950: 1625:, collective form, fish in general 933:Singulatives are featured in some 25: 1712:A Grammar of the Arabic language 744:Greenberg's linguistic universal 298:Singulative-Collective-Plurative 47: 58:needs additional citations for 262:Suffixaufnahme (case stacking) 1: 1768:Nilo-Saharan Language Studies 979:, applies to sentient beings 948:, the singulative is called 1773:Corbett, Greville G. 2000. 1435: 1416: 1396: 1377: 1357: 1338: 1297: 1282: 1267: 1247: 1232: 1217: 1182: 1167: 1152: 1137: 1094: 1079: 1062: 1047: 1030: 1015: 378:Lexical aspect (Aktionsart) 1826: 1635:singulative, a single fish 1572:Comparison with mass nouns 892:"ponies", the unsuffixed * 718:for multiple items is the 714:) are terms used when the 29: 1428: 1409: 1389: 1370: 1350: 1331: 1187:"a black African person" 850:"a bed of strawberries", 826:(for masculine nouns) or 1614:Example: In Arabic, for 904:"charity" gives rise to 838:"birds/flock of birds", 501:Serial verb construction 1551:"sweet, piece of candy" 1172:"black African people" 439:Honorifics (politeness) 1680:. Accessed 2018-08-10. 1590: 1584: 1578: 1470:Nilo-Saharan languages 921: 912: 906: 900: 894: 888: 882: 876: 870: 864: 858: 852: 846: 840: 834: 828: 822: 816: 810: 804: 798: 788: 782: 776: 616:Polypersonal agreement 1521:lice.COL {} louse.SGV 1458:(several peas), etc. 1433:,     1414:,     1394:,     1375:,     1355:,     1336:,     1310:East Slavic languages 252:Genitive construction 1476:, for example, has: 505:Traditional grammar 473:Syntax relationships 149:Grammatical features 82:"Singulative number" 67:improve this article 1295:    1280:    1265:    1245:    1230:    1215:    1180:    1165:    1150:    1135:    1118: 1092:    1077:    1060:    1045:    1035:"a grain of wheat" 1028:    1013:    996: 792:"fathers", through 423:Comparison (degree) 173:Dative construction 1805:Grammatical number 1652:Grammatical number 1107: 985: 766:system of earlier 716:grammatical number 689:singulative number 373:Grammatical aspect 32:Collective numeral 27:Grammatical number 1749:978-1-4985-7456-3 1511:(Bender 1983:124) 1448: 1447: 1306: 1305: 1272:'army, military' 1191: 1190: 1103: 1102: 693:collective number 681: 680: 576:Topic and Comment 559:Thematic relation 454:Reflexive pronoun 368:Tense–aspect–mood 328:Associated motion 310:Universal grinder 143: 142: 135: 117: 16:(Redirected from 1817: 1754: 1753: 1733: 1727: 1726: 1703: 1697: 1692: 1681: 1673: 1593: 1587: 1581: 1506: 1487: 1438: 1432: 1419: 1413: 1401:"grain of sand" 1399: 1393: 1380: 1374: 1360: 1354: 1341: 1335: 1315: 1300: 1294: 1293: 1285: 1279: 1278: 1270: 1264: 1263: 1250: 1244: 1243: 1235: 1229: 1228: 1220: 1214: 1213: 1202: 1185: 1179: 1178: 1170: 1164: 1163: 1155: 1149: 1148: 1142: 1134: 1133: 1119: 1113: 1112: 1097: 1091: 1090: 1082: 1076: 1075: 1065: 1059: 1058: 1050: 1044: 1043: 1033: 1027: 1026: 1018: 1012: 1011: 997: 991: 990: 974: 973: 962: 961: 953: 952: 924: 915: 909: 903: 897: 891: 885: 879: 873: 867: 861: 856:"a strawberry"; 855: 849: 843: 837: 831: 825: 819: 813: 807: 801: 791: 785: 779: 713: 712: 705: 704: 673: 666: 659: 407:General features 322:Related to verbs 157:Related to nouns 145: 138: 131: 127: 124: 118: 116: 75: 51: 43: 21: 1825: 1824: 1820: 1819: 1818: 1816: 1815: 1814: 1795: 1794: 1763: 1758: 1757: 1750: 1735: 1734: 1730: 1723: 1707:Wright, William 1705: 1704: 1700: 1693: 1684: 1678:Wayback Machine 1674: 1670: 1665: 1648: 1608: 1574: 1562: 1555:snoep → snoepje 1553: 1545: 1537: 1535:"sweets, candy" 1525: 1518:ŋɛɛti → ŋɛɛti-n 1516: 1508: 1497: 1489: 1439: 1420: 1400: 1381: 1362:"a single pea" 1361: 1342: 1301: 1286: 1271: 1251: 1236: 1221: 1193: 1192: 1186: 1171: 1104: 1098: 1083: 1066: 1051: 1034: 1019: 931: 929:Other languages 910:"a beggar" and 868:"a child"; and 794:vowel affection 757: 752: 708: 707: 700: 699: 677: 648: 647: 606: 598: 597: 544: 536: 535: 474: 466: 465: 435:(verbal number) 433:Pluractionality 408: 400: 399: 323: 315: 314: 294: 235:Collective noun 217:Construct state 158: 139: 128: 122: 119: 76: 74: 64: 52: 39: 36:Collective noun 28: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 1823: 1821: 1813: 1812: 1810:Welsh language 1807: 1797: 1796: 1793: 1792: 1785: 1771: 1762: 1759: 1756: 1755: 1748: 1728: 1721: 1698: 1682: 1667: 1666: 1664: 1661: 1660: 1659: 1654: 1647: 1644: 1643: 1642: 1636: 1626: 1607: 1604: 1573: 1570: 1546: 1538: 1530: 1529: 1509: 1498: 1490: 1479: 1478: 1446: 1445: 1426: 1407: 1403: 1402: 1387: 1368: 1364: 1363: 1348: 1329: 1325: 1324: 1321: 1318: 1304: 1303: 1288: 1273: 1258: 1254: 1253: 1238: 1223: 1208: 1189: 1188: 1173: 1157: 1156: 1143: 1127: 1126: 1123: 1105: 1101: 1100: 1085: 1069: 1068: 1053: 1037: 1036: 1021: 1005: 1004: 1001: 983: 982: 981: 980: 968: 946:Arabic grammar 930: 927: 756: 753: 751: 748: 679: 678: 676: 675: 668: 661: 653: 650: 649: 646: 645: 640: 635: 630: 628:Empty category 625: 620: 619: 618: 607: 604: 603: 600: 599: 596: 595: 590: 585: 584: 583: 573: 572: 571: 566: 556: 551: 545: 542: 541: 538: 537: 534: 533: 532: 531: 526: 521: 516: 511: 503: 498: 493: 492: 491: 486: 475: 472: 471: 468: 467: 464: 463: 462: 461: 459:Reflexive verb 456: 446: 441: 436: 430: 425: 420: 415: 409: 406: 405: 402: 401: 398: 397: 392: 391: 390: 385: 380: 375: 365: 360: 355: 350: 345: 340: 335: 330: 324: 321: 320: 317: 316: 313: 312: 307: 302: 301: 300: 295: 293: 292: 287: 282: 278: 271: 266: 265: 264: 259: 249: 244: 239: 238: 237: 232: 227: 219: 214: 213: 212: 202: 201: 200: 195: 190: 185: 183:Quirky subject 180: 175: 165: 159: 156: 155: 152: 151: 141: 140: 55: 53: 46: 26: 24: 14: 13: 10: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1822: 1811: 1808: 1806: 1803: 1802: 1800: 1791:58.4: 832-849 1790: 1786: 1784: 1783:0-521-33845-X 1780: 1776: 1772: 1769: 1765: 1764: 1760: 1751: 1745: 1741: 1740: 1732: 1729: 1724: 1722:1-84356-028-3 1718: 1714: 1711: 1708: 1702: 1699: 1696: 1691: 1689: 1687: 1683: 1679: 1672: 1669: 1662: 1658: 1655: 1653: 1650: 1649: 1645: 1640: 1637: 1634: 1630: 1627: 1624: 1621: 1620: 1619: 1617: 1612: 1605: 1603: 1601: 1597: 1592: 1586: 1580: 1571: 1569: 1567: 1561: 1559: 1556: 1552: 1549: 1544: 1541: 1536: 1533: 1528: 1524: 1522: 1519: 1515: 1512: 1507: 1501: 1496: 1493: 1488: 1482: 1477: 1475: 1471: 1466: 1464: 1459: 1457: 1453: 1443: 1437: 1431: 1427: 1424: 1418: 1412: 1408: 1405: 1404: 1398: 1392: 1388: 1385: 1379: 1373: 1369: 1366: 1365: 1359: 1353: 1349: 1346: 1340: 1334: 1330: 1327: 1326: 1322: 1319: 1317: 1316: 1313: 1311: 1299: 1289: 1284: 1274: 1269: 1259: 1256: 1255: 1249: 1239: 1234: 1224: 1219: 1209: 1207: 1204: 1203: 1200: 1198: 1184: 1174: 1169: 1159: 1158: 1154: 1144: 1141: 1140: 1129: 1128: 1124: 1121: 1120: 1117: 1096: 1086: 1081: 1071: 1070: 1064: 1054: 1049: 1039: 1038: 1032: 1022: 1017: 1007: 1006: 1002: 999: 998: 995: 978: 969: 966: 957: 956: 955: 947: 942: 940: 936: 928: 926: 923: 917: 914: 908: 902: 896: 890: 884: 878: 872: 866: 860: 854: 848: 842: 836: 830: 824: 818: 814:"sister" and 812: 806: 800: 795: 790: 786:"father" and 784: 778: 773: 769: 765: 761: 754: 749: 747: 745: 741: 739: 734: 732: 728: 723: 721: 717: 711: 703: 698: 694: 690: 686: 674: 669: 667: 662: 660: 655: 654: 652: 651: 644: 641: 639: 636: 634: 633:Incorporation 631: 629: 626: 624: 621: 617: 614: 613: 612: 609: 608: 602: 601: 594: 591: 589: 586: 582: 579: 578: 577: 574: 570: 567: 565: 562: 561: 560: 557: 555: 552: 550: 547: 546: 540: 539: 530: 527: 525: 522: 520: 517: 515: 512: 510: 507: 506: 504: 502: 499: 497: 494: 490: 487: 485: 482: 481: 480: 477: 476: 470: 469: 460: 457: 455: 452: 451: 450: 447: 445: 442: 440: 437: 434: 431: 429: 426: 424: 421: 419: 416: 414: 411: 410: 404: 403: 396: 393: 389: 386: 384: 381: 379: 376: 374: 371: 370: 369: 366: 364: 361: 359: 356: 354: 351: 349: 346: 344: 343:Evidentiality 341: 339: 336: 334: 331: 329: 326: 325: 319: 318: 311: 308: 306: 303: 299: 296: 291: 288: 286: 283: 280: 279: 277: 276: 275: 272: 270: 267: 263: 260: 258: 255: 254: 253: 250: 248: 245: 243: 240: 236: 233: 231: 228: 226: 223: 222: 221:Countability 220: 218: 215: 211: 208: 207: 206: 203: 199: 196: 194: 191: 189: 186: 184: 181: 179: 176: 174: 171: 170: 169: 166: 164: 161: 160: 154: 153: 150: 146: 137: 134: 126: 115: 112: 108: 105: 101: 98: 94: 91: 87: 84: –  83: 79: 78:Find sources: 72: 68: 62: 61: 56:This article 54: 50: 45: 44: 41: 37: 33: 19: 1788: 1774: 1767: 1761:Bibliography 1738: 1731: 1713: 1710: 1701: 1671: 1638: 1632: 1628: 1622: 1615: 1613: 1609: 1575: 1565: 1563: 1560: 1557: 1554: 1550: 1547: 1542: 1539: 1534: 1531: 1526: 1523: 1520: 1517: 1513: 1510: 1502: 1499: 1494: 1491: 1483: 1480: 1467: 1460: 1455: 1451: 1449: 1440:"one potato 1323:singulative 1307: 1237:'a soldier' 1199:or regular. 1194: 1125:singulative 1115: 1003:singulative 993: 976: 964: 943: 932: 918: 916:"beggars"). 862:"children", 758: 742: 737: 735: 724: 709: 701: 692: 688: 682: 593:Veridicality 484:Transitivity 428:Egophoricity 297: 242:Definiteness 210:Measure word 198:Instrumental 178:Dative shift 129: 123:October 2017 120: 110: 103: 96: 89: 77: 65:Please help 60:verification 57: 40: 1406:Belarusian 1320:collective 1252:'soldiers' 1122:collective 1000:collective 941:languages. 697:abbreviated 685:linguistics 529:Predicative 449:Reciprocity 418:Boundedness 338:Conjugation 305:Specificity 18:Singulative 1799:Categories 1663:References 1629:samak-a(t) 1618:, "fish": 1600:productive 1367:Ukrainian 1298:`askarīyūn 1063:shajara(t) 951:اسم الوحدة 886:"a pony", 874:"forest", 802:"boy" and 764:inflection 643:Markedness 638:Inflection 623:Declension 554:Mirativity 363:Mirativity 269:Noun class 257:Possession 225:Count noun 205:Classifier 193:Comitative 188:Nominative 93:newspapers 1606:Plurative 1596:mass noun 1456:goroshiny 1452:goroshina 1358:goroshina 1347:in mass" 1095:baqara(t) 1084:"cattle" 1067:"a tree" 913:cardotwyr 817:chwiorydd 780:), as in 738:plurative 611:Agreement 605:Phenomena 543:Semantics 509:Predicate 496:Branching 333:Clusivity 230:Mass noun 1789:Language 1709:(1862). 1646:See also 1633:samak-e, 1591:cig moch 1566:snoepjes 1430:бульбіна 1423:potatoes 1397:pischyna 1352:горошина 1328:Russian 1257:regular 1099:"a cow" 1052:"trees" 1031:qamḥa(t) 1020:"wheat" 907:cardotyn 844:"bird"; 796:, as in 750:Examples 727:singular 720:unmarked 588:Volition 549:Contrast 479:Argument 444:Polarity 358:Telicity 348:Modality 281:Singular 1775:Number. 1639:ʔasmaak 1548:snoepje 1500:ŋɛɛti-n 1436:buĺbina 1292:عسكريون 1283:`askarī 1222:'army' 1108:suffix 986:suffix 935:Semitic 865:plentyn 853:mefusen 805:bechgyn 799:bachgen 569:Patient 524:Adjunct 514:Subject 489:Valency 163:Animacy 107:scholar 1781:  1746:  1719:  1657:Plural 1585:mochyn 1543:  1514:  1503:louse. 1495:  1474:Majang 1463:gender 1411:бульба 1391:піщина 1339:gorokh 1268:`askar 1206:broken 1197:broken 1048:shajar 939:Slavic 901:cardod 889:merlod 883:merlen 877:coeden 841:aderyn 811:chwaer 772:suffix 768:Celtic 731:plural 519:Object 413:Affect 353:Person 290:Plural 274:Number 247:Gender 109:  102:  95:  88:  80:  1623:samak 1616:samak 1532:snoep 1484:lice. 1481:ŋɛɛti 1454:-> 1442:tuber 1417:buĺba 1378:pisok 1372:пісок 1333:горох 1277:عسكري 1248:junūd 1233:jundī 1183:zinjī 1153:jinnī 1080:baqar 922:mefus 859:plant 847:mefus 789:tadau 760:Welsh 755:Welsh 581:Focus 564:Agent 395:Voice 388:Tense 114:JSTOR 100:books 1779:ISBN 1744:ISBN 1717:ISBN 1695:p 47 1579:moch 1384:sand 1345:peas 1262:عسكر 1242:جنود 1227:جندي 1218:jund 1177:زنجى 1168:zinj 1139:jinn 1089:بقرة 1057:شجرة 1025:قمحة 1016:qamḥ 994:a(t) 965:a(t) 937:and 895:merl 871:coed 835:adar 706:and 691:and 383:Mood 285:Dual 168:Case 86:news 1505:SGV 1486:COL 1465:. 1308:In 1212:جند 1162:زنج 1147:جني 1074:بقر 1042:شجر 1010:قمح 944:In 829:-en 823:-yn 783:tad 777:-au 710:COL 702:SGV 683:In 69:by 34:or 1801:: 1685:^ 1631:, 1472:. 1444:" 1386:" 1132:جن 687:, 1752:. 1725:. 1540:→ 1492:→ 1421:" 1382:" 1343:" 1116:ī 1114:- 1111:ي 992:- 989:ة 977:ī 975:- 972:ي 963:- 960:ة 729:– 695:( 672:e 665:t 658:v 136:) 130:( 125:) 121:( 111:· 104:· 97:· 90:· 63:. 38:. 20:)

Index

Singulative
Collective numeral
Collective noun

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"Singulative number"
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JSTOR
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Grammatical features
Animacy
Case
Dative construction
Dative shift
Quirky subject
Nominative
Comitative
Instrumental
Classifier
Measure word
Construct state
Count noun
Mass noun
Collective noun
Definiteness

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