Substantivized numerals

Numerals can be substantivized, that is, take formal nominal features: the plural suffix -s, an article, and the ability to combine with adjectives and some other modifiers of nouns. When numerals undergo substantivization not only their morphology is changed, but also their meaning. Thus when the numerals hundred, thousand and million are substantivized they acquire the meaning "a great quantity", as in:

- hundreds of books, thousands of people, millions of insects, etc.

Other numerals, both cardinals and ordinals, can also be substantivized.

Cardinals are substantivized when they name:

1) school marks in Russia

(E.g. He got a two. He got three fives)

Or school marks in Great Britain

(E.g. He got ten. He got three nines last week).

2) sets of persons and things:

They came in twos. They followed in fours. Form fours!

3) playing cards:

the two of hearts, the five of spades, the seven of diamonds, the ten of clubs, three of trumps.

4) boats for a certain number of rowers:

a four, an eight.

5) decades:

in the early sixties, in the late fifties, etc.

The meaning of substantivized ordinals is less affected by substantivi­zation and remains the same:

(E.g. He was the first to come.

She was the fourth to leave).

Chapter VI.. The Adverb

General Notion

The adverb is a word denoting circumstances or characteristics which attend or modify an action, state, or quality. It may also intensify a quality or characteristics.

From this definition it is difficult to define adverbs as a class, because they comprise a most heterogeneous group of words, and there is consi­derable overlap between the class and other word classes. They have many kinds of form, meaning and function. Alongside such undoubtful adverbs as here, now, often, seldom, always, there are many others which also function as words of other classes. Thus, adverbs like dead (dead tired), clear (to get clear away), clean (I've clean forgotten), slow, easy (he would say that slow and easy) coincide with corresponding adjectives (a dead body, clear waters, clean hands). Adverbs like past, above are homonymous with prepositions. There is also a special group of pronominal adverbs when, where, how, why used either as interrogative words or as connectives to introduce subordinate clauses.

Where shall we go? (an interrogative pronominal adverb)

We’ll go where you want (a conjunctive pronominal adverb).

Some adverbs may be used rather like a verb, as in “Up. Jenkins! Down, Peter!” where the first word is like an imperative.

In many cases the border-line between adverbs and words of the other classes is defined syntactically.

He walked past. (Adverb)

He walked past the house. (Preposition)

They took the dog in. (Adverb)

They left the dog in the house. (Preposition)

He did everything slowly but surely. (Adverb)

Surely you know him. (Modal word)

There are three adverbs connected with numerals: once, twice, and thrice (the latter being archaic). They denote measure or frequency. (E.g. She went there once a week. I saw him twice last month. Twice is also used in the structure twice as long, etc. He is twice as tall as his brother. She is twice as clever).

Beginning with three the idea of frequency or repetition is expressed by the phrases three times, four times; (E.g. He went there four times; he is four times as bigger; she is ten times clevere r).

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