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Nominative Case
Phonetics:
nɒmɪnətɪv
keɪs
Pronunciation:
Mastering the Nominative Case: Your Guide to Subject Power
Comprehensive Definition, Description, Examples & Rules
The nominative case is an important English grammatical case which is used. when a noun and a pronoun are used as the subject of a verb. It always indicates the noun performing the action or being in a state or condition in English nominative case, which is also marked by a subjective pronoun like I. We, he, she, we, you, and they. When a noun is used as the subject of a verb, it is called the nominative case. For example, “Nia ate an apple.” Here, ‘ Nia” is the subject acting,
so Nia is in the nominative case.
The Nominative is used in English grammar to refer to a noun or pronoun that appears as the subject of a verb in a particular sentence. The Nominative case denotes a specific noun or pronoun that is the subject of the sentence; we can also refer to it as the subjective case. It has to maintain clarity and ensure sentences are free from grammar errors. For effective communication in English, understanding the proper usage of the Nominative case is essential and required.
Here below you can see various Nominative case example
For example:
- David and John brought fruits (here you can find out noun subjects in the nominative case).
- Maria ate papaya (maria noun subject in nominative case)
- David called Maria
Nominative case example
A simple sentence with the noun in the nominative case:
- He is my friend.
- She is a professor.
Subject-verb agreement
- David sings beautifully.
- John practices cricket every morning.
Noun as the subject in the nominative case
- Nia is reading a book.
- Students are studying for the entrance exam.
Noun as predicate nominative case
- She is a teacher.
- The answer is not right.
Nominative vs. objective case
In English, you can observe the key difference between the nominative and objective cases, which are two different grammatical cases widely used in English.
Nominative case
The first is the Nominative case. It is used for the subject of a sentence and the predicate nominative; it always highlights an action performed by a person or thing. Pronouns in the Nominative case include I, we, you, he, she, and they.
Objective case
- The objective case is used for the object of work preposition and infinitives that indicate the person receiving the action or being affected by it. Pronouns in the objective case include him, her, you, me, us, and them.
- Nominative and accusative cases have similarities, and we can also say both are synonyms, which are used for the direct object of transitive verbs. You can see a bit of difference when using pronouns, like in accusative cases, where you will use “Me” rather than “I.”.
Using the correct case in different sentence structures
It is core in grammar that helps to work upon grammar accuracy: use nominative case for the subject of a sentence or complement predicate no matter what; use object predicate case for direct indirect object and object of a preposition, paying attention to the verb and its relationship to the noun pronoun.
Types of nominative cases
Basic nominative case
this type of the nominative case used for the subject of a sentence,
For example.
- They are studying in the room.
- We are best friends.
Predicate nominative
It is a noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb and identifies the subject.
for example
- He is a professor.
- My dog is my pet.
Appositive nominative
It is a noun or pronoun that follows and renames the subject.
For example:
- Maria, a talented singer, sings the song.
- My brother, David, is an artist.
Nominal nominative
It is a noun and a pronoun that function as subjects and provide additional, detailed information.
For example:-
- The popular scientist Isaac Newton discovered the theory of gravitation.
- My friend Harry is coming from India tomorrow.
Independent nominative
It is a noun or pronoun that refers to or addresses someone independently.
For examples :
- David, you rocked the stage.
- Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the famous Kapil Sharma show.
Nominative absolute
It is the noun and pronoun that provide additional information about the subject of the main clause.
- For example:
I studied hard, and my parents celebrated my success by gifting me a laptop.
These are the various types of nominative that have to provide additional information and can be easily understood by students without any problem. The nominative case is easy to understand.
Nominative case with various sentence
Nominative case in a declarative sentence
which express facts and are used as the subject of sentences.
For example
- She is my mother.
- I am upset.
Nominative case in an Interrogative sentence
The nature of these sentences is to ask questions like:
- Who likes David?
- Are they coming for group Study?
Nominative case in an imperative sentence
It means to give the command and make a request, which is used for the implied subject “you.”
For example
- Shut the door, please.
- Finish your work by the given deadline.
Nominative case in an exclamatory sentence
These sentences express emotions, for example:
- Wow, such a wonderful place!
- Oh God! You did it, finally.
All these sentences are in the nominative case, which helps to structure the sentence in a better grammatical manner.
Common mistakes with the nominative case
Misusing the nominative case pronoun
The common error is misusing nominative case pronouns like usually objective case pronouns (me, him, her, us, and them) Rather nominative case pronouns (I, he, she, we, and they). Usually, people get confused by both of these cases.
- Incorrect: Me and my mother surprised my father.
- Correct: My mother and I surprised my father.
Confusing the nominal case with the objective case
Another common mistake is using the wrong case when pronounced as subject or object in a sentence.
- Incorrect: her and I are good friends.
- Correct: She and I are good friends.
Avoiding the pronoun-antecedent agreement error in the nominative case
It is crucial to ensure that the pronoun agrees with the antecedent in gender and number.
- Incorrect: everyone at the farmhouse, He is enjoying the party.
- Correct: Everyone in the farmhouse is enjoying the party.
Failing to use the nominative case for a subject complement
Subject complement, like predicate nominative, should be in nominative case to match the subject.
- Incorrect: It is her
- Correct: It is she.
Overusing the nominative pronoun in an appositive phrase
Unnecessarily using an appositive phrase like :
- Incorrect: My sister is, she is an administrative officer.
- Correct: My sister is an administrative officer.
You should go through various types and gain an understanding of nominative cases so that you can better understand the concept and avoid such a common mistake.
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Key Takeaways
- The nominative case plays a crucial role in grammar, it always highlights the action done by noun and pronoun; what it includes in the pronoun is I, we, you, they, he, she, and it.
- The nominative case always gives some descriptive and detailed informative about the subject. We have learnt various types of nominative cases like the subject case, object case, predicate case, nominal case, appositive case, and nominative absolute case.
- The nominative case is used differently as per the sentence type, like declarative, imperative, exclamatory, and interrogative sentences.
- We have learnt a sharp difference between subject and object nominative case.
- You can avoid a common error in regards to the nominative case, which is usually people’s confusion with the object and subject-predicate, You can overcome from these common error by having in-dept understanding on nominative case.
Quiz
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Frequently Asked Questions
A noun is the name of a person, place, or thing, so some examples of Noun in the nominative case are as follows : Rabbit, Puppy, Dog etc.
It is a noun or pronoun that follows a linking verb or identifies the subject of a sentence, For example. “He is a singer; his voice is melodious.”
Yes, pronouns can be used in nominative cases, which include I, you, we, he, she, it, and they. For example, ” She is my best friend.”
Common mistakes like misspelling nominative pronouns, the confusing nominative case with the objective case, failing to use the nominative case for the subject complement, and avoiding pronoun-antecedent agreement. Nominative case example, Using “me” rather than “I” and “he” rather than “him“ as subjects
There are various rules that you are required to follow for using nominative cases in different sentence types, like in declarative, Interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences where the subject is something in a state of being. You are required to use a nominative case following the type of sentence.
When a noun is in the nominative case and functions as subject, in that case it is required to understand the verb and its form as per the form like singular , plural and third person.
