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70. A Noun is
a word used as the name of a being or a thing `Thing' includes,
besides all visible things, also quality, state, action etc.
ܟ `Ram', `Sita', `mother', ܽ `son', ܽ
`daughter', `boy', ڟ `man', ܡ `cow', Ŭ
`chair', ܽ `table', ܽ `gold', `silver', ܣ
`hous', ܛ `forest', `street', ڽ `country' ۣ
`city', ܃ `height', ۣ܃ `depth', ܥ `redness,
`܍ܜܛ `childhood', ܨܛ `youth', ܛ `birth', ܼܺ
`death', ܁܃ `study', `sleep', etc.
71. A Noun-may
be the name of a particular being or thing: ܟ Ram,
`Sita', ܟܡܵ `The Ramayana'. These are called proper
Nouns.
72. A Noun denoting
a class of beings or ``things'' is called a Common Noun :
`father', ܺ `teacher', `lion', `king',
ܣ `house', `river' ` mountain', ܟܺ `sea',
ܛ `forest', `street', ڽ `country' ۣ `city',
܃ `height', ۣ܃ `depth', ܥ `redness, `܍ܜܛ
childhood', ܨܛ `youth', ܛ `birth', ܼܺ `death',
܁܃ `study', `sleep', etc.
73. Common Nouns
denoting abstract things like quality, state, action, idea,
are usually put under a separate class and called Abstract
Nouns: ܺ `merit, virtue', `habit' ܍ܜܛ `childhood',
ܰ `friendship'.
74. Common Nouns
denoting a ``formless mass'' or material are called Mass Nouns
or Material Nouns:
ܛ `water',
ܽ `iron', ܽ `gold', ܡ `tea', ڻ `milk', ƈţ
`sugar'.
75. Common Nouns
denoting a collection of beings or things are called Collective
Nouns:
ܽ `army',
`crowd', Œ `family', ܞ `assembly'.
Note:- The division
of Common Nouns into Common, Abstract, Material and Collective
is hardly of any significance so far as Hindi is concerned.
It may, however, help in understanding the nature of Noun.
See also 77 (b).
76. Forms
of Hindi Nouns usually undergo slight changes in order to
indicate ``Gemder'', ``Number'' and ``Case''.
`boy',
`girl', `boys', ܽ ܽ `to the boys';
`night', ܽ `nights', ܽ `in the night'; ܣ
`house', ܣ ܽ `in the house', ܣܽ ܽ `in the houses'.
Gender
77. (a) There
are two Gender in Hindi, Masculine and Feminine. The Hindi
Gender system is partly `natural' (based on sex) and partly
`grammatical' (based on usage). Names of living beings which
are male are (with a few exception) Masculine: `boy',
ܾ `bull'. Names of female beings are Femine: `girl',
ܡ `cow'.
(b) In the
case of names of inanimate things and Abstract, Collective
and Material Nouns, Gender is determined partly by form (e.g.
in case of Nouns ending in i, which are Feminine) but mainly
by usage. A few rules ofr determining Genders and for formation
of Feminine Nouns (such as and ) are given
in Appendix II.
(c) It may be
noted that Feminine Nouns derived from Masculine ones acquire
an independent existence, having the same grammatical status
as the original Masculines.
(d) Many languages
have a third Gender, the Neuter, for indicating inanimate
things. Hindi has, for all practical purposes, lost this gender.
But its traces can still be noticed in the Pronouns ơ `what',
and Ŏ `something'. [See 111 (i) and 112 (i)] and in certain
case-forms [See 94 (c]
(e) Present tendency
in Hindi is to use some words in the Common gender eg. ܿ,
ܰ etc.
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