English learners are found facing difficulties with different grammatical terms often used in the English language. Well, first of all, let me assure you of the fact that you are not the only one facing such difficulties. Today English has become a global language and millions of people around the globe want to learn English for various purposes. The fact they all have in common is that they all face difficulties in learning English as a foreign language at one level or the other.

Today’s post is dedicated to one such grammatical term known as “Case” which is associated with the grammatical functions of nouns or pronouns.

Definition: The relation of a noun or a pronoun with other words in a sentence is known to be a Case.

In other words, a case indicates the grammatical function of a noun or pronoun in a sentence.

For Example, “The child plays with a ball.”

In the given example “The child” is the subject. It is the answer to the question “Who plays with a ball ?”. The group of words “plays with a ball” is the Predicate. “A ball” is the answer to the question “What does the child play with?”. The noun “ball” is therefore called the object.

To this day there are three principal cases in practice in the English language. They are –

A. Nominative or the Subjective Case
B. Accusative or the Objective Case
C. Genitive or the Possessive Case

A. Nominative or the Subjective Case

When a noun or pronoun acts as the subject of a verb, it is considered to be in the Nominative or Subjective Case.

Consider the following examples:

(i) The bus passed the stop.

(ii) She needs some water.

(iii) The car hit the wall.

In the first sentence “The bus” is the subject of the verb “passed”. It is the answer to the question “Who or what passed the stop?”

Again in the second sentence “She” is the subject of the verb “needs” and it is the answer to the question “Who needs some water?”

In the third sentence “The car” is the subject of the verb “hit”. It is the answer to the question “Who or what did hit the wall?”

But keep in mind that the terms Nominative and Subjective are slightly different in respect of their usages. When the action is performed from a simple noun or pronoun the term Nominative is used. But when a number of words such as a phrase or a clause are used as the subject in a sentence, the term Nominative cannot be applied. However, both the terms can be applied indifferently in cases where the subject is a simple noun or pronoun.

*** Another form of the Nominative Case is the “Noun in Apposition”.

Arnold, my friend, won the trophy today.

In the sentence above, “Arnold” and “my friend” is the same person. The noun “friend” follows the noun “Arnold” just to indicate which Arnold is referred to.

In such a construction where one noun follows another, the noun that follows is considered to be in apposition to the noun which it follows. And, the Noun in Apposition remains in the same case as the noun which it follows or indicates.

To be precise, in the sentence given above, the noun “friend” is in apposition to the noun “Arnold”. And both the nouns “Arnold” and “friend” are in the Nominative Case.

But you must follow the examples below to have a better idea:

(i) Last night she went to meet her neighbor, a doctor.

Here the noun in apposition is in the Accusative Case which has been explained below.

(ii) I want to meet Mr. Watson, the chief.

The noun “chief” is in apposition to the noun “Watson” and is in the Accusative case.

B. Accusative or the Objective Case

I think now you have already guessed what the Objective Case is.

When a noun or pronoun is used as the object to a verb or a preposition, it is said to be in the Accusative or Objective Case.

Consider the following examples:

(i) She cooked vegetables.

(ii) He kicked the boy.

(iii) The child danced on the stage.

Now in the first sentence, the noun “vegetables” is the answer to the question “What did she cook?”. The noun “vegetables” is, therefore, the object of the verb “cooked”.

In the second example if we ask the question “Whom did he kick?” , we get the answer “the boy”. “The boy” is, therefore, the object of the verb “kicked”.

In the third example the noun with a determiner “the stage” comes after the preposition “on” and is, therefore, an object to it. Rather it is governed by the preposition.

The nature of the objective case is divided into two types.

(a) Accusative Case: When the noun or the pronoun in the Objective Case is a direct object, it is in the Accusative Case.

Now, what is a Direct Object?

The direct object is the object that we get by asking the question “what”. Such as-

He told me a story.

Here in the sentence above the noun “story” is the answer to the question “What did he tell me?” Therefore the noun “story” is in the Accusative Case.

(b) Dative Case: When the noun or the pronoun in the Objective Case is an indirect object, it is in the Dative Case.

Now, what is an Indirect Object?

The indirect object is the object that we get by asking the question “whom”. In the same sentence as-

He told me a story.

The pronoun “me” is the answer to the question “Whom did he tell a story?” Therefore the pronoun “me” is in the Dative Case.

C. Genitive or the Possessive Case

The Possessive or the Genitive Case of a noun or pronoun is used to denote ownership or possession or some other relationship. It answers the question “Whose?”

Consider the following examples:

(i) This is Mr. Smith’s house.

(ii) Children’s playground.

(iii) Tagore’s plays.

In the first example, the form of the noun Smith is changed to “Smith’s” to show ownership or possession. The house belongs to Mr. Smith.

Sometimes the Possessive Case is used to denote relationships other than just possession. In the second example, the form of the noun children is changed to “Children’s” to mean a playground for children.

The third example denotes authorship. The form of the noun Tagore is changed to “Tagore’s” to mean the plays written by Tagore.

But one should know that Grammarians consider the term “Possessive” for “Genitive” misleading. These terms don’t mean the same thing.

The fact is the Genitive Case does not only express possession. It is used to convey other meanings as well. Cases for example, “Peter’s house” clearly expresses possession but “Shakespeare’s plays” clearly expresses authorship. Both the cases are Genitive but the former is Possessive.

There are more of it and you can visit the link below with an in-depth discussion on the formation and usage rules of the Possessive case.

https://www.straightfreeenglish.com/how-to-form-and-use-the-possessive-case/

*** Another case is the Vocative Case of a noun or pronoun. When a noun or pronoun is used to address a person directly, it is said to be in the Vocative Case. Such noun or pronoun is separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma.

Consider the following examples:

(i) Steve, did you do your homework?

(ii) Don’t run in the sun, little girl.

(iii) Niki, your father has come to receive you!

Bye for now and have a good time.

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