Nouns

Fun with Numbers

Adjectives, Adverbs, Nouns, Number, Verbs

I realized recently that I did not know well how to express different types of numbers in Italian.

I started thinking about examples in English and realized that there are several types of numbers and number-related words.

It became a game to list examples of these different types in English.

The game became more interesting when I determined that there was very little coverage about this topic on the Web.

For example, Wikipedia has an article about the names of numbers in English, but this article does not cover every type of number and number-related word that I could identify.

Because my list kept growing, I decided to wait a bit before trying to create the same list for Italian.

Here is my list for English:

  • One, two, three, … :
    • Name: These are called “cardinal numbers”, or “cardinals” for short.
    • Use: Cardinal numbers are for counting things. Two sets of objects (e.g., automobiles and flowers) have the same “cardinality” if the two sets have the same number of objects.
    • Form: These words can act as nouns or adjectives.
  • First, second, third, … :
    • Name: These are called “ordinal numbers”, or “ordinals” for short.
    • Use: Ordinal numbers are for ordering things (that is, placing things in a certain order).
    • Form: These words can act as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. The word “second” can also act as a verb.
  • Once, twice, thrice, … :
    • Name: I do not know the name for this type of number-related word.
    • Use: These words are for referring to the number of times, occasions, or instances or for referring to an n-fold quantity or degree.
    • Form: These words act only as adverbs.
  • Single, double, triple, … :
    • Name: I do not know the name for this type of number-related word.
    • Use: These words are for referring to the number of parts, kinds, or degrees or for referring to a group, set, or series.
    • Form: These words can act as nouns, adjectives, or verbs.
  • Twin, triplet, quadruplet, … :
    • Name: As with “one”, “two”, “three”, etc., these words also are defined as “cardinal numbers”.
    • Use: These words can be used to refer to items as a collection. These words can also be used to refer to any item in such a collection.
    • Form: These words act as nouns. The word “twin” can also act as an adjective or a verb.
  • Singular, plural, trial … :
    • Name: These are called “grammatical number” in linguistics.
    • Use: Among their many uses, these words are for expressing count distinctions in grammar.
    • Form: These words can act as adjectives or nouns.

I am sure that I missed some number-related words, but that is part of the fun of this exercise!

“Home Theater Install Unit”

Adjectives, Common English Blunders, Devolution toward Simpler, Nouns, Verbs

My wife saw this yesterday on the side of a delivery truck.

Problem:
The sign maker used a verb where an adjective was required.

Explanation:
The delivery truck belonged to a retailer that sells home-theater systems.

The retailer uses the truck to deliver new home-theater systems for installation.

This gives us the solution. The word “Install” is incorrect on the sign because it is a verb. The sign maker should have used the word “Installation”, which is a noun that can be used as an adjective.

Unfortunately, at least in American English, it has become a common English blunder to use the verb “install” as if it were a noun, which it is not.

I believe that the misuse of “install” as a substitute for “installation” is consistent with my “Devolution toward Simpler” linguistic hypothesis. It is simpler to write the seven-letter, two-syllable word than to write the twelve-letter, four-syllable word.

Solution:
“Home Theater Installation Unit”

“Put a notation in the document.”

Nouns

I heard this during a conference call.

Problem:
The speaker used one noun where another noun would be preferable.

Explanation:
The person who said “Put a notation in the document.” was asking another conference-call attendee to record something in a document that we were reviewing during the call.

However, the noun “note” is preferable in this context to the noun “notation” for a few reasons:

  1. Most dictionaries define the noun “notation” primarily as the method or process of noting.
  2. Use of the noun “notation” as a substitute for the noun “note” adds nothing to what is defined for the noun “note”.
  3. “Notation” is an eight-letter, three-syllable noun, whereas “note” is a simpler, four-letter, one-syllable noun.

The conference-call speaker who said “notation” where “note” would be preferable probably was trying to sound more educated, but this is an example of someone sacrificing clarity and simplicity for appearance.

Solution:
“Put a note in the document.”