View source for Nominative case

{{Short description|Grammatical case}}
{{Grammatical categories|Subfields1}}
In [[grammar]], the '''nominative case''' ([[list of glossing abbreviations|abbreviated]] {{sc|'''nom'''}}), '''subjective case''', '''straight case,''' or '''upright case''' is one of the [[grammatical case]]s of a [[noun]] or other part of speech, which generally marks the [[subject (grammar)|subject]] of a [[verb]], or (in Latin and formal variants of English) a [[Predicative expression|predicative nominal or adjective]], as opposed to its [[object (grammar)|object]], or other [[Argument (linguistics)|verb arguments]]. Generally, the noun "that is doing something" is in the nominative, and the nominative is often the form listed in dictionaries.

==Etymology==
The English word ''nominative'' comes from [[Latin]] ''cāsus nominātīvus'' "case for naming",<ref>{{L&S|nominativus|ref}}</ref> which was translated from [[Ancient Greek]] ὀνομαστικὴ πτῶσις, ''onomastikḗ ptôsis'' "inflection for naming",<ref>{{LSJ|o)nomastiko/s|ὀνομαστικός|ref}}</ref> from ''onomázō'' "call by name",<ref>{{LSJ|o)noma/zw|ὀνομάζω}}</ref> from ''ónoma'' "name".<ref>{{LSJ|o/noma|ὄνομα}}</ref> [[Dionysius Thrax]] in his [[The Art of Grammar]] refers to it as ''orthē&#769;'' or ''eutheîa'' "straight",<ref>Dionysius Thrax. [https://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/graeca/Chronologia/S_ante02/DionysiosThrax/dio_tech.html τέχνη γραμματική] (Art of Grammar), section ιβ´ (#12): περὶ ὀνόματος (On the noun). Bibliotheca Augustana.</ref> in contrast to the [[oblique case|oblique]] or "bent" cases.

== Characteristics ==
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2019}}
The reference form (more technically, the ''least [[markedness|marked]]'') of certain parts of speech is normally in the nominative case, but that is often not a complete specification of the reference form, as the number and the gender may need to be specified. Thus, the reference or least marked form of an adjective might be the nominative masculine singular.

The parts of speech that are often [[Declension|declined]] and therefore may have a nominative case are nouns, adjectives, pronouns and (less frequently) numerals and participles. The nominative case often indicates the subject of a verb but sometimes does not indicate any particular relationship with the other parts of a sentence. In some languages, the nominative case is unmarked, and it may then be said to be marked by a [[null morpheme]]. Moreover, in most languages with a nominative case, the nominative form is the [[lemma (morphology)|lemma]]; that is, it is the reference form used to cite a word, to list it as a dictionary entry etc.

Nominative cases are found in [[Albanian language|Albanian]], [[Arabic]], [[Estonian language|Estonian]], [[Sanskrit]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Georgian language|Georgian]], [[German language|German]], [[Latin]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], [[Old English]], [[Old French]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Serbian language|Serbian]], [[Czech language|Czech]], [[Romanian language|Romanian]], [[Russian language|Russian]] and [[Pashto language|Pashto]], among other languages. English still retains some nominative [[pronoun]]s, which are contrasted with the [[accusative case|accusative]] (comparable to the [[oblique case|oblique]] or [[disjunctive case|disjunctive]] in some other languages): ''I'' (having the accusative ''me''), ''we'' (having the accusative ''us''), ''he'' (having the accusative ''him''), ''she'' (having the accusative ''her''), ''they'' (having the accusative ''them'') and ''who'' (having the accusative ''whom''). A usage that is [[Old English|archaic]] in most current English dialects is the singular second-person pronoun ''[[thou]]'' (accusative ''thee''). A special case is the word ''you'': originally, ''ye'' was its nominative form and ''you'' the accusative, but over time, ''you'' has come to be used for the nominative as well.

The term "nominative case" is most properly used in the discussion of [[nominative–accusative language]]s, such as Latin, Greek and most modern Western European languages.

In [[active–stative language]]s, there is a case, sometimes called nominative, that is the most marked case and is used for the subject of a [[transitive verb]] or a voluntary subject of an [[intransitive verb]] but not for an involuntary subject of an intransitive verb. Since such languages are a relatively new field of study, there is no standard name for this case.

===Subjective case===
English is now often described as having a '''subjective case''', instead of a nominative, to draw attention to the differences between the "standard" generic nominative and the way that it is used in English.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/personal-pronoun#personal-pronoun__5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630085208/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/personal-pronoun#personal-pronoun__5 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 30, 2013 |title=Personal pronoun |work=Oxford Dictionaries |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=2016-01-29 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Grammar Handbook « Writers Workshop: Writer Resources « The Center for Writing Studies, Illinois|url = http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/nouncase/|website = www.cws.illinois.edu|access-date = 2015-09-23}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = What Is the Subjective Case? (grammar lesson)|url = https://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/subjective_case.htm|website = www.grammar-monster.com|access-date = 2015-09-23|first = Craig|last = Shrives}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = What Is the Subjective (or Nominative) Case?|url = http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/subcaseterm.htm|access-date = 2015-09-23|archive-date = 2015-09-23|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150923090127/http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/subcaseterm.htm|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = Subjective and Objective Case @ The Internet Grammar of English|url = http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/nouns/objectiv.htm|website = www.ucl.ac.uk|access-date = 2015-09-23}}</ref> The term '''objective case''' is then used for the [[oblique case]], which covers the roles of accusative, dative and objects of a preposition. The [[genitive case]] is then usually called the ''possessive'' form, rather than a noun case ''per se''. English is then said to have two cases: the subjective and the objective.

==Examples==
===Subject===
The nominative case marks the subject of a verb. When the verb is active, the nominative is the person or thing doing the action ([[agent (grammar)|agent]]); when the verb is passive, the nominative is the person or thing receiving the action.
*'''The boy''' saw her.
*'''She''' was seen by the boy.

===Predicate noun or adjective===
In [[Copula (linguistics)|copular sentences]], the nominative is used for both subject and predicate.
*'''Socrates''' was '''a wise man'''.
*'''Socrates''' was '''wise'''.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Grammatical cases}}

{{Authority control}}{{More categories|date=December 2024}}
[[Category:Grammatical cases]]
[[Category:Grammar]]
[[Category:Grammatical construction types]]
[[Category:Language]]