Some Issues in the Morphological and Syntactic Description of Numerals

The article addresses issues in the morphological and syntactic analysis of numerals. After citing the views of various linguists, it proposes a solution based on the principles outlined in the normative grammar of the Bulgarian language, which is currently under development. The first part of the text examines the views on the inflection of numerals, such as whether certain numerals inflect for gender and number, and whether they should be regarded as forms or separate lexemes. The article also discusses the scope of the class of numerals in terms of the lexemes that are included in it. The second part focuses on determining the head and dependent in simple syntactic groups consisting of a numeral and a noun, an issue on which linguists hold diverse and often conflicting views.