Zero-marking in English
Encyclopedia
Zero-marking in English is the indication of a particular grammatical function by the absence of any morpheme
(word, prefix, or suffix). The most common types of zero-marking in English involve zero articles, zero relative pronouns, and zero subordinating conjunctions. Examples of these are I see cats (where the absence of the definite article the signals that cats is an indefinite reference whose specific identity is not known to the listener), that's the cat I saw, in which the relative clause (that) I saw omits the implied relative pronoun that that would be the object of the clause's verb, and I wish you were here, in which the dependent clause (that) you were here omits the subordinating conjunction that.
In some varieties
of English
, grammatical information that other English varieties typically express with grammatical function word
s or bound morpheme
s may be omitted. For example, where most varieties of English utilize explicit plural
morphemes (e.g. singular mango versus plural mangoes), West Indian creole
speakers refer to plural objects without such morphology (I find one dozen mango.).
The lack of marking
to show grammatical category
or agreement
is known as zero-marking or zero morpheme
realization. This information is typically expressed with prepositions, articles
, bound morpheme
s or function word
s in other varieties of English.
the or a(n). English omits the article before a noun if the noun is a mass noun
or a plural, either in an indefinite reference or in a definite but generic reference. For example:
In English, the zero article rather than the indefinite article is often used with plurals and mass nouns (although the word "some" can be used as an indefinite plural article):
The definite article is sometimes omitted before words such as prison, school, bed, and (in standard non-American dialects) hospital, hence:
when this is a generalisation rather than a specific location.
Where a particular location is meant, then the definite article is used, namely
In some nonstandard forms of British English
, the is omitted in places that standard English has it, leading to sentences such as:
It's possible to discern, for example, in Lancashire and Yorkshire English accents a minuscule pause in place of the definite article. Often there is a slight staccato on the preceding word. That is, to is reduced to a simple t or tuh. Thus, "Am going tuh _ pub", or "Am going __ pub" where to is entirely replaced by a pause or a glottal stop
. The "t" sound may also be appended to the preceding word even if the pause is present.
The zero article is also used in instructions and manuals. In such cases, the articles in a text are all definite, and thus no distinction between definite and indefinite has to be made.
from a dependent clause in two principal situations: when it stands for the object of the dependent clause's verb, and when it stands for the object of a preposition in the dependent clause. For example:
Furthermore, English has a type of clause called the reduced object relative passive clause, exemplified by
Here both the relative pronoun "that" and the passivizing auxiliary verb "was" are omitted. This type of clause can cause confusion on the part of the reader or listener, because the subordinate-clause verb ("raced") appears in the usual location of the main-clause verb (immediately after the subject of the main clause). However, this confusion cannot arise with an irregular verb having a past participle that differs from the past tense, as in
in which the dependent clause (that) you were here omits the subordinating conjunction that.
, as in
which also is occasionally expressed with the pronoun explicit (You go now).
Zero to is the nonstandard absence of the word "to" in places where standard English has it leading to sentences like this:
Zero of refers to the nonstandard deletion of "of" in places where it exists in standard English leading to sentences like this:
in some places where standard English has it
, leading to sentences like this:
Zero if refers to the nonstandard deletion of "if" where standard English has it, leading to sentences like this:
Zero past marking is the absence of the past marker "ed" occurring in some nonstandard dialects of English, such as Caribbean English
. Instead of an ending, the past is dealt with in other ways. The feature leads to sentences like this:
Zero plural marking is the absence of the plural markers "s" and "es" occurring in some nonstandard dialects of English, such as Caribbean English
. The plural is instead marked by an article or number. This leads to sentences like:
In grammar, zero plural also refers to the irregular plural where the singular form and the plural form are the same i.e. I have one sheep OR I have two sheep.
Zero possessive marking is the absence of the possessive marker "'s" in some nonstandard varieties of English, such as African American Vernacular English
leading to sentences like:
Zero third person agreement is the absence of the third person forms of verbs ending in "s" and "es" occurring in some nonstandard dialects of English, such as African American Vernacular English
. This feature is widely stigmatized as being a solecism
.
Morpheme
In linguistics, a morpheme is the smallest semantically meaningful unit in a language. The field of study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology. A morpheme is not identical to a word, and the principal difference between the two is that a morpheme may or may not stand alone, whereas a word,...
(word, prefix, or suffix). The most common types of zero-marking in English involve zero articles, zero relative pronouns, and zero subordinating conjunctions. Examples of these are I see cats (where the absence of the definite article the signals that cats is an indefinite reference whose specific identity is not known to the listener), that's the cat I saw, in which the relative clause (that) I saw omits the implied relative pronoun that that would be the object of the clause's verb, and I wish you were here, in which the dependent clause (that) you were here omits the subordinating conjunction that.
In some varieties
Variety (linguistics)
In sociolinguistics a variety, also called a lect, is a specific form of a language or language cluster. This may include languages, dialects, accents, registers, styles or other sociolinguistic variation, as well as the standard variety itself...
of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, grammatical information that other English varieties typically express with grammatical function word
Function word
Function words are words that have little lexical meaning or have ambiguous meaning, but instead serve to express grammatical relationships with other words within a sentence, or specify the attitude or mood of the speaker...
s or bound morpheme
Bound morpheme
In morphology, a bound morpheme is a morpheme that only appears as part of a larger word; a free morpheme is one that can stand alone.Affixes are always bound. English language affixes are either prefixes or suffixes. E.g., -ment in "shipment" and pre- in "prefix"...
s may be omitted. For example, where most varieties of English utilize explicit plural
Plural
In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one...
morphemes (e.g. singular mango versus plural mangoes), West Indian creole
English-based creole languages
An English-based creole language is a creole language that was significantly influenced by the English language...
speakers refer to plural objects without such morphology (I find one dozen mango.).
The lack of marking
Marker (linguistics)
In linguistics, a marker is a free or bound morpheme that indicates the grammatical function of the marked word, phrase, or sentence. In analytic languages and agglutinative languages, markers are generally easily distinguished. In fusional languages and polysynthetic languages, this is often not...
to show grammatical category
Grammatical category
A grammatical category is a semantic distinction which is reflected in a morphological paradigm. Grammatical categories can have one or more exponents. For instance, the feature [number] has the exponents [singular] and [plural] in English and many other languages...
or agreement
Agreement (linguistics)
In languages, agreement or concord is a form of cross-reference between different parts of a sentence or phrase. Agreement happens when a word changes form depending on the other words to which it relates....
is known as zero-marking or zero morpheme
Null morpheme
In morpheme-based morphology, a null morpheme is a morpheme that is realized by a phonologically null affix . In simpler terms, a null morpheme is an "invisible" affix. It is also called a zero morpheme; the process of adding a null morpheme is called null affixation, null derivation or zero...
realization. This information is typically expressed with prepositions, articles
Article (grammar)
An article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Articles specify the grammatical definiteness of the noun, in some languages extending to volume or numerical scope. The articles in the English language are the and a/an, and some...
, bound morpheme
Bound morpheme
In morphology, a bound morpheme is a morpheme that only appears as part of a larger word; a free morpheme is one that can stand alone.Affixes are always bound. English language affixes are either prefixes or suffixes. E.g., -ment in "shipment" and pre- in "prefix"...
s or function word
Function word
Function words are words that have little lexical meaning or have ambiguous meaning, but instead serve to express grammatical relationships with other words within a sentence, or specify the attitude or mood of the speaker...
s in other varieties of English.
Zero article
The zero article is the omission of the articleArticle (grammar)
An article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. Articles specify the grammatical definiteness of the noun, in some languages extending to volume or numerical scope. The articles in the English language are the and a/an, and some...
the or a(n). English omits the article before a noun if the noun is a mass noun
Mass noun
In linguistics, a mass noun is a noun that refers to some entity as an undifferentiated unit rather than as something with discrete subsets. Non-count nouns are best identified by their syntactic properties, and especially in contrast with count nouns. The semantics of mass nouns are highly...
or a plural, either in an indefinite reference or in a definite but generic reference. For example:
- indefinite mass noun: I drink coffee
- definite generic mass noun: Happiness is contagious
- indefinite plural noun: I saw cars
- definite generic plural noun: Cars have accelerators
In English, the zero article rather than the indefinite article is often used with plurals and mass nouns (although the word "some" can be used as an indefinite plural article):
- Visitors usually end up walking in mud.
The definite article is sometimes omitted before words such as prison, school, bed, and (in standard non-American dialects) hospital, hence:
- She is in hospital.
- He went to prison.
- They went to bed.
- I'm going to school.
when this is a generalisation rather than a specific location.
Where a particular location is meant, then the definite article is used, namely
- He was taken to the prison.
- She was collected from the hospital.
- We were jumping on the bed.
In some nonstandard forms of British English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
, the is omitted in places that standard English has it, leading to sentences such as:
- I'm going to shop. (I'm going to the shop)
- I'm driving down road. (I'm driving down the road)
It's possible to discern, for example, in Lancashire and Yorkshire English accents a minuscule pause in place of the definite article. Often there is a slight staccato on the preceding word. That is, to is reduced to a simple t or tuh. Thus, "Am going tuh _ pub", or "Am going __ pub" where to is entirely replaced by a pause or a glottal stop
Glottal stop
The glottal stop, or more fully, the voiceless glottal plosive, is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. In English, the feature is represented, for example, by the hyphen in uh-oh! and by the apostrophe or [[ʻokina]] in Hawaii among those using a preservative pronunciation of...
. The "t" sound may also be appended to the preceding word even if the pause is present.
The zero article is also used in instructions and manuals. In such cases, the articles in a text are all definite, and thus no distinction between definite and indefinite has to be made.
- Grasp drumstick. Place knife between thigh and body; cut through skin to joint. Remove leg by pulling out and back. Separate thigh and drumstick at joint.
Zero relative pronoun
English can omit the relative pronounRelative pronoun
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that marks a relative clause within a larger sentence. It is called a relative pronoun because it relates the relative clause to the noun that it modifies. In English, the relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, whosever, whosesoever, which, and, in some...
from a dependent clause in two principal situations: when it stands for the object of the dependent clause's verb, and when it stands for the object of a preposition in the dependent clause. For example:
- "That's the car I saw" (="That's the car that I saw")
- "That's the thing I'm afraid of" (="That's the thing of which I'm afraid")
Furthermore, English has a type of clause called the reduced object relative passive clause, exemplified by
- "The horse raced past the barn fell" (="The horse that was raced past the barn fell")
Here both the relative pronoun "that" and the passivizing auxiliary verb "was" are omitted. This type of clause can cause confusion on the part of the reader or listener, because the subordinate-clause verb ("raced") appears in the usual location of the main-clause verb (immediately after the subject of the main clause). However, this confusion cannot arise with an irregular verb having a past participle that differs from the past tense, as in
- "The horse taken past the barn fell" (="The horse that was taken past the barn fell")
Zero subordinating conjunction
Often the subordinating conjunction that is optionally omitted, as in- "I wish
in which the dependent clause (that) you were here omits the subordinating conjunction that.
Zero pronoun in imperative
Like many languages, English usually uses a zero pronoun in the second person of the imperative moodImperative mood
The imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :...
, as in
- "Go now"
which also is occasionally expressed with the pronoun explicit (You go now).
Zero prepositions
Zero at refers to the nonstandard deletion of "at", at a place in a sentence where standard English has it, leading to sentences like this:- "Meet me five" (meet me at five)
- "We were eating the restaurant" (we were eating at the restaurant)
- "I'll be the store" (I'll be at the store)
Zero to is the nonstandard absence of the word "to" in places where standard English has it leading to sentences like this:
- "I set the clothes out dry" (I set the clothes out to dry)
Zero of refers to the nonstandard deletion of "of" in places where it exists in standard English leading to sentences like this:
- "I have a box chocolates" (I have a box of chocolates)
- "They had a piece pie" (they had a piece of pie)
Other zero-marked forms
Zero do is the nonstandard absence of the word "do" or "did" in African American Vernacular EnglishAfrican American Vernacular English
African American Vernacular English —also called African American English; less precisely Black English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular , or Black Vernacular English —is an African American variety of American English...
in some places where standard English has it
Do-support
In English grammar do-support or do-insertion refers to the use of the auxiliary verb do in negative or interrogative clauses that do not contain other auxiliaries....
, leading to sentences like this:
- "What you hit me for?" (What did you hit me for?)
- "How much those flowers cost?" (How much do those flowers cost?)
Zero if refers to the nonstandard deletion of "if" where standard English has it, leading to sentences like this:
- "You'll get there on time you hurry up" (you'll get there on time if you hurry up)
Zero past marking is the absence of the past marker "ed" occurring in some nonstandard dialects of English, such as Caribbean English
Caribbean English
Caribbean English is a broad term for the dialects of the English language spoken in the Caribbean, most countries on the Caribbean coast of Central America, and Guyana. Caribbean English is influenced by the English-based Creole varieties spoken in the region, but they are not the same. In the...
. Instead of an ending, the past is dealt with in other ways. The feature leads to sentences like this:
- "Yesterday, I watch television.
- "I had pass the test.
Zero plural marking is the absence of the plural markers "s" and "es" occurring in some nonstandard dialects of English, such as Caribbean English
Caribbean English
Caribbean English is a broad term for the dialects of the English language spoken in the Caribbean, most countries on the Caribbean coast of Central America, and Guyana. Caribbean English is influenced by the English-based Creole varieties spoken in the region, but they are not the same. In the...
. The plural is instead marked by an article or number. This leads to sentences like:
- "I have two cat" (I have two cats)
In grammar, zero plural also refers to the irregular plural where the singular form and the plural form are the same i.e. I have one sheep OR I have two sheep.
Zero possessive marking is the absence of the possessive marker "'s" in some nonstandard varieties of English, such as African American Vernacular English
African American Vernacular English
African American Vernacular English —also called African American English; less precisely Black English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular , or Black Vernacular English —is an African American variety of American English...
leading to sentences like:
- "I went to my father house" (I went to my father's house)
Zero third person agreement is the absence of the third person forms of verbs ending in "s" and "es" occurring in some nonstandard dialects of English, such as African American Vernacular English
African American Vernacular English
African American Vernacular English —also called African American English; less precisely Black English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular , or Black Vernacular English —is an African American variety of American English...
. This feature is widely stigmatized as being a solecism
Solecism
In traditional prescriptive grammar, a solecism is something perceived as a grammatical mistake or absurdity, or even a simply non-standard usage. The word was originally used by the Greeks for what they perceived as mistakes in their language...
.