Cases and its function in Latin ( Word )

Cases and its function in Latin ( Word )

1. cases and its function in Latin


Introduction:
Latin Case:
Case refers to the formal markers (in Latin they are endings added to the stem of a noun or adjective)
that tell you how a noun or adjective is to be construed in relationship to other words in the sentence.
What are the formal markers for English? Here are some reflections on how cases in general relate to
meaning in a sentence.
There are 6 distinct cases in Latin: Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative, Ablative, and Vocative;
and there are vestiges of a seventh, the Locative. The basic descriptions that follow are also found on
the pages introducing the more detailed descriptions of the cases, which you may reach by clicking the
case names in the prior sentence.
The nominative case is the case for the subject of the sentence. The subject is the person or thing
about which the predicate makes a statement, and the name, "nominative," means "pertaining to the
person or thing designated." In Latin the subject does not always need to be expressed because it can
be indicated by the person and number of the verb. "They praise" = laudant. See the subject case in
English, which is similar to the Latin nominative case. Go to: Nominative Case
The genitive case is most familiar to English speakers as the case that expresses possession: "my hat"
or "Harry's house." In Latin it is used to indicate any number of relationships that are most frequently
and easily translated into English by the preposition "of": "love of god", "the driver of the bus," the
"state of the union," "the son of god." The genitive case in Latin is also used adverbially with certain
verbs. The most common are verbs of convicting, accusing and punishing. The construction is parallel
to the English "I accuse you of treason." accuso te maiestatis. See how the possessive case and the
preposition "of" work in English. To see a more detailed list of the Go to: Genitive Case.
What are the basic functions of the different 'cases' in Latin?
Much like English, words within a Latin sentence have different purposes in order to form a complete
sentence. The 'cases' in Latin are a way to describe and identify the various functions of nouns only. In
total, there are six cases.

2. THE NOMINATIVE: This refers to the subject of the sentence, or the noun that is completing the action
of the verb.
Eg. cives ad portam processerunt.
The citizens proceeded to the gate.
Here, "cives" (the citizens) is the nominative noun because they are the ones proceeding to the gate.
THE ACCUSATIVE: This refers to the direct object of the sentence, or the noun that has the action done
to it.
Eg. cives ad portam processerunt.
The citizens proceeded to the gate.
Here, "portam" (the gate) is the accusative noun becuase it is being proceeded to by the citizens.
THE GENITIVE: Genitive nouns are used in Latin to indicate possession, or to show who the noun
belongs to. It is useful to remember that the genitive should be translated using the english word 'of'.
Eg. filia senatoris
The daughter of the senator/the senator's daughter
Here, "senatoris" (the senator) is the noun in the genitive case, demonstrating that the daughter
belongs to him.
THE DATIVE: The dative is the indirect object of the sentence. This means that the action of the
sentence is completed for the dative noun. Dative nouns are often translated using the English words
"to" or "for".
Eg. peur canem amico dedit.
The boy gave a dog to his friend.
Here, the "amico" (friend) is the dative noun, because the boy is completing the action for the benefit
of his friend.
THE ABLATIVE CASE: Nouns in the ablative are often translated using the English words "by", "with" or
"from", and so often explain how an object is used to achieve the completion of the verb.

3. Eg. miles hostem gladio necavit.
The soldier killed the enemy with his sword.
Here, "gladio" (sword) is the noun that is in the ablative, since it is the noun with which the soldier
kills his enemy.
THE VOCATIVE: The use of the vocative is perhaps the most straighforward, since it is used to address
another noun directly, often in direct speech.
Eg. "domine, Clemens est in atrio," Grumio dixit.
"Master, Clemens is in the atrium," said Grumio.
Here, "domine" (master) is the noun in the vocative because it is the master who is being directly
addressed and named by the speaker, Grumio.
The dative case is most familiar to English speakers as the case of the indirect object, and the most
common instance of the indirect object is the person "to or for whom" something is given: "I gave the
book to her", "to her" would be in the dative case. This common usage gives the case its name: it is
the case that pertains to giving. However, it is more satisfactory to consider the dative case as the
case for the person who is interested (in a positive or negative way) in some action or activity, and the
most common (and most accurate) translation of the dative case is "for." Consider: as I give the book,
I might say "for you." This indicates that even in the idiom "I give the book to you", the giving itself is
really "for you." The dative is common after verbs that indicate certain kinds of activities: favoring,
obeying, pleasing, serving, envying, being angry, pardoning, ordering, and so on.Go to: Dative Case
The accusative case is the case for the direct object of transitive verbs, the internal object of any verb
(but frequently with intransitive verbs), for expressions indicating the extent of space or the duration
of time, and for the object of certain prepositions. Originaly it was the case that indicated the end or
ultimate goal of an action. Go to: Accusative Case.
The ablative case is the most complex of the cases in Latin. It may be used by itself or as the object of
prepositions and it is commonly used to express (with or without the aid of a preposition) ideas
translated into English by the prepositions "from" (that is, an idea of separation and origin), "with"
and "by" (that is, an idea of instrumentality or association), and "in" (that is, an idea of place where or
time when). Go to: Ablative Case.
The vocative case presents little problem for English speakers. It is usually the same as the
nominative, as in English, and it is used when you address someone directly. The exceptions to the
rule that the vocative is the same as the nominative are summarized in the phrase, Marce mi fili,
which is the vocative for Marcus meus filius, and is a convenient way to remember that all 2nd
declension nouns in -us, have a vocative in -e, that the vocative of meus is mi, and that all 2nd
declension nouns in -ius have a vocative in -i.

4. Latin also had a Locative Case, but few of the forms are still used in Classical Latin. The locative case is
used to indicate "place where" and is found primarily with the names of cities, towns and small
islands. (Actually, these three places are all the same since the island has to be small enough to be
named for the only city or town on it; if there are two towns, you much use in + Ablative. The forms
for the Locative are the same as the genitive in the 1st and 2nd Declension Singular and the same as
the Ablative in the 3rd Declension Singular. Towns (like Athens, Athenae) whose form is plural take
their locative forms from the Ablative plural in all declensions. Other locative forms are: domi, humi,
belli, militiae, and ruri
The Cases and Their Grammatical Position in Sentences
Nominative (nominativus): Subject of the sentence.
Genitive (genitivus): Generally translated by the English possessive, or by the objective with the
preposition of.
Dative (dativus): Indirect object. Usually translated by the objective with the preposition to or for.
Accusative (accusativus): Direct object of the verb and object with many prepositions.
Ablative (ablativus): Used to show means, manner, place, and other circumstances. Usually translated
by the objective with the prepositions "from, by, with, in, at."
Vocative (vocativus): Used for direct address.
Vestigial Cases: Locative (locativus): Denotes "the place where." This vestigial case is often left out of
Latin noun declensions. Traces of it appear in names of towns and a few other words: Rōmae ("at
Rome") / rūrī ("in the country"). Still another vestigial case, the instrumental, appears in a few adverbs.
All the cases, except the nominative and vocative, are used as object cases; they are sometimes called
"oblique cases" (cāsūs oblīquī).
Five Declensions of Nouns and Their Endings
Nouns are declined according to gender, number, and case (a declension is essentially a fixed pattern of
endings). There are only five regular declensions of nouns in Latin; there is a sixth for some pronouns and
adjectives that end in -ius in the genitive case form. Each noun is declined according to number, gender,
and case. This means that there are six sets of case endings for five declensions of nouns—one set for each
declension. And students have to memorize them all. Below are brief descriptions of the five noun
declensions, with links to the full declension for each, including the case endings for each declension.
1. First declension nouns: End in -a in the nominative singular and are feminine.
2. Second declension nouns:
 Most are masculine and end in -us, -er or -ir.
 Some are neuter and end in -um.
Esse: The all-important irregular verb esse ("to be") belongs to this group. Words associated with it are in
the nominative case. It does not take an object and should never be in the accusative case.

5. The following is a sample paradigm* of the second declension masculine noun somnus, -i ("to sleep"). The
case name is followed by the singular, then the plural.
*Note that the term "paradigm" is frequently used in discussions of Latin grammar; a "paradigm" is an
example of a conjugation or declension showing a word in all its inflectional forms.
 Nom inative somnus somni
 Genitive somni somnorum
 Dativ e somno somnis
 Accusative somnum somnos
 Ablative somno somnis
 Locative somni somnis
 Vocative somne somni
3. T hird declension nouns: End in -is in the genitive singular. That's how y ou identify them.
4. Fourth declension nouns: Ending in -us are masculine, apart from manus and domus, which are
feminine. Fourth declension nouns ending in -u are neuter.
5. Fifth declension nouns: End in -es and are feminine.
The exception is dies, which is usually masculine when singular and always masculine when plural.
Grammatical Cases and Declensions
Many languages use different cases to show the relation of the word in a sentence. In Latin, the
nouns, adjective and pronouns change their form depending on how they are used in a sentence. This
form change is called a case. Although Old English also had this feature, it has mostly been lost during
the transition into Modern English. However, a few English pronouns still exhibit this feature (i.e.,
"I"↔"My"↔"Mine"↔"Me" are all first-person singular pronouns).

A lot of languages change the ending of a word based on what case it is in. Latin, German, Russian,
Finnish, Hungarian, and Greek are good examples of this. The word's meaning changes as its ending is
modified to conform with its case's ending. For example, puella means ‘girl’, while puellae means “the
girl's” or “of the girl”. Sometimes in Latin, endings of different cases coincide, forcing one to interpret
the meaning based on the context of the word.

There are seven cases that are used in the Latin language: Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative,
Ablative, Vocative, and Locative. The last two, Vocative and Locative, are relatively rare compared to
the other five, and the Locative case is actually only used with a few select words. The case is the most
important part of the noun (besides its actual meaning). Cases define exactly how the noun is used in
the sentence. Here are the cases and their uses

Referents

6. https://www.thoughtco.com/cases-of-latin-nouns-117588
com/cases-of-latin-nouns-11