Nominative case
The nominative case is the form a noun takes when it is the subject of the sentence, the person or thing doing the action.
Can recognize Nominative case in a short Latin prompt
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Marcus reads.
Julia sees the tablet.
Zaměřte se na zvýrazněné části. Co mají společného?
The nominative case is the form a noun takes when it is the subject of the sentence, the person or thing doing the action. It is also the form you find as the dictionary headword, so it is the first case you meet.
In English we know the subject by position: in "the dog bites the man," "dog" is the subject because it comes first. Latin instead marks the subject with a special ending. That freedom means the subject can sit anywhere in the sentence, and you find it by its ending, not its place.
| Declension | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| 1st (fem.) | puella (the girl) | puellae |
| 2nd (masc.) | servus (the slave) | servī |
| 3rd | rēx (the king) | rēgēs |
The nominative also names the subject after the verb "to be":
- Puella cantat. - The girl sings.
- Servī labōrant. - The slaves are working.
- Rēx bonus est. - The king is good. ("king" and "good" are both nominative)
The classic English-speaker trap is to assume the first noun in a Latin sentence is the subject. It is not, unless its ending is nominative. In Puellam servus videt, "servus" is the subject (he sees) even though "puellam" comes first. Always check the ending before you decide who is doing what.
Marcus reads.
Example for Nominative case.
Julia sees the tablet.
A short A1 sentence with visible endings.
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