Cases, Descriptions, and Examples
LFA XXIV
nominative
1.nominative as subject
The subject of a sentence is put in the nominative.
Cicero oratiōnem habuitCicero gave a speech
2.nominative as subject complement (predicate nominative)
The subject complement of a sentence with a linking verb is put in the nominative.
Quintus nōn erat stultusQuintus wasn’t stupid
genitive
3.possessive genitive
The genitive is used to indicate the owner (in a wide sense) of the noun it describes.
filius agricolaethe son of the farmer; the farmer’s son
dative
4.dative as indirect object
The indirect object of a verb is put in the dative case.
Marcus patrī donum dēditMarcus gave his father a gift
Marcus gave a gift to his father
accusative
5.accusative as direct object
The direct object of a verb is in the accusative.
pecuniam invēnērunt they found the money
equum puellae dēdithe gave the girl a horse
6.accusative of motion toward (place to which)
Motion toward (place to which) is expressed by the accusative case with the prepositions in‘into, against’, ad ‘toward’, per‘through’ or sub‘under’.
ad casam festinavithe hurried to the house
sub arborem cucurritshe ran under the tree
ablative
7.ablative with certain prepositions
Certain prepositions, such as cum ‘with’, prō ‘for’, and sine ‘without’ take the ablative.
prō patriā pugnaveruntthey fought for their fatherland
8.ablative of means or instrument
The ablative is used to express means or instrument; in other words, it answers the question ‘by what means?’. It is usually an object.
gladiīs pugnavēruntthey fought with swords
9.ablative of place where
Place where is expressed with the preposition in ‘in’ or sub‘under’ and the ablative.
in insulā habitantthey live on an island
Marcia sub arbore sedetMarcia is sitting under a tree
10.ablative of separation (place from which)
The ablative with the prepositionā or ab ‘from’, dē ‘down from’, ē or ex ‘out of’ is used to express separation.
deus dē caelō vēnitthe god came down from the sky
ē silvā cucurritshe ran out of the forest
vocative
11.vocative as direct address
A vocative is used for direct address. (A vocative looks the same as a nominative, with only two exceptions: a 2nd declension singular word ending in –us has a vocative ending in –e, and a 2nd declension singular word ending in -ius has a vocative ending in -ī.)
Anna, ambulā mēcum!Anna, walk with me!
MarceTullī, quid agis?Marcus Tullius, what are you doing?