Inanimate in the plural. Animate and inanimate nouns. Animate and inanimate nouns

It seems that distinguishing between animate and inanimate objects is indecently simple: it’s like a game of animate and inanimate. But those who are guided by this principle are very mistaken. Animation, like, accordingly, inanimateness, is a separate category in the characteristic that has nothing to do with external signs some object. How can we explain the fact that, according to the rules, the word “corpse” is considered inanimate, and “dead” is considered animate? Acting at random? In no case! We'll figure out.

For the little ones

Let's start with the very basics. Animate and inanimate objects answer different questions - "who" and "what" respectively. We can say that asking a question is the most primitive, albeit very unreliable, way of defining this category. Usually children are introduced to it in the first or second grade. To practice this method, you can fill in the gaps in the following text with your students:

« The great (what?) flows in sleepy oblivion. Around (what?) and (what?). (Who?) slowly moved his skis, shook (what?) his hats from his ears. (Who?) quickly made a hole, and (what?) began. Soon he pulled out a huge one (who?). His mirror (what?) glittered brightly in the sun" Words to be inserted: ice, scales, fisherman, frost, river, carp, snow, fishing. One word is repeated twice.

Grammar explanation

But it's worth moving on, right? How can you determine whether an object is animate or inanimate based on rules rather than intuition? The difference between these two categories lies in the different case forms of the nouns. Inanimate nouns have the same nominative and plural form, while animate nouns have the same genitive and accusative form in the same number. Of course, it will be much easier to understand with specific examples.

Let's take the noun " cat" We put it in the plural “cats” and begin to decline: nominative - “ cats", genitive - " cats", accusative - " cats" - as you can see, the forms of the genitive and accusative cases coincide. Whereas for the noun " table", which to define this category turns into " tables" when declension " tables-tables-tables» the accusative and the accusative are the same

Thus, the rule allows dividing an animate and an inanimate object only by placing them in the plural and subsequent declension. And then, based on the coincidence of case forms, this category is determined.

Exceptions

But, as you know, there are very few rules in the Russian language that do not have any exceptions. Thus, it is sometimes possible to separate animate and inanimate objects logically. Yes, all living beings will be animate, but at the same time they belong to the same category mythical creatures (goblin-goblin-goblin-goblin) and names of toys ( matryoshka-matryoshka-matryoshka) - here you can still find a logical explanation. As well as card and chess suits ( pike-pike-pike, pawns-pawns-pawns), which even in their shapes do not fit this category.

Go ahead. Inanimate nouns, in turn, include large groups of people ( crowd-crowd-crowd) and some living organisms ( germs-germs-germs; microbes-germs-germs) - it is impossible to explain this phenomenon, you just have to accept and remember.

More difficulties

I would also like to add that animate and inanimate objects in the grammatical sense have their own characteristics. So, for example, for animate nouns male The forms of the genitive and accusative cases coincide and in the singular: Anton-Anton-Anton, accountant-accountant-accountant However, this phenomenon is observed only in second declension nouns (compare: Dima-Dima-Dima, although this is also an animate masculine noun). So, in principle, this pattern can be used as another simple, albeit not very well-known, way of determining the category of animation in nouns.

I want to confuse

It is worth noting that in the Russian language there is an image of an inanimate object as an animate one. This is usually associated with the use of the word as an analogy to a living being: There is a mattress in the barn - Yes, it is a weak-willed mattress! or The Russian language is great and powerful! - This tongue (=captive) will tell us everything.

Exactly the same phenomenon occurs with the use of animate nouns as inanimate ones: A kite flies in the blue sky; The fighter began to descend. Here the category of animate and inanimate is determined based on the semantic content of the noun.

It is worth noting that, despite all the teachers’ demands to use the rules, most students continue to rely on intuition. As the above examples show, inner instinct is not always a reliable assistant in matters of philology. We can definitely say that names of professions, names of people by family affiliation, nationality and other groups will always be animate, and this also includes the names of animals. By the way, among animate nouns, as some researchers believe, there are only masculine and feminine words, while the neuter gender is already inanimate, like all names of natural objects and other objects.

Practice for the little ones

Now that we have figured out how to distinguish one category of nouns from another, it is worth summarizing all of the above. Animate and inanimate objects for preschoolers, who still have no idea what cases are, differ in the questions of “who” and “what,” respectively. For practice, you can play “living-non-living” with your kids, where a word is called, and the child must determine what this object is.

Or another interesting task for younger schoolchildren - to offer a number of animate nouns that can be turned into inanimate by replacing one letter: fox (linden), goat (braid), heron (drop).

I would like to finish the article on how to distinguish between animate and inanimate objects by saying that, no matter how simple this topic may seem, it is better not to tempt fate and not act at random, trusting your intuition. Taking a minute to check the category of a noun can sometimes change the way you think about it. So spare no effort and practice the great and mighty Russian language.

A word that denotes an object or a sign of an object, but does not name it, is called a pronoun. Pronouns are divided into several groups, each of which has its own grammatical characteristics.

Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns change by case: if they are used in a sentence as a subject, then they stand in nominative case; if they are used as a complement, then they stand in objective case.

The pronoun "I" is always written with capital letters. The pronouns "he / she" are used to refer to animate persons; "it" - in relation to inanimate objects, abstract concepts and animals. The pronoun "they" is used to refer to both animate and inanimate objects.

Possessive pronouns. (Possessive Pronouns)

Possessive pronouns serve as modifiers of nouns and always take place before the nouns they define. Unlike the Russian language, where there is a pronoun “svoy”, used with all persons, English possessive pronouns are used strictly in accordance with the pronouns. If there is a need to use a possessive pronoun without a noun, then there is a special form called the absolute form.

In English, possessive pronouns are used much more often and are simply obligatory with nouns denoting parts of the body, items of clothing and relatives, and possessive pronouns are used instead of a noun to avoid repetition

Julie's car is red. Mine is blue.

Possessive pronouns are used without an apostrophe.

The dog wagged its tail.

“It"s” is not a possessive pronoun or adjective — it means “it is”:

It's not my dog.

Reflexive pronouns. (Reflexive Pronouns)

Pronouns ending in “-self (-selves in the plural)” are called reflexive. Reflexive pronouns show that the action named in the sentence is directed at the person who performs it, therefore the reflexive pronoun must be related in form to the subject.

Forms of reflexive pronouns

Use

1. When the subject and object are the same:

I hurt myself. (I got hurt.)

The band call themselves “Dire Straits”.

He shot himself.

2. When a preposition is used

I bought a present for myself.

She did it by herself. (She did it alone.)

That man is talking to himself.

3. When we want to emphasize the subject

I"ll do it myself. (No one else will help me.) - I will do it myself.

They eat all the food themselves. (No one else had any.)

Demonstrative pronouns. (Demonstrative pronouns)

Demonstrative pronouns change according to numbers. Moreover, the pronoun “this” denotes an object located next to the speaker, and “that” - at a considerable distance; “that” can also be translated into Russian by the words “this, this”. In a sentence, demonstrative pronouns can be used as a subject, a noun modifier, or an object.

This is my father. And that is my uncle.

Its my father. And there is my uncle.

I don't like these apples. I don't like these apples.

They are too sour. They are too sour.

This is not salt. It's sugar. This is not salt. This is sugar.

Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns include all, each, either, neither, both, some, any, no, none, much, many, little, few, other, one.

Some, any, no

To indicate that they mean a certain number of (several) countable objects or a certain amount of substance, in English the pronoun “some” is used in affirmative sentences, and “any” in interrogative and negative sentences. These pronouns are usually pronounced without stress and do not allow any articles to be used before the noun.

Some - several, a little

Any- any amount

No - no, not at all

Take some glasses from that shelf. Take some glasses from that shelf.

Pour some water in them. Pour water into them.

Don't take any books from the case. Don't take books from the closet.

Have you got any money? Do you have any money?

The pronoun "any", in turn, can be used in affirmative sentences to mean "any", for example:

Take any cup you like. Take any mug you like.

The pronoun "no" has a negative meaning "no" and explains the noun, for example:

There is no milk in the jug. There is no milk in the jug.

He has no friends. He doesn't have (any) friends.

From the pronouns "some, any, no" complex pronouns can be formed: "somebody - anybody - nobody; something - anything - nothing; somewhere - anywhere - nowhere", and the same rules of use in different types of sentences apply to them as for "some, any, no". Pronouns formed with "-body" are used only in relation to people and are combined with a verb only in the singular. Pronouns formed with "-thing" are used to refer to inanimate objects and concepts.

There is somebody in the office. There is someone in the office.

Is there anybody at home? Is anyone at home?

I saw nobody in the garden. I didn't see anyone in the garden.

There is something wrong with him. Something happened to him.

He can do anything for you. He will do anything for you.

If you use negative pronouns "nobody, nothing" in a sentence, then the negative particle "not" is not required, since in English there can only be one negation.

Nobody knows anything about it. Nobody knows anything about this.

There is / There are

If they want to emphasize the presence or absence of an object or person in a certain place, the sentence begins with the construction “there is / there are (plural)”, followed by a noun denoting this person or object and the circumstance of the place. Translation of such a construction begins with the adverbial location:

There are many English books in his library. There are many English books in his library.

There is a chair at the table. There is a chair at the table.

The form of the verb "to be" in such constructions agrees with the first noun that follows it.

There is a dictionary and some books on the shelf. There is a dictionary and several books on the table.

There are flowers and a box of chocolates on the table. There are flowers and a box of chocolates on the table.

Are there any letters for me? Are there any letters for me?

Is there milk or juice in the jug? Is there milk or juice in the jug?

How many books are there in your library? How many books are in your library?

Negation can be formed in two ways: using negative pronoun"no" or the negative particle "not" and the pronoun "any".

There is no note for you. There is no note for you.

There isn't any news in her letter.

Many, few, a few, much, little, a little.

Pronouns "many, few, few, several". The pronouns "many" - a lot and "few" - are rarely used only as definitions for countable nouns in the plural.

They have many friends in London. They have many friends in London.

He has few friends. He is very lonely. He has few friends. He is very lonely.

There are many ways to solve this problem. There are many ways to solve this problem.

The pronouns "much" - many and "little" - are rarely used with uncountable nouns (abstract concepts, substances...).

There is little milk in the cup. There is not enough milk in the cup.

We spend a lot of time on this experiment. We spend a lot of time on this experiment.

Do you have much money on you? Do you have a lot of money with you?

I have very little time. I do not have much time.

The combination “a few” means “several” and is used only with countable nouns; with uncountable nouns the combination “a little” is used, which means “little”.

Will you give me a little water? Can you give me some water?

I bought a few apples. I bought some (several) apples.

Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns include the pronouns who who, what that, who (by profession), which, whose whose, which which. Interrogative pronouns are used to form special questions.

Who headed our delegation to the Trade Unions Conference? Who headed our delegation at the Trade Union Conference?

Doesn't always know what is what. He always knows what's what.

What do you know about the World Peace Council? What do you know about the World Peace Council?

If an interrogative pronoun is combined with a preposition, the preposition is usually placed at the end of the sentence:

What are you reading about? What are you reading about?

Whom are you speaking to? Who are you talking to?

The pronoun who refers to persons, the pronoun what refers to objects. But the pronoun what can also refer to persons when asked about profession or occupation:

Who is that? - That is Mister N. Who is this? - This is Mr. N.

What is Mister N.? - He is an officer. Who (by occupation, by profession) is Mr. N.? - He is an officer.

More from primary school you have an idea of ​​living and inanimate nature. Nouns also name objects of living and inanimate nature. And nouns are divided into animate and inanimate. But it's not that simple. Many interesting linguistic discoveries await you as you learn to distinguish animate nouns from inanimate ones.

All common nouns in the Russian language are divided into two categories: animate and inanimate. Animate nouns answer the question “who?”, and inanimate nouns answer the question “what?”

For example, "who?" - boy, dog, bird; "What?" - book, stone, earth.

1. Category of animation - inanimateness - grammatical category

It seems that everything is simple: the category of animateness - inanimateness is based on the distinction between living and inanimate. However, in Russian there are often cases when the grammar contradicts common sense. Suffice it to remember the synonyms dead body And dead man.

The noun "corpse" is inanimate, and the noun "dead" is animate. The difference is found only in the form of V.p. units: I see a dead man - I see a corpse, cf.: I see an elephant - I see a chair.

Animate nouns have the same plural forms V.p. and R.p. (and for nouns m.p. of the 2nd declension and forms V.p. and R.p. singular), but for inanimate ones - not. Inanimate nouns have the same I.p. forms. and V.p. plural.

I see (who?) elephants, but there are no (who?) elephants; I see (who?) mice, but there are no (who?) mice.

I see (what?) books, no (what?) books; I see (what?) at homé, there are no (what?) houses.

Animate nouns include the names of people, animals, insects, etc., that is, living beings. Inanimate nouns are the names of objects, phenomena of reality that are not classified as living beings.

2. Please pay attention

Note:

• names of chess and card pieces and nouns “dead”, “dead”, as well as names of dolls ( parsley, puppet) and the word “doll” itself are animate nouns;
• and words that name a collection of living beings: army, people, crowd, flock, students, humanity etc. are inanimate nouns.

Basically, animate nouns include masculine and feminine nouns. There are few animate neuter nouns in the Russian language. This includes several nouns with the suffix -ishe ( monster, bogeyman), individual nouns (formed from adjectives or participles): mammal, insect, animal And

nouns child, face(meaning “person”).

3. Common mistakes

Errors in the use of the category of animation - inanimate nouns can be divided into two groups:

First- using inanimate nouns as animate ones, for example: Everyone looked at him like he was ghost. Let's check using the formula “V.p. plural = R.p. plural": (I see) ghosts- (No) ghosts. The endings don't match, so it's a noun ghost - inanimate, therefore the sentence, according to the grammatical norms of the Russian language, should look like this: Everyone looked at him like he was ghost.

Second- using animate nouns as inanimate ones. For example: When he carried securities, he was given two people to accompany him. Right: When he was carrying securities, they gave him a guidetwo people.

Remember: in constructions with compound numerals ending in two three four, V.p. the numeral retains the form Imp.p., regardless of the category of animation. For example: The driver needed to deliver twenty three athlete.

Bibliography

1. Russian language. 6th grade / Baranov M.T. and others - M.: Education, 2008.
2. Babaytseva V.V., Chesnokova L.D. Russian language. Theory. 5-9 grades - M.: Bustard, 2008.
3. Russian language. 6th grade / Ed. MM. Razumovskaya, P.A. Lekanta. - M.: Bustard, 2010.

1. Terver.ru ().
2. Hi-edu.ru ().

Homework

Exercise 1.

Write the words in 2 columns - animate nouns and inanimate nouns:

Creature, janitor, monster, tin, journalism, youth, insect, engine, coal, corpse, warmth, stubbornness, student, hazel grouse, mushroom, doll, peddler, midges, foot soldier, spirit, Sakhalin, kids, squad, steel, coal, poverty, cap, infantry, small fry, general, herd, canned food, table, larva, aluminum, snake, red tape, crow, fox, humanity, relatives, boyar, Karakum, horse, young animals, genius, youth, bell, milk, chick, silk, stuffed animal, pea, tentacle, peas, comrade, cooking, oil, dishes, cement, poor, relative, sugar, tea, honey, teapot, yeast, tea leaves, herd, whiteness, pity, stubborn, hero, furniture, radiance, delight, heroism, running, journalist, walking, pearls, generality, pearl, freshness, crow.

Exercise No. 2

Read the fairy tale by L. Uspensky:

A raft is floating along the river. A fat lazy cat sits motionless on the shore. The raft asks the cat:

Are you alive?

How can you prove it?

I'm moving.

I'm swimming and you're sitting.

If I want, I will move.

I am a great raft, alive, and cats are inanimate. You are a thing, and I exist.

The cat thought and said:

I will prove to you grammatically exactly who is who and what is what. I will kill you in the accusative case. Your nominative cannot resist my accusative.

Help the cat, prove that he is right. Using the elements of an argumentative essay, complete the fairy tale.

You are already familiar, and although, at first glance, their use is not at all complicated, many students get confused even in this simple topic. We are going to tell you little secrets that will help you clearly distinguish between the pronouns “it” and “they”, “them” and “their”. Let's start in order.

It

« It"(he, she, it, it) is a pronoun used for lifeless things and animals.

• I have a new dress; it is silk. – I have a new dress; it's silk.
• The bird is hungry – feed it. - The bird is hungry - feed it.

Google shortcode

« It” is often used to refer to a young child, especially if the child's gender is not specified.

• The baby is crying because it has a stomachache. – the child is crying because his stomach hurts.

« It" can refer to the statement contained in the first part of the sentence.

• I have made a mistake and I know it. – I made a mistake and I know it.

« It" can act as the subject in .

• It is snowing. - snowing.
• It is Spring now. - spring is now.
• It is difficult to learn English grammar. – It’s difficult to learn English grammar.
• It is 5 o'clock. - It’s 5 o’clock now.

« It" is used in the same sentence with a collective noun:

• The company has taken a decision to sell its products at lower prices. – the company decided to sell its products at a lower price.
• The jury will return with its verdict very soon. – the jury will return with its decision very soon.

But when a collective numeral implies the individual members that make it up, “they” should be used instead of “it”.

• The company divided in their opinion regarding some aspects. – Company members were divided on certain aspects.

They

« They" (they) are used in relation to people in general: " They say, love is blind”, regarding the authorities in general: “ They warned me that would cut off my gas”.

"They" can be a subject implying the plural noun mentioned earlier:

• Take these chocolates as they are very tasty — take these chocolates, because... they are very tasty
• Such things may be very expensive, but they are very beautiful - such things may be very expensive, but they are also very beautiful.

Them

« Them" is the pronoun “they” in the objective case - “to them, by them, theirs,” which indicates a relationship with a plural noun, for example:

• They are my friends and I like them. – they are my friends and I love them.
• We have good dictionaries and you can use them. – we have good dictionaries, and you can use them.

Their

Concerning " their”(them), this is a plural possessive pronoun formed from “they”, expressing the belonging of an object to a plural noun:

• My friends have visited me. These are their things. – my friends visited me. These are their things.
• We help our employees and their families. – we help our employees and their families.

The pronouns “their” and “them” are often confused because they can be translated the same way: “their” (whom? - accusative case) and “them” (whose? - expresses belonging), but you need to follow the context and use each of the pronouns for their intended purpose.

Test: it, they, them, their

1. You have a camera with you, so it is easy to take beautiful photos and send…. to your family.

2. I managed to complete my test and hand … to the teacher on time.

3. Take off your dirty boots and leave… outside.

4. If she drinks too much coffee, … may cause heart problems.

What happens if a washing machine or a cup of tea goes online? What if the number of inanimate users is hundreds of times greater than the number of living Internet users? Experts say a new era will dawn in the coming decades. And today’s Internet of data and people will give way to tomorrow’s Internet of Things.

The ITU cites the late Mark Weiser, once chief scientist at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. He once said that the most powerful, advanced and profound technologies are “those that disappear, weave themselves into the fabric Everyday life until they dissolve in it.”

In this regard, UN experts say that specialized devices such as computers will slowly disappear, while the ability to process information will appear everywhere in our environment.

“The Internet of Things will enable forms of collaboration and communication between people and things, and between things themselves, that we have not previously imagined,” the authors of the report predict.

Ant examines RFID microchips that link inanimate objects to the Internet (illustration from sun.com).

Creating smaller, smarter everyday items is becoming not only technologically possible, but also economically viable.

However, people will have to solve a number of problems. And perhaps one of the most important will be the ability to convince users to adopt emerging technologies. Especially things like RFID microchips and other tracking things, which many believe infringe on the freedoms and rights of citizens. This also includes concerns related to nanotechnology.