VI.THE NUMERAL The numeral is the part of speech that expresses an abstract number, a numerical determination of objects or the order of objects through counting1. There can be distinguished the following types of numerals2: a) cardinal numerals b) ordinal numerals c) fractional numerals d) collective numerals e) multiplicative numerals f) distributive numerals g) adverbial numerals h) indefinite numerals VI.1. The cardinal numeral The cardinal numeral expresses an abstract number or a definite and exact number of objects. The cardinal numerals are: zero, one, two, three … one hundred, two thousand, three million, etc. The numerals hundred, thousand, million, dozen (12), score (20) and gross (144) are never used in the plural if they are preceded by a definite number or by several, a few or a couple of. Ex: Three hundred years Two thousand euros Several million pounds A few dozen books Nine score boxes Two gross of pencils These numerals can be used in the plural when they express an indefinite number: Ex: Hundreds/thousands/millions/dozens/scores/grosses of people The cardinal numeral can function as: a) an adjective, determining a noun: Ex: There were nine candidates for the elections. b) a noun (in this case, it can have a plural form as well): Ex: She is in her fifties. c) one can also function as a pronoun: Ex: One knows one’s own story. VI.2. The ordinal numeral The ordinal numeral indicates the order in a series or sequence. With the exception of the first three numerals (first, second, third) and the compound numbers formed with their help (thirty-first, twenty-second, fifty-third, etc.), the ordinal numbers are formed by adding the suffix –th to the cardinal numerals or to their equivalents: fifth, seventeenth, thirty-fifth, etc. The ordinal number may have the function of: a) an adjective: Ex: Her son is the first student in his class. b) a noun: 1 2 Alice Bădescu, p.231 Idem d) an adverb Ex: When I first came here I was a young student. In speech. once again. VI. double (twofold). firstly. etc. gross refer to groups larger than two. etc. brace refer to groups of two: Ex: a couple of friends a pair of gloves a brace of dogs/ducks/pheasants (brace is a term used to refer to hunting) Dozen. four and four. It includes: couple. tenfold. etc. pair. There are two types of fractions: a) the common/vulgar fraction b) the decimal fraction a) The common/vulgar fraction – it has two terms: the numerator and the denominator: Ex: 5/10 – numerator/denominator (five-tens) b) The decimal fraction – in some cases a fraction can be also expressed through a decimal number: Ex: 3. ten times. . The multiplicative numeral The multiplicative numeral shows the proportion in which a quantity raises. The distributive numeral The distributive numeral shows the distribution of objects in equal groups: one at a time. twice. VI. but the second was huge.6. score. that means one or several equal parts from a whole. secondly. etc. three times. by the hundred. etc. It includes: single. the technical or the official style. c) a pronoun: Ex: The first house we visited was quite large. by threes. brace. they have been replaced by adverbial numerals: once. in the first place. every five days. thrice/three times. thirdly. gross.4. once more. Couple.Ex: I booked two firsts to Bucharest. score. pair.7. four times.5.25 – three point twenty-five VI. Ex: two dozen boxes three score years two gross of pens VI. The forms with the suffix –fold are especially used in the literary style. twice.3. fourfold. The fractional numeral The fractional numeral expresses fractions. The collective numeral The collective numeral expresses in a singular form the numerical idea of plural. VI. etc. The adverbial numeral The adverbial numeral functions as an adverb and it shows: a) the frequency or the periodicity of an action: once. triple (threefold). dozen. two by two. b) the place in a series: first. miles. etc. to. The prepositional phrase can be thus represented as follows: Modifier right just completely straight Preposition into at out along Complement his arms that moment of control this road The modifier generally shows intensification. etc. focusing and reinforcement6. unexpectedly Ex: hopelessly in love with her unexpectedly close to failure f) focusing and reinforcing modifiers: precisely.VI. from. a bit. and an optional modifier. only 3 4 Angela Downing. slightly. p. which is typically a noun. The indefinite numeral The indefinite numeral shows an indefinite number of objects and it includes: a number (of). just. chiefly. VII. the preposition in the prepositional phrase cannot function alone as a head. p.532 6 Idem. VII. way back Ex: way back in time almost at the same time e) descriptive modifiers: surprisingly.1.225 5 Angela Downing.). almost. in. right. a little Ex: slightly/a bit out of reach hardly thanks to you d) quantifying modifiers: nearly.531 Paidos. a) intensifying modifiers: completely. during.8. mainly. which intensifies the preposition5. The structure of the prepositional phrase A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and its complement. down. a noun phrase or a clause (wh-clause or non-finite – ing clause) in nominal function (with certainty. hopelessly. lots. etc. over Ex: down by the river over on the other side c) attenuating modifiers: partly. with. description. badly. hardly. out. THE PREPOSITION AND THE PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE The preposition is the part of speech which has a relating function3: it connects a noun or a noun structure to other structures in the sentence4. by signing the agreement. the adjectival phrase or the adverbial phrase. etc. in the school yard. Ex: directly through the window all about this subject b) directional modifiers: up. p. from what she said. on. both being obligatory. well. Unlike the case of the noun phrase. p. directly. all. the two parts of the sentence connected by the preposition having different syntactic functions (about. attenuation. quantification. over. but it can also take the form of direction. The prepositional phrase consists of a preposition together with its complement.538 . by. under. plenty. a lot.). 304. . j) complement of a verb Ex: They were listening to his speech. n) disjunct (expresses information that is not essential to the sentence. p. VII. out of. across. The classification of prepositions a) according to their form. m) complement in a prepositional phrase Ex: The museum is opened every day except on Mondays.adverb + preposition: along with. multi-word). there can be distinguished three categories: . prepositions can be: . try to tell you the truth. k) complement in an adjectival phrase Ex: I’m sorry for your loss. up to. Downing. to. pp.complex (two-word. at. after. b) direct object Ex: I don’t think next to the highway a good place to live. h) complement in a noun phrase Ex: She is a teacher of English literature.3. etc. but which connects the sentence with previous parts of the discourse) Ex: In conclusion. with. c) prepositional object Ex: Stop tampering with the digital camera! d) subject complement Ex: You must be out of your mind to accept! e) object complement Ex: The accident left him without a family. g) postmodifier in a noun phrase Ex: The children in the garden were playing.simple (one-word): about. by. o) conjunct (adds information to the sentence that is not considered part of the propositional content. apart from. in. round. near. away from. down. they did not leave at all. on. in all fairness.2.Ex: just for this purpose mainly after dinner VII. According to the parts of speech involved. The syntactic functions of prepositions and prepositional phrases The prepositions and the prepositional phrases may have the following syntactic functions7: a) subject Ex: After dark is the best moment to go for a walk. etc. i) premodifier in a noun phrase Ex: Off-the-record information cannot be used during the trial. l) complement in an adverbial phrase Ex: I live far from here. but it shows the speaker’s attitude towards the content of the sentence) Ex: She did. as. during. off.541-542 . 7 Quirk. of. for. f) adjunct Ex: The children were playing in the garden. from. to call for. some words can function as both prepositions and adverbs: aboard. following.543-545 11 For a longer list see Appendix . on. by. regarding.4. which have the functions of adjuncts (relating an event to a location). some items are regarded more as conjunctions than as prepositions: after. postmodifiers (relating an object to a location) or predicatives (following the verb to be). along. without VII.. which occur as adjuncts or postmodifiers. about.of time. due to.of instrument: with. The prepositions indicating place show8: . etc. contrary to. in(to). Ex: The museum is open every day excluding Monday. etc. after. .prepositions that indicate duration: for . excluding. across. owing to. . etc. since. (conjunction) VII. because of. under. until. to. outside. . out of. 8 9 Quirk. before. inside. to look after. by. They are9: . on.relative position or destination: by. pp. (preposition) We walked in. (verb) b) prepositions and conjunctions: when referring to moments of time and introducing declarative finite clauses. to belong to. to accuse of. etc. under.317-318 10 Downing. Ex: We walked in the house.of place.preposition + noun + preposition: by means of. in comparison with. including. down. to account for.5. behind. since. granted. after.movement with reference to a directional path: up. over. thanks to . off. given. in . etc. .verb/adjective/conjunction + preposition: owing to. between. (preposition) I’m not excluding this possibility. to depend on.simple position and destination: at.passage: across.before. over. up to .of purpose: for . but for. prepositions can be: . down. . Constructions with prepositions A number of verbs. to bring about. up.between. etc.negative position: away from. to laugh at. pp. past. past. etc. to listen to. nouns and adjectives require the use of certain prepositions: a) verbs with preposition11: to abound in. .of cause: because of. pp. on. a) prepositions and verbs: some participial forms can function as both prepositions and verbs: considering. . etc.307-316 Idem. conjunctions and adverbs10. until . in. on account of. b) according to their meaning. above.prepositions that indicate time when: at. before leaving (preposition) before he left (conjunction) c) prepositions and adverbs: when expressing circumstantial meaning. Ex: before his departure. etc. below.orientation: beyond. through. Classes of words with the same form as prepositions Some one-word prepositions can have functions characteristic of verbs. VIII. conjunctions can be coordinating or subordinating 1) The coordinating conjunctions – they link two similar parts of sentence. but then. therefore. Syntactic classification of conjunctions According to their function. curious about. There are also some idioms with prepositions14: above suspicion. both … and. disappointed with. not only … but also. when. absent from. etc. in no time. on that account. besides. by all means. neither … nor. whereas. desire for. There are several types of coordinating conjunctions. that is why. Ex: The boss entered the office after the secretary had typed all the letters. while. Ex: Neither Paula nor her children knew about his accident. from cover to cover. so long as. with the same syntactic role. if. objection to. for instance. and. or two coordinate sentences. Morphological classification of conjunctions According to their form. patient with. a witness to. THE CONJUNCTION The conjunction is the part of speech that links two words that have the same syntactic function or two sentences that share similar ideas. as though. out of touch. worried about. as if. Ex: Painting and dancing are his favourite hobbies. whereas. neither … nor. or else.1. a) copulative or cumulative conjunctions – when a notion ads to another one: and. off the beaten track. etc. either … or. why. as … as. suitable for. hunger for. both … and. in order to. c) adjectives with prepositions13: able to. but he is lazy. Ex: You are guilty. Ex: No sooner had we entered the house than the rain started. c) correlative conjunctions – consist in two conjunctions separated by sentences or by parts of sentences: if … then. b) adversative conjunctions – when they express a contrast: but. useful for. behind bars. d) conjunctional phrases – formed of different parts of speech. at a loss. VII. mad about. therefore you should pay for your deeds. so … as. 12 13 For a longer list see Appendix For a longer list see Appendix 14 For a longer list see Appendix . otherwise. but. confidence in. master of. Ex: He behaves as though he didn’t know us. b) compound conjunctions – formed of two or more parts of speech written in one word: however. as well as. etc. etc. etc. etc. not only … but also. in honour of. combined with conjunctions or with other parts of speech: as if. a thirst for. VIII. as. no sooner … than. conjunctions can be classified into: a) simple conjunctions – consist in one word: after. Ex: Michael is talented. astonishment at. He called but he couldn’t find me. whenever. while. Your letter was both affectionate and kind. further. etc. unaware of. etc.2. belief in. as well as. guilty of. etc. for that reason.b) nouns with prepositions12: aptitude for. that is to say. or you’ll be sorry! d) conclusive/illative conjunctions – when they express a conclusion: accordingly. so as. etc. therefore. while. etc. for instance. Ex: This is the man who is going to run the firm.it introduces direct object clauses: that Ex: They knew that I wanted to quit my job. since. for fear. etc. when.it introduces attributive clauses: that Ex: The news that he was fired shocked me. lest. which. Ex: I had to work late. not so/as … as. Ex: They behave as if they were rich.they introduce relative clauses: that. Ex: Fortunately he helped us. otherwise. until. e) conjunctions of purpose – they introduce adverbial clauses of purpose: in order that. Ex: They stopped talking lest they should be heard by the boss. Ex: Listen to her advice. Ex: The rain had already started by the time we got home. etc. unless. hence. that is why. etc. let us say. else. the first time. such … that. as if. Ex: This movie is not so/as good as you think. . etc. b) conjunctions of place – they introduce adverbial clauses of place: where.c) disjunctive conjunctions – when they express an alternative: or. if only. j) relative conjunctions . etc. Ex: Unless you stop yelling. by the time. Ex: She works hard because she has to raise four children. Ex: He didn’t take part in that race because he was not very well prepared. Ex: Although we are not very good friends. wherever. such as. even if. etc. whose. as … as.they introduce adverbial clauses of result: (so …) that. i) conjunctions of result . etc. namely. g) conjunctions of concession – they introduce adverbial clauses of concession: although. a) conjunctions of time – they introduce temporal clauses: after. for that reason. suppose. e) explicative conjunctions – when they help an explanation: because. etc. d) conjunctions of cause – they introduce adverbial clauses of cause: so. because. f) conjunctions of comparison – they introduce adverbial clauses of comparison: than. k) subject clause conjunction – it introduces subject clauses: that Ex: That you should go there is not surprising. etc. providing. There are several types of subordinating conjunctions and phrases. as if. we can’t continue our conversation. before. c) conjunctions of manner – they introduce adverbial clauses of manner: as. all the time. either … or. Ex: He won’t tell me where he’s going to spend his holiday. or else. that is why I couldn’t come to the meeting. as. in spite of. provided (that). for. if. etc. I feel sorry for her loss. on that account. whenever. h) conditional conjunctions – they introduce conditional clauses: as long as. m) attributive clause conjunction. as far as. so that. who. as though. 2) The subordinating conjunctions and phrases – they link the subordinate clause to the main clause. etc. so that we ended our work on time. now (that). as soon as. (ever) since. supposing. on condition (that). till. l) object clause conjunction . consequently.