6/9/2020 Case | What Is Case in Grammar?

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What Is Case in Grammar?

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(abbreviations)
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Case (English Grammar) Download Grammarly's
Case shows a noun's or a pronoun's relationship app to help with
with the other words in a sentence. eliminating grammar
(abbreviations)
errors and finding the
Take a test Here are the main cases you will encounter in right words.
on using English:
abbreviations (The Grammarly app
Subjective Case works with webmail,
social media, and
Objective Case texting apps as well as
(abbreviations) online forms and
Possessive Case
Take a test Microsoft Office
on Vocative Case documents like Word.)
acronyms
More about the Gramma

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In English, nouns do not change their forms in any

of the cases other than the possessive case (e.g.,
Lee becomes Lee's). Pronouns, however, change
their forms in the possessive case (e.g., he
becomes his) and the objective case (e.g., he
becomes him).

When studying a foreign language, you will quickly

encounter the following terms:
(case)
dative case Nominative Case Grammar" (2019)
Written by the founder of
Accusative Case Grammar Monster,
"Smashing Grammar"
Genitive Case includes a glossary of
grammar essentials
Dative Case (from apostrophes to
(case) zeugma) and a chapter
possessive Instrumental Case on easily confused
case words (from affect/effect
to whether/if). Each
Easy Examples of Case entry starts with a
The table below shows how nouns and pronouns simple explanation and
change (or don't) in the various cases. basic examples before
moving to real-life,
Possessive Case entertaining examples.
Subjective Objective All entries conclude with
Vocative
Case Case Possessive Possessive a section
Casehighlighting
Determiner Pronoun why the grammar point
is relevant for a writer
I me my mine and top-level bullet
points summarizing the
you you your yours Get off,
entry. [More…]
(singular) you.

he / she / it him / her / his / her / its his / hers /

it its

we us our ours

you (plural) you your yours You,

scram!

they them their theirs

dog dog dog's "Grammar

Hands for
Grown-ups"
up, dog.
(2011)
dogs dogs dogs' Run
Vocational rather than
away, "Grammar for
academic,
dogs.
Grown-ups" is packed
with real-life examples
and keeps you engaged
with a wealth of great
Got it? Take a quick test. quotations from Homer
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the Greekaccusative
to Homer the
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More Examples of the Subjective Simpson. Straight
talking and methodical,
Case Craig Shrives draws on
The subjective case (shaded in these examples) is his years compiling
for a noun or pronoun that is the subject of a verb Grammar Monster and
(i.e., the person or thing carrying out the action). For as an army officer to
example: present a
comprehensive but light-
Lee went to Greggs. He supports Greggs. hearted and easily
digestible grammar
Weighing 23,237 pounds, the world's largest reference guide.
meat pie was made by 17 catering students [More…]
from Stratford-upon-Avon College.
(You will notice the whole noun phrase is More about our books...
shaded, not just the head noun (pie). In
English, nouns don't change their forms in
the various cases, but in other languages
they might – as might any adjectives or Free Help
determiners of the head noun. More on this
to come...)
Everything on
The subjective case is also used for a subject Grammar Monster
complement (shown in bold). A subject complement is free.
completes a linking verb (e.g., to be, to seem, to
smell). For example:
Grammar
Almonds are a member of the peach
family. Glossary
(Are is a linking verb.)
Common
It was he.
(Through common usage, "It was him" is Grammar Errors
also acceptable.)

More Examples of the Objective

Punctuation
Case Lessons
The objective case (shaded) is for a noun or
pronoun that is one of the following:
Tests
The direct object of a verb (e.g., She likes
him.)

The indirect object of a verb (e.g., Give her More free grammar
the money.) help...

The object of a preposition (e.g., Go with

them.) Twitter

Direct Object. You can find the direct object by (daily tips)
finding the verb (shown in bold in the two examples
below) and asking "what?" or "whom?" (in other Facebook
words, by finding what the verb is acting upon). For
example: (daily tips)

Frogs don't drink water. They absorb it.

YouTube
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Take test pie
on fromNext Topic: (case) accusative
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(Astronomer Carl Sagan)
Email tips
Indirect Object. You can find the indirect object
(shown in bold in the two examples below) by (weekly)
finding the recipient of the direct object. The indirect
object is usually the beneficiary of the action.
(Remember that everything in the objective case is ...or join our
shaded.) Facebook group
and ask a grammar
Give her this message. question.
(This message is the direct object. Her is the
indirect object, i.e., the recipient of this
message.)

Computers are useless. They can only give

you answers. (Painter Pablo Picasso)
(The direct object is answers. You is the
indirect object, i.e., the recipient of answers.)

Object of a Preposition. The object of a

preposition is the noun of pronoun governed by a
preposition (e.g., around, against, with, in, on, by,
of). (The prepositions are bolded in these two
examples.)

Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg travelled around

the world in 80 days.

Kites rise highest against the wind not with

it. (Prime Minister Winston Churchill)

Read more about objects in grammar.

More Examples of the Possessive

Case
The possessive case (shaded) shows possession.
With nouns, it is shown with an apostrophe.
Pronouns in the possessive case come in two
forms: possessive determiners (e.g., my, your) and
possessive pronouns (e.g., mine, yours).

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Bader's philosophy was my philosophy. His

whole attitude to life was mine. (Actor
Kenneth More, who played RAF fighter ace
Douglas Bader in "Reach for the Sky")

Read more about using apostrophes.

Read more about possessive nouns.
Read more about possessive determiners.
Read more about possessive pronouns.

More Examples of the Vocative

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The vocative case (shaded) shows when something
(usually a person) is being addressed directly.
Words in the vocative case are offset with
comma(s).

Ladies and gentleman, please take your

seats.

Come here, you big lump. Take your noogie

like a man.

I know your auntie, David.

Read more about commas and the vocative case.

Examples of the Accusative Case

You are most likely to encounter the term
"accusative case" when studying a foreign
language. The accusative case's main function is to
show the direct object of a verb. In English, the
accusative case falls under the objective case.

Anteaters prefer termites.

Hollywood is a place where people from

Iowa mistake each other for stars.
(Comedian Fred Allen)

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a

banana. (Comedian Groucho Marx)

When studying other languages, you might also

encounter a list of prepositions that take the
accusative case. For example, in German, the
following take the accusative case: bis, durch,
entlang, für, gegen, ohne, and um.

Examples of the Dative Case

You are most likely to encounter the term "dative
case" when studying a foreign language. The dative
case's main function is to show the indirect object of
a verb. In English, the accusative case falls under
the objective case.

Here are some examples of nouns and pronouns as

indirect objects (i.e., in the dative case):

If only God would give me some clear sign!

Like making a large deposit in my name in a
Swiss bank. (Woody Allen)
(The direct object is some clear sign. The
indirect object (i.e., the recipient of the
action) is me. Therefore, me is in the dative
case.)

< Previous Topic: (abbreviations)

Count not him amongTakeyour
a test on whoNext
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acronyms retail your privacies to the world. (Latin case >
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writer Publilius Syrus)
(The indirect object often follows a
preposition like to or for.)

Particularly when studying other languages, you

might encounter prepositions that take the dative
case. For example, in German, the following take
the dative case: aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, and
zu.

You might also encounter dual-case prepositions,

which can take the accusative case or the dative
case. Typically, they take the accusative with a verb
involving movement from one place to another but
the dative when there's no movement involved.

The mouse ran under the bed.

(Here, in German for example, the bed
would be in the accusative case (unter das
Bett) because there is movement towards
the bed.)

The mouse is under the bed.

(Here, in German, the bed would be in the
dative case (unter dem Bett) because it's
about being located under the bed; i.e.,
there's no movement towards it.)

In English, it's all the objective case, and we never

change the bed anyway ("eww" from a hygiene
perspective but "yay" from a grammatical one).

Examples of the Instrumental

Case
You are most likely to encounter the term
"instrumental case" when studying a foreign
language, particularly a Slavic one. The case's main
function is to show that a noun is the means by
which the action is achieved. In English, we do this
with prepositions, typically by and with, and the
objective case. We don't use the term instrumental
case.

Idem na posao autobusom.

(This is Bosnian for "I travel to work by bus."
The Bosnian word for bus is autobus. The -
om ending puts it in the instrumental case,
showing it's the means by which the action
(travel) is achieved.)

Why Should I Care about Case?

Well, we've covered a bit of German and a bit of
Bosnian in this entry, and there's a good reason for
that. Learning about the various cases is essential
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numbers take different forms depending on their
case. For Brits, case is easy. Some of us are a bit
sloppy with the apostrophes in possessive nouns or
the vocative case, but we're all awesome at getting
pronouns right in their various cases. That said,
here are three noteworthy points related to case.

(Point 1) Don't get possessive

apostrophes wrong.
The rules for creating possessive-case nouns cause
a headache for some, and grammar checkers often
can't help because wrong versions are often
feasibly correct versions from the grammar
checker's perspective.

I have one dog, not two, one. I definitely

have just one dog. My dogs' kennel is green.

(This is wrong (it should be dog's), but a

grammar checker wouldn't spot it because
dogs' kennel (meaning kennel of more than
one dog) is a grammatically sound phrase.
The grammar checker ignores the
sentences before. It just checks dogs'
kennel.)

Read more about using apostrophes.

(NB: We have a YouTube video that explains

possessive apostrophes in less than a minute.)

(Point 2) Don't forget to use a

comma for the vocative case.
You might not have heard of the vocative comma,
but there are plenty of times when you should be
using one.

Hi, John

See you later, darling.

Clean your room, Mark.

Dear Lee, thanks for the all the whelks.

Also, keep an eye out for this. When your sentence

ends with a word in the vocative case, be sure to
end your sentence properly before starting a new
one. For example:

Take it from me, dear, it's not true.

(This is called a run-on error. You can't end
a sentence with a comma and then write
another sentence.)
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(Point 3) Don't put apostrophes in
possessive-case pronouns.
Apostrophes are used with possessive-case nouns
(e.g., parson's nose), but they're not used with the
possessive-case pronouns, especially not yours,
hers, ours, or theirs, which are particularly prone to
this mistake.

Bull reindeer lose their antlers in winter. The

cows lose their's in the summer.

Also, there's no apostrophe in the possessive

determiner its. No, really there isn't. It's is always a
contraction of it is or it has.

A cat always lands on it's feet.

Read more about its and it's.

Key Points

There are no apostrophes in any

possessive-case pronouns.

Oi, you, don't forget the commas if you

address someone directly.

Interactive Exercise

Here are three randomly selected questions

from a larger exercise, which can be edited,
printed to create an exercise worksheet, or
sent via email to friends or students.
Show All the Questions

Q1
Select the case of the underlined
word:

I think that Mark will be late.

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A: Possessive Next Topic: (case) accusative
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B: Nominative

C: Vocative

Q2
Select the case of the underlined
word:

Jane is heavier than she used to be.

A: Possessive

B: Subjective

C: Objective

Q3
Select the case of the underlined
word:

Let him have it.

A: Objective

B: Possessive

C: Vocative

Start Again

Show Me All the Questions (Editable Test)

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See Also

What are nouns?

What are pronouns?

What is the subjective case?

What is the nominative case?

What is the possessive case?

Using apostrophes for possession

What is the genitive case?

What is the objective case?

What is the accusative case?

What is the dative case?

What is a direct object?

< Previous Topic: (abbreviations)

What is Take a test
an indirect on Next Topic: (case) accusative
object?
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What is the object of a preposition?

What is the vocative case?

Showing the vocative case with commas

Glossary of grammatical terms

More Cool Grammar Stuff

This video shows the top ten 10 punctuation

errors noted by Grammar Monster:

Top 10 Punctuation Errors

Read more about the errors raised in this video.

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