NOUN CASE

The Noun: Case : The Noun: Case

Nominative Case: : Nominative Case: Def: When a noun (or Pronoun) is used as the subject of a verb, it is said to be in Nominative Case. To find the Nominative, put WHO? Or WHAT? Before a verb. E.g. John threw a stone. (WHO?) subject verb predicate Stone is the OBJECT.

Accusative Case : Accusative Case Def: When a noun or a pronoun is used as the object of a verb, it is said to be in Objective or Accusative case. To find the Accusative, put WHOM? Or WHAT? Before the verb and its subjects. e.g. The horse kicked the boy. (WHOM?) Subject Object A noun which comes after a preposition is also said to be in the accusative case; as, The book is on the desk. Desk is in the Accusative case, governed by the preposition IN.

Read the following sentences:1. Hari broke the window. (Object) 2. The window was broken. (Subject)It is seen that nouns in English have the same form for the Nominative and the Accusative.The Nominative generally comes before the verb, and the Accusative after the verb. Hence they are distinguished by the order of the words, or by the sense. : Read the following sentences:1. Hari broke the window. (Object) 2. The window was broken. (Subject)It is seen that nouns in English have the same form for the Nominative and the Accusative.The Nominative generally comes before the verb, and the Accusative after the verb. Hence they are distinguished by the order of the words, or by the sense.

Compare: : Compare: Rama gave a ball. Rama gave Hari a ball. In each of these sentences the noun ball is the object of gave. In second sentence we are told that Hari was the person to WHOM Rama gave a ball. The noun Hari is called the INDIRECT OBJECT of the verb gave. The noun ball, the ordinary Object, is called the DIRECT OBJECT. It will be noticed that the position of the Indirect Object is immediately after the verb and before the Direct Object. Note- Rama gave Hari a ball=Rama gave a ball to Hari. Will you do me a favour?= Will you do a favour to me? I bought Rama a ball.= I bought a ball for Rama. Fetch the boy a book.= Fetch a book for the boy. She made Ruth a new dress.= She made a new dress for Ruth. Get me a taxi.= Get a taxi for me. We see that the Indirect object of a verb denotes the person to whom something is given, or for whom something is done.

Examine the Sentence: : Examine the Sentence: This is Rama’s umbrella. Rama’s Umbrella= the umbrella belonging to Rama. The form of the noun Rama is changed to Rama’s to show ownership or possession. The Noun Rama’s is therefore said to be in the Possessive ( Genitive) case. The Possessive answers the question, WHOSE? Whose Umbrella?- RAMA’s. The Possessive Case does not always denote Possession. It is used to denote authorship, origin, kind, etc. as, Shakespeare’s plays= the play written by Shakespeare. A mother’s love= the love felt by a mother. The President’s speech= the speech delivered by the President. Mr. Aggarwal’s house= the house where Mr. Aggarwal lives. Ashok’s school= the school where Ashok goes. A children’s playground= a playground for children. A week’s holiday= a holiday which lasts for a week.

Formation of Possessive Case : Formation of Possessive Case When the noun is singular, the Possessive Case is formed by adding ‘s to the noun; as, The boy’s book; the king’s crown. Note- The letter s is omitted in a few words where too many hissing sounds would come together; as, For conscience’ sake; for goodness’ sake; for justice’ sake; for Jesus' sake, Moses’ law. When the noun is Plural and ends in s, the possessive sign is formed by adding only an apostrophe; as Boys’ school; girls’ school; horses’ tails. When the noun is Plural but does not ends in s, possessive case is formed by adding ‘s as; Men’s club; children’s books. When a noun or a title consists of several words, the possessive sign is attached to only to last word; as, The king of Bhutan’s visit. The Prime Minister of Mauritius’s speech. When two nouns are in apposition, the possessive sign is put to the latter only; as That is Tagore the poet’s house. Also when two are closely connected, the possessive is put to the latter; as, Karim and Salim’s bakery. William and Mary’s reign. Each of the two or more connected nouns implying, separate possession must take the possessive sign; as Raja Rao’s and R K Narayan’s novels. Goldsmith's and Cowper’s Poems.

Use of the Possessive Case : Use of the Possessive Case The possessive case is now used chiefly with the names of the living things; as, The Governor's bodyguard; the lion’s mane. We must say- The leg of the table(not the table’s leg). The cover of the box ( not the book’s cover). The roof of the house(not the house’s roof). But the Possessive is used with the names of personified objects; as, India’s heroes; Nature’s laws; Fortune’s favorite; at duty’s call; at death’s door. The possessive is also used with nouns denoting time, space, or weight; as A day’s march; a week’s holiday; in a year’s time; a stone’s throw; a foot’s length; a pound’s weight. The following phrases are also in common use: At his fingers’ ends; for mercy’s sake; to his heart’s content; at his wit’s end; a boat’s crew. The possessive of a proper name or of a noun denoting a trade, profession, or relationship may be used to denote a building or place of business (church, house, school, college, shop, hospital, theatre, etc.); as, She has gone to the baker’s(= baker’s shop). Tonight I am dining at my uncle’s(= uncle’s house). Can you tell me the way at St Paul’s( = St. Paul’s Church)>

When you are in doubt whether to use a noun in the possessive case or with the preposition of, remember that, as a general rule, the possessive case is used to denote possession or ownership. Thus it is better to say ‘ the defeat of the enemy’ than the enemy’s defeat’, even though no doubt as to the meaning would arise.Sometimes however, a noun in the possessive case has a different meaning from a noun with the preposition of; as,1. ‘The prime Minister’s reception in Delhi’ means a reception held by the Prime Minister in Delhi.2. ‘ The reception of the Prime Minister in Delhi’ means the manner in which the people welcomed him when he entered Delhi. 3. The Phrase ‘ the love of a father’ may mean either’ a father’s love for his child’ or ‘a child’s love of his father’ : When you are in doubt whether to use a noun in the possessive case or with the preposition of, remember that, as a general rule, the possessive case is used to denote possession or ownership. Thus it is better to say ‘ the defeat of the enemy’ than the enemy’s defeat’, even though no doubt as to the meaning would arise.Sometimes however, a noun in the possessive case has a different meaning from a noun with the preposition of; as,1. ‘The prime Minister’s reception in Delhi’ means a reception held by the Prime Minister in Delhi.2. ‘ The reception of the Prime Minister in Delhi’ means the manner in which the people welcomed him when he entered Delhi. 3. The Phrase ‘ the love of a father’ may mean either’ a father’s love for his child’ or ‘a child’s love of his father’

Nouns in Apposition : Nouns in Apposition Read the following sentences: Rama, our captain, made fifty runs. We see that RAMA and OUR CAPTAIN are one and the same person. The noun captain follows the noun Rama simply to explain which Rama is referred to. When one noun follows another to describe it, the noun which follows is said to be in apposition to the noun which comes before it. (Apposition means Placing near) A noun in apposition is in the same case as the noun which it explains. In the above sentence the noun captain is in apposition to the noun Rama , and is in the Nominative Case (because Rama is in the Nominative case). Further examples: Kabir, the great reformer, was a weaver. Yesterday I met you uncle, the doctor. Have you seen Ganguli, The artist’s drawings? In sentence 1, the noun in apposition is the Nominative case. In sentence 2, the noun in apposition is in the Accusative case.{Why} In sentence 3, the noun in apposition is in the Genitive Case. {WHY}.

End of Noun Case Contact at: rupa_saggu@yahoo.comTHANK YOU ALL! : End of Noun Case Contact at: rupa_saggu@yahoo.comTHANK YOU ALL!