The central concepts of grammar are grammatical meaning, grammatical form and grammatical category. These are abstractions that are the result of abstraction from the properties of many specific grammatical units and further generalization of these abstractions. If the grammatical meaning is the abstracted linguistic content of a grammatical unit, and the grammatical form is the material form of expression of this grammatical meaning, then the grammatical category is a set of homogeneous grammatical meanings represented by rows of grammatical forms opposed to each other (cf. the grammatical category of case or the category of number).

The grammatical category in its connections and relationships forms the core of the grammatical structure of the language (for example, in Russian, the grammatical forms of nouns convey the meaning of number, i.e. they interpret certain realities of the external world as singularity or plurality; the singular and plural forms of nouns are opposed to each other friend and form the grammatical category of number).

A grammatical category exists as a class of meanings united in a system of oppositions (for example, the grammatical category of case is united by the unity of the most abstract meaning of relations: ‘something relates to something’ and the opposition of particular relations - objective, subjective, attributive, etc.).

The relationship between a grammatical category and grammatical meaning is the ratio of the general (grammatical category) to the particular (grammatical meaning). A necessary feature of a grammatical category is also the unity of expression of grammatical meaning in the system of grammatical forms, therefore each grammatical category is a complex structure that unites a series of forms opposed to each other (for example, in many languages ​​of the world, within the category of gender of nouns, masculine, feminine and neuter forms are distinguished or at least male and female). The contrast between series of forms within a grammatical category is based on the presence/absence of formally expressed meaning in the contrasted forms (for example, in the Russian language, the masculine and feminine gender of nouns is opposed to the neuter gender, but the sign of the lack of neuter gender in nouns is the ability to form names for male and female persons ).

In different languages, the same grammatical category, depending on the number of opposed members, can be organized in different ways: there are two-term categories (cf. the category of number in the Russian language, where singular and plural numbers are distinguished), three-member categories (cf. the same category in Slovenian language, where there is a singular, plural and dual number), polynomial (as, for example, in the Papuan languages, where the same category also has a triple number).

The grammatical categories of a language are in close interaction with each other and tend to interpenetrate (for example, the category of person connects verbs and pronouns, the category of aspect is closely related to the category of tense, etc.), and this interaction of grammatical categories is observed not only within one parts of speech, but also different ones (cf., for example, the category of number connecting a name and a verb).

Grammatical categories are divided into morphological and syntactic. Morphological grammatical categories are expressed by lexical and grammatical classes of words - significant parts of speech (noun, adjective, verb, adverb, numeral, pronoun), cf. categories of aspect, voice, tense, mood, belonging to the verb or gender, number, case - name. Among these categories, inflectional and classification categories are distinguished. Morphological categories inflectional type- these are categories whose members are represented by forms of the same word within the framework of its paradigm (cf. in Russian the category of case in a name or the category of person in a verb). Morphological categories classification type - these are categories whose members cannot be represented by forms of the same word, i.e. these are categories that are internal to a word and do not depend on its use in a sentence (cf. in Russian the category of gender, animate/inanimate nouns or the category of verb aspect).

Syntactic grammatical categories- these are categories that belong primarily to syntactic units of language (cf. the category of predicativity or the category of sentence members that constitute the affiliation of such a syntactic unit as a sentence), however, they can also be expressed by units belonging to other language levels (in particular, the word and its form, which participate in the organization of the predicative basis of the sentence and form its predicativity, for example, the grammatical category of syntactic tense and mood).

The division of grammatical categories into morphological and syntactic is typical mainly for languages ​​of the inflectional type; in languages ​​of the agglutinative type, the boundaries between morphological and syntactic categories are erased.

Lexico-grammatical categories are combinations of words that have a common semantic feature that affects the ability of a word to express a particular morphological meaning. In the Russian language, for example, among nouns there are such lexical and grammatical categories as collective (cf. crow, nobility), distracted (love, fatherland), real (milk, cottage cheese) nouns that have features in expressing the category of number, namely: they are not capable of forming number forms, therefore they are used, as a rule, in the form of one number, most often singular.

Depending on the basis on which features these words are combined into categories, as well as their belonging to the same or different parts of speech, lexico-grammatical categories are divided into two types:

• 1) categories that combine words, belonging to one part of speech, having a common semantic feature and similarity in the expression of morphological categorical meanings (for example, in all languages ​​of the world, among nouns, the categories of proper and common nouns are distinguished, or the category of concrete nouns is opposed to the category of abstract ones, etc.);
• 2) categories, which are a grouping of words, belonging to different parts of speech, but united on the basis of common semantic and syntactic features (cf. in the Russian language the category of pronominal words that combines pronominal nouns: i, you, we, you, who etc., pronominal adjectives: what, such, every, my, our etc., pronominal numerals: as many, several, as etc., pronominal adverbs: where, when, there, everywhere and etc.; or the category of counting words, which, in addition to numerals, includes ordinal relative adjectives: first, second, fifth etc., some nouns: thousand, million, hundred, zero and etc.).

The grammatical systems of the world's languages ​​may vary:

• 1) the composition of grammatical categories and their number (for example, the category of aspect is inherent mainly in Slavic languages, the category of politeness - Japanese and Korean, the category of definiteness/uncertainty - English, French, German languages, the category of person or thing - Iberian-Caucasian languages ​​and etc.);
• 2) the number of opposed members within the same category (cf., for example, the category of case: the number of case forms in languages ​​where this category exists varies from 2, for example, in English, to 44 in the Tabasaran language);
• 3) the belonging of grammatical categories to one part of speech (for example, nouns in the Nenets language have the category of person and tense, in Mordovian - the category of definiteness/indeterminacy and personal-possessiveness, and in the Abkhaz language - the category of person/non-person, which is not found in any one of the Slavic languages);
• 4) the structure of grammatical categories (cf. in the Yazgulyam language, which belongs to the group of Pamir languages, the category of gender is organized according to the principle of semantic classes: masculine - the names of men and inanimate objects, feminine - the names of women and all animals).

In the process of historical development of a language, the volume of grammatical categories may change (cf. in the Old Russian language, the grammatical category of number was represented by singular, dual and plural numbers, but in the process of linguistic evolution the dual number was lost, and therefore in modern Russian this category is formed only two forms - singular and plural; the same applies to the category of case: the special form of the vocative case that existed in the Old Russian language was already lost by the 14th-15th centuries, and therefore a six-case system was formed in the modern Russian language).

A grammatical category is a system of opposing series of grammatical forms with homogeneous meanings. In this system, the defining feature is the categorizing feature, for example. a generalized meaning of time, person, voice, etc., combining a system of meanings of individual tenses, persons, voices, etc. and a system of corresponding forms. In widely accepted definitions of geopolitical significance, its meaning is brought to the fore. However, a necessary feature of grammatical language is the unity of meaning and its expression in the system of grammatical forms as bilateral (bilateral) linguistic units. GKs are divided into morphological and syntactic. Among the morphological categories, there are, for example, G. k. type, voice, tense, mood, person, gender, number, case; The consistent expression of these categories characterizes entire grammatical classes of words (parts of speech). The number of opposing members within such categories may be different: for example, G. c. of the genus is represented in Russian. language by a system of three rows of forms expressing the grammatical meanings of male and female. and Wed kind, and G. k. numbers - a system of two series of forms - units. and many more h. This characteristic is historically variable: cf., for example, three forms of number in Old Russian, including dual, and two in modern. rus. language.
In Russian The morphologies of G. k. are inflectional, the members of which can be represented by forms of the same word within its paradigm (for example, tense, mood, person of the verb, number, case, gender of adjectives, degrees of comparison), and non-inflectional ( classifying, classification), members of which cannot be represented by forms of the same word (for example, gender and animate - inanimate nouns). Whether certain GKs (for example, aspect and voice) belong to an inflectional or non-inflectional type is the subject of debate.
G. words also differ between syntactically identified (relational), i.e., indicating primarily the compatibility of forms as part of a phrase or sentence (for example, gender), and non-syntactically identified (referential, nominative), expressing primarily various semantic abstractions abstracted from the properties, connections and relations of extra-linguistic reality (for example, type, time); G. numbers such as, for example, number or person, combine the characteristics of both of these types.
Sometimes the term "G. To." applies to broader or narrower groupings compared to G. k. in the specified interpretation - for example, on the one hand, to parts of speech (“noun category”, “verb category”), and on the other hand, to individual members of categories ( “masculine category”, “plural category”, etc.).
In morphology, it is customary to distinguish from grammatical words the lexical-grammatical categories of words—subclasses within a certain part of speech that have a common semantic feature that influences the ability of words to express certain categorical morphological meanings. These are, for example, in Russian. in language, collective, concrete, abstract, material nouns; adjectives qualitative and relative; verbs are personal and impersonal; so-called methods of verbal action, etc.
The concept of G. k. was developed primarily by. based on morphological categories. The question of syntactic categories has been less studied; the boundaries of the application of the concept of geometrical language to syntax remain unclear. It is possible, for example, to highlight the communicative orientation of the utterance, constructed as a contrast between narrative, motivating and interrogative sentences; G. k. activity - passivity of sentence construction; G. k. syntactic tense and syntactic mood, forming the paradigm of the sentence, etc. The question of whether G. belongs to the technical sciences is also controversial. word-forming categories: the latter are not characterized by opposition and homogeneity within the framework of generalized categorizing features.

GRAMMAR CATEGORY, a system of opposing series of grammatical forms with homogeneous meanings. In this system, the defining feature is the categorizing feature (see Language category), for example, the generalized meaning of tense, person, voice, etc., which unites the system of meanings of individual tenses, persons, voices, etc. into the system of appropriate forms. A necessary feature of a grammatical category is the unity of its meaning and the expression of this meaning in the system of grammatical forms.

Grammatical categories are divided into morphological and syntactic. Among the morphological grammatical categories, there are, for example, the grammatical categories of aspect, voice, tense, mood, person, gender, number, case; The consistent expression of these categories characterizes entire grammatical classes of words (parts of speech). The number of opposed members within such categories can be different: for example, in the Russian language, the grammatical category of gender is represented by a system of three rows of forms expressing the grammatical meanings of masculine, feminine and neuter, and the grammatical category of number is represented by a system of two rows of forms - singular and plural . In languages ​​with developed inflection, grammatical categories are inflectional, that is, those whose members can be represented by forms of the same word within its paradigm (for example, in Russian - tense, mood, person of the verb, number, case, gender, degrees comparisons of adjectives) and non-inflectional (classifying, classification), that is, those whose members cannot be represented by forms of the same word (for example, in Russian - gender and animate-inanimate nouns). The belonging of some grammatical categories (for example, in Russian - aspect and voice) to an inflectional or non-inflectional type is the subject of debate.

There are also grammatical categories that are syntactically identified, that is, indicating, first of all, the compatibility of forms as part of a phrase or sentence (for example, in Russian - gender, case), and non-syntactically identified, that is, expressing, first of all, various semantic abstractions, abstract from the properties, connections and relations of extra-linguistic reality (for example, in Russian - type, time); grammatical categories such as number or person combine features of both of these types.

The languages ​​of the world differ:

1) by the number and composition of grammatical categories; compare, for example, the category of verb aspect specific to some languages ​​- Slavic and others; the category of the so-called grammatical class - person or thing - in a number of Caucasian languages; the category of definiteness-indeterminacy, inherent primarily in languages ​​with articles; the category of politeness, or respectfulness, characteristic of a number of Asian languages ​​(in particular, Japanese and Korean) and associated with the grammatical expression of the speaker’s attitude towards the interlocutor and the persons in question;

2) by the number of opposed members within the same category; compare the traditionally identified 6 cases in the Russian language and up to 40 in some Dagestan ones;

3) by which parts of speech contain one or another category (for example, in the Nenets language, nouns have the categories of person and tense). These characteristics may change during the historical development of one language; compare three forms of number in Old Russian, including dual, and two in modern Russian.

Lit.: Shcherba L.V. About parts of speech in the Russian language // Shcherba L.V. Selected works on the Russian language. M., 1957; Gukhman M. M. Grammatical category and structure of paradigms // Research on the general theory of grammar. M., 1968; Katsnelson S. D. Typology of language and speech thinking. L., 1972; Lomtev T. P. Sentence and its grammatical categories. M., 1972; Typology of grammatical categories. Meshchaninov readings. M., 1973; Bondarko A. V. Theory of morphological categories. L., 1976; Panfilov V. 3. Philosophical problems of linguistics. M., 1977; Lyons J. Introduction to theoretical linguistics. M., 1978; Kholodovich A. A. Problems of grammatical theory. L., 1979; Russian grammar. M., 1980. T. 1. P. 453-459; Typology of grammatical categories. L., 1991; Melchuk I. A. Course of general morphology. M., 1998. T. 2. Part 2; Gak V.G. Theoretical grammar of the French language. M., 2004.

GRAMMAR CATEGORY, system of opposing rows grammatical forms with homogeneous values. In this system, the defining feature is the categorizing feature (see. Language category), for example, a generalized meaning of time, person, voice, combining a system of meanings of individual times, persons, voices and a system of corresponding forms. In widely accepted definitions of geopolitical significance, its meaning is brought to the fore. However, a necessary feature of a grammar is the unity of its meaning and the expression of this meaning in the system of grammatical forms as bilateral (bilateral) linguistic units.

GKs are divided into morphological and syntactic. Among morphological G. k. are distinguished, for example, G. k. type, voice, tense, mood, person, gender, number, case a; The consistent expression of these categories characterizes entire grammatical classes of words (parts of speech). The number of opposing members within such categories may vary; For example, in the Russian language the gender class is represented by a system of three rows of forms expressing grammatical meanings masculine, feminine and neuter, and G. k. numbers - a system of two series of forms - singular and plural. In languages ​​with developed inflection Inflectional phrases differ, i.e., those whose members are represented by forms of the same word within the framework of its paradigm (for example, in Russian - tense, mood, person of the verb, number, case, gender of adjectives, degrees of comparison adjectives) and non-inflectional (classifying, classification), i.e. those whose members cannot be represented by forms of the same word [for example, in Russian - gender and animate-inanimate nouns (see. Animacy-inanimateness category)]. The belonging of some GKs (for example, in the Russian language - aspect and voice) to an inflectional or non-inflectional type is a subject of debate.

Syntactically detectable(relational) G. words indicate, first of all, the compatibility of forms as part of a phrase or sentence (for example, in Russian - gender, case), non-syntactically detectable(referential, nominative) G. words express, first of all, various semantic abstractions abstracted from specific properties, connections and relations of extra-linguistic reality (for example, in the Russian language - type, tense); G. words, such as number or person, combine the characteristics of both of these types.

The concept of morphology was developed primarily on the basis of morphological categories. The question of syntactic category X; the boundaries of the application of the concept of geometrical language to syntax remain unclear.

The term "G. To." also applies to wider or narrower groupings of linguistic units compared to G. k. in the specified interpretation; for example, on the one hand, to parts of speech (“noun category”, “verb category”), and on the other hand, to individual members of categories (“feminine category”, “singular category”, etc.).

In morphology it is customary to distinguish from G. k. lexico-grammatical categories of words- such subclasses within a certain part of speech that have a common semantic feature that affects the ability of words to express certain categorical morphological meanings. Such, for example, in the Russian language are collective, concrete, abstract, material nouns; qualitative and relative adjectives; personal and impersonal verbs; so-called modes of verbal action (see Aspectology).

The languages ​​of the world differ: 1) in the number and composition of languages; cf., for example, specific to Slavic languages and some other languages ​​the category of verb aspect; category so-called nominal class - person or thing - in a number Caucasian languages ; certainty-uncertainty category, inherent primarily in languages ​​with articles; the category of politeness (respectfulness), characteristic of a number of Asian languages ​​(in particular, Japanese and Korean) and associated with the grammatical expression of the speaker’s attitude towards the interlocutor and the persons in question; 2) by the number of opposed members within the same category; Wed traditionally distinguished 6 cases in Russian and up to 40 in some Nakh-Dagestan languages; 3) by which parts of speech contain one or another category (for example, in the Nenets language, nouns have the categories of person and tense). These characteristics may change during the historical development of one language; Wed three forms of number in Old Russian language, including dual, and two in modern Russian. Chomsky N. Categories and relations in syntactic theory // Chomsky N. Aspects of the theory of syntax. M., 1972; Typology of grammatical categories. Meshchaninov readings. M., 1973; Panfilov V.Z. Philosophical problems of linguistics. M., 1977; Lyons J. Introduction to theoretical linguistics. M., 1978; Kholodovich A. A. Problems of grammatical theory. L., 1979; Typology of grammatical categories. L., 1991; Melchuk I. A. Course of general morphology. M., 1998. T. 2. Part 2; Vinogradov V.V. Russian language. (Grammatical doctrine of words). 4th ed. M., 2001; Zaliznyak A. A. Russian nominal inflection. M., 2002; Gak V. G. Theoretical grammar of the French language. M., 2004; Bondarko A. V. Theory of morphological categories and aspectological studies. 2nd ed., M., 2005; Russian grammar. 2nd ed. M., 2005. T. 1; Plungyan V. A. General morphology: Introduction to problems. 3rd ed. M., 2009.