Nominative

In grammar, 'nominative' describes the case of a noun or pronoun that typically functions as the subject of a verb. It indicates the person or thing performing the action. The nominative case often appears unmarked in English; however, in languages with richer inflectional systems, such as Latin or German, nouns and pronouns change form depending on their grammatical case. This case is fundamental to sentence structure, identifying the entity carrying out the verb's action or state.

Nominative meaning with examples

• 1. **The dog** barked loudly. In this sentence, 'dog' is in the nominative case, acting as the subject. We know the dog performed the action of barking. The nominative case is key for understanding who or what is doing something. This contrasts with other cases, like the accusative, which indicates the direct object.
• 2. **I** am going to the store. Here, 'I' is the subject pronoun in the nominative case. This means 'I' am the one performing the action, or rather, stating my intention to go. The nominative case helps in determining who or what undertakes the action, establishing the actor.
• 3. **Sarah** loves to read. 'Sarah' is the subject in the nominative case and performs the action of loving to read. English uses word order and structure to reveal this. Other languages use inflection to indicate the subject, like the nominative.
• 4. **They** built the house. 'They' is the subject in the nominative case, performing the act of building the house. It highlights the group responsible for that action. The nominative is critical to identifying who or what is central to the sentence's meaning.