Nouns - IALA

 We will discuss about Nouns in authoritative Interlingua.

General View on Nouns

Nouns can end in -o/a/e or consonants. Nouns have no grammatical genders. It means, the endings do not affect anything grammatically like in English.

Example:

Tabula 'table'

Flore 'flower'

Uso 'use, usage'

Real genders or sexes

Real genders or sexes of living beings can be in masculine -o and feminine -a. This only implies the real sexes and have no implications grammatically. It works as in English (lion, lioness, actor, actress, etc.).

Example:

Asino 'male donkey'

Asina 'female donkey'

Italiano 'male Italian'

Italiana 'female Italian'

Plural Forms

The plural form is generally end with -S for vowel endings, -ES for consonant endings, and -CHES for C ending to make it hard C.

Examples:

Tabulas 'tables'

Flores 'flowers'

Usos 'usages, uses'

Irregular plurals occur only in "guest words". which have retained their foreign identity. This is super rare and normally unused.

le test: le tests [English]

le lied: le lieder [German]

le addendum: le addenda [Neo-Latin]

le: Abruzzi [Italian]

Learned terms ending in -is form their plural as though the singular had a final -e: 

Example:

genesis (or genese) > geneses

hepatitis > hepatites.

Singular compounds with second elements already in the plural have no distinct plural. The only way to give the plurality is through number. But this is also rare. You can also rephrase them to make them pluralizable in some cases.

Example:

un guardacostas: duo guardacostas  (coastguard)

un guardator de costas: duo guardatores de costas. (guard of coast)

un rumpenuces: duo rumpenuces  (nutcracker)

un paracolpos: duo paracolpos (bumper)

Case Forms

There are no CASE FORMS. The functions of the genitive and dative in other languages are taken over by prepositions. Basically, the nouns work like in English through words order (subject, direct object, indirect object) and preposition (a, de, al, del, etc.).

Example:

de Deo 'God's, of God'

a Deo 'God, to God'

Ille invia flores a su matre

 'He sends his mother flowers, He sends flowers to his mother'

Ilia recipe le flores de su filio 

'She receives her son's flowers'

Nos paga taxas al governamento 

'We pay the government tax money, We pay tax money to the government'

le debitas del governamento 

'the government's debts, the debts of the government'

Modifier Noun

The noun that modify the meaning of the later. In American English phrases like "skim milk" etc are normal. But in British English, we must use the adjectival versions like "skimmed milk". This is true in Interlingua as well. We either use the adjevtival versions or attach De (of) to the nouns. Sometimes we can use A/Pro (for), but De will suffice.

Example:

Tempo hibernal (adjectival)

(wintry weather, winter weather)

Tempo de hiberne (possessional)

(weather of winter, winter weather)

Canto nocturnal (adjectival)

(Nocturnal/nightly song, night song)

Canto de nocturne (possessional)

(Song of the night, night song)

Proper Nominal Modifier

We use proper noun (human name) to modify the noun in some technical phrases as is. It's just like in English. But, we give the plural -S to the modifies noun (not the personal name).

Example:

Contator(es) Geiger

(Geiger counter(s))

Motor(es) Diesel

(Diesel motor(s))

Appositional Modifier

It is called appositional because the adjectives' forms are the same with their nomimal counter part (virgine adj, virgine n.). That is why, the form looks like noun-noun apposition. Although, some of the modifiers have different or no adjectival forms at all.

Example:

foresta virgine 'virgin forest'

arbore nano 'dwarf tree'

wagon restaurante 'dining car'

nave domo 'house boat'

The use of apposition is very frequent with nouns of agents (-ista, -ator).

Example:

mi amico capitalista 'my capitalist friend'

apparato generator 'generating device'

In the plural the appositive may take an -s. If the modifier has the same form for both its nominal and adjectival form (virgine adj, virgine n.), we will only pluralize the first part. Suffixes like -ator, and -ista will follow this rule. If it does not have any adjectival forms or the forms both its adjectival and nominal forms exist and different, we will pluralize both parts.

Example:

Naves domos 'house-boats'

apparatos generator 'generating apparatuses/tools'

 forestas virgine 'virgin forests'

When the appositive has distinct forms for male and female, their use is governed by the fact of sex.

Example:

mi amico cantator e mi amica cantatrice

'my singer friend (masc.) and my singer friend (fem.)'