| Nature | Forme |
|---|---|
| Positif | inanimate \ɪ.ˈnæn.ə.ˌmɪt\ ou \ɪ.ˈnæn.ɪ.ˌmət\ |
| Comparatif | more inanimate \ˌmɔɹ ɪ.ˈnæn.ə.ˌmɪt\ ou \ˌmɔː ɪ.ˈnæn.ɪ.ˌmət\ |
| Superlatif | most inanimate \ˌmoʊst ɪ.ˈnæn.ə.ˌmɪt\ ou \ˌməʊst ɪ.ˈnæn.ɪ.ˌmət\ |
inanimate \ɪ.ˈnæn.ə.ˌmɪt\ (États-Unis), \ɪ.ˈnæn.ɪ.ˌmət\ (Royaume-Uni)
| Singulier | Pluriel |
|---|---|
| inanimate \ɪ.ˈnæn.ə.ˌmɪt\ ou \ɪ.ˈnæn.ɪ.ˌmət\ |
inanimates \ɪ.ˈnæn.ə.ˌmɪts\ ou \ɪ.ˈnæn.ɪ.ˌməts\ |
inanimate \ɪ.ˈnæn.ə.ˌmɪt\ (États-Unis), \ɪ.ˈnæn.ɪ.ˌmət\ (Royaume-Uni)
English also differentiates between humans versus non-human animates and inanimates with respect to which relative pronoun is used: compare the book which I read; the bird which flew away (not *the book whom I read or *the bird who flew away) and the girl whom I saw (not *the girl which I saw). We could, in fact, refine the English animacy hierarchy to something like proper nouns and kin terms > humans > other animates > inanimates.— (Viveka Velupillai, An Introduction to Linguistic Typology, 2012, ISBN 9789027211989, p. 158)