English Grammar - Noun – Case

 

English Grammar

Noun – Case

 

Cases indicate the grammatical functions of nouns and pronouns according to their relation with rest of the words in a sentence.

In English there are five cases:

1.               Subjective Case or Nominative Case

2.               Objective Case or Accusative Case

3.               Dative Case

4.               Possessive Case or Genitive Case

5.               Vocative Case or Nominative of Address

 

Subjective Case or Nominative Case

Nouns or pronouns used as the subject of a verb in a sentence are called the subjective case or nominative case. This case is also used for a subject complement. In other words, it is the case used for a noun or pronoun that is the subject of a verb.

Examples:

Sam is finding out the problem.

He is finding out the problem.

She is a lawyer.

Jill will sing the song.

She will sing the song.

Tina is a singer.

Sam will come here tomorrow.

He will come here tomorrow.

He is a professor.

He is very busy with the new business.

Alex is very busy with the new business.

He is a business-man.

Tina is designing the visiting card.

She is designing the visiting card.

She is a graphic designer.

Anny is writing the articles.

She is writing the articles.

Max will assist you in this project.

He will assist you in this project.

Subjective Pronouns

The subjective or nominative pronouns are I, we, you (singular/ plural), he, she, it, they and who. A subjective pronoun acts as a subject in a sentence.

Examples:

I have a big car.

You have some milk.

He has a cake.

We could have a party.

They could come, too.

Who should be invited?

I drive to work.

He enjoys dancing.

We bought the lodge.

They are fighting over the property line.

The player, who won the game was the guest of honor.

 

Objective Case or Accusative Case

The noun or pronoun which is the direct object of a verb or the object of a preposition is called the objective or accusative case.

The objective or accusative case refers to the case used for a noun or pronoun that is a direct object of a verb.

Examples:

They have met Alice.

He has met her.

The doctor is taking care of Sam.

The doctor is taking care of her.

The teacher is teaching Sam.

The teacher is teaching him.

Jim is writing a letter.

They are coming to meet me.

I am preparing a design.

Jack is doing the assignment.

Jenn is preparing the meal.

We are going to the varsity.

Robin is reading a novel.

The poet is writing a poem.

The lyricist is writing a song.

The singer is singing a song.

We are traveling to the hills.

The photographer is taking pictures.

The auditor is auditing the files.

I will take care of this issue.

 

Dative Case

The dative case is used to show the indirect object of a verb. An indirect object is the person or thing to (or for) whom (or which) an action is being performed. In English this is often indicated by the words to or for.

Examples:

Stan built Julie a house

Dan made her a cake.

Martin read Maria the book.

John threw Steve the ball.

Becky baked Bernice a plateful of cookies.

Her mom brought her a glassful of seashells.

In art class, I made my roommate a sculpture.

Marcia gave her sister a sidelong stare.

Can we tell our friends the story of how we met?

The sun gave the garden a pocketful of sunshine.

During the snowstorm, I wrote my brother a heartfelt letter.

Michelle gave Caleb the night’s homework assignment.

The moon offered the ship an opportunity to find the way home.

Alan finally gave her the engagement ring.

Early the morning, I baked Bryan cupcakes to take to class.

 

Possessive Case or Genitive Case

In English grammar, possessive case is the case of a noun (Santa's) showing ownership, measurement, or source. In addition to the -'s ending, the possessive can be expressed with ‘of’, particularly when the possessor is not alive (the top floor of the building, the base of the statue).

Possessive case also refers to a type of pronoun (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs) or determiner (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) that indicates ownership, measurement, or source. (‘his’ and ‘its’ function as both pronouns and determiners.)

Examples:

This is Adam’s car.

This is his car.

Anna’s name is written here.

Her name is written here.

Is this your book?

What is your name?

This is Aric’s house.

This is his house.

This assignment is Tom’s.

This is his assignment.

Is Pam your sister?

This is Allen’s writing.

This is his writing.

This is Mary’s cat.

This is her cat.

This necklace is mine.

We are at Jeff’s home now.

We are at his home now.

Bob will live today at his aunt’s place.

We are coming to your home.

The Rules:

We normally use the ’s with people, animals though it can also be used with places, organizations and companies.

It is not common to use the ’s with non-living things.

 

A.              Singular nouns: add 's (apostrophe s)

Examples:

My mother’s house is next to the beach.

Jason’s car was stolen last night.

Tomorrow, we’re all going to see the museum’s new art exhibit.

 

B.              Plural nouns ending in –s - add only the apostrophe ' (without the s)

Examples:

The two sisters’ house is next to mine.

The plumbers’ tools were rusty.

The players’ boots were dirty and smelly after the game.

 

C.               Plural nouns not ending in –s: add 's

Examples:

Be careful not to trip over the children’s toys.

The women’s bathroom is currently flooded with water.

The presidential candidate is often called the people’s favorite politician.

 

D.              Singular noun ending in –s:

-    Most names: add  's (apostrophe s)

Examples:

They had a really good time at James’s barbecue last Friday.

We spent the day admiring Frances’s new car.

 

-    Classical or religious names: add ' (only the apostrophe)

Examples:

Jesus’ disciples carried out the teachings of Jesus.

Sophocles’ plays are still performed today.

 

E.               Possessive nouns as part of a phrase

Examples:

The King of Sparta’s wife was called Helen.

The President of Chile’s speech was very long.

I accidentally took someone else’s bag home by mistake.

I had to give my boss three weeks’ notice that I was leaving the company.

If there are two owners of something, we add 's to the final name:

Rick and Steve’s car is quite old.

If each person owns a car, then add 's to both names:

Rick’s and Steve’s cars are quite old.

 

F.               No Noun: If the meaning is clear, we can use the possessive without a noun after it.

Examples:

Her hair is longer than Jill’s (hair).

We ate at Billy’s last night. (Billy’s house)

Whose bag is this? It’s Jane’s. (Jane’s bag)

 

Vocative Case or Nominative of Address

In grammar, the vocative case is a grammatical case which is used for a noun that identifies a person (animal, object, etc.) being addressed, or occasionally for the determiners of that noun. A vocative expression is an expression of direct address by which the identity of the party spoken to is set forth expressly within a sentence.

A noun used to name a person or thing addressed is in the vocative case.

The vocative case is a noun used for the sake of address or the nominative of address

Examples:

Ramu, come here.

Eat, my child, eat.

Come on, Friends.

Come into my room, Sam.

Hasan, you must do your duty!

Are you coming with me, honey?

Don’t make such a fuss, Mona.

Son, you must be careful.