1. “Appellative or generic nouns, or names of species of individual existence, e.g. man, mountain, tree, house, garment.” Here shape and substance are both included, and the indefinite article can be prefixed in all cases.
2. “Material nouns, e.g. corn, gold, water.” Here matter only is embraced, while the limitation of form must be supplied by other words, as “a bushel of corn,” “a handful of gold,” “a cup of water,” “a sceptre of iron.” Nordheimer, Hebrew Grammar, vol. II. 796, invents no name for the former words in these cases, merely saying that the second limits the first in meaning. He considers them all concrete nouns.
3. “Collective nouns, or nouns which though singular in form, yet express a multitude.”
4. “Abstract nouns or names of qualities or modes of existence, abstracted from the object with which they are in combination.” Numeral particles and nouns of measure and shape must be placed here, although they are thereby associated with a multitude of mental and moral terms, with which they have little in common. Abstract nouns might form two classes distinguished as material and moral.
5. “Relative nouns, e.g. father, king.” Since the second class material nouns furnishes the matter of which the words ‘bushel,’ ‘handful’, ‘cup,’ etc. supply the form, perhaps these auxiliary words should be called formal nouns, and form a sixth class.
154. The classes (1), (2), (5) and part of (4), are embraced in the preceding section; The remainder form the subject of the present. With regard to their use, combined with the numeral, they cover the ground of the article a, an in the class, and of the auxiliary words in the second.
- Thus, a mountain, 一座山 ih zú‘ san.
- Call a man, 告一个人來 kau‘ ih kú‘ niun lé.
- Two measures of rice, 二斗米 ní‘ ’teu ’mí.
- A cup of cold water, 一碗冷水 ih ’wén ’láng ’sz.
Obs. In Hebrew no word like of is necessary, e.g. shébet (constr.) barzel, a sceptre of iron. Lat. virga ferrea.
155. The number and the auxiliary word are both necessary to the idiom, but the latter is sometimes used alone after the substantive, as noticed in [Art. 111]. Yet in this case, the same construction is admissible. Thus we have,
- 兩間房間 ’liáng kan vong kan, two rooms.
- 兩條鋼條 ’liáng diau kong diau, two steel springs.
- 三隻船隻 san tsáh zén tsáh, three boats.