IV. CASE

IV. CASE

+86.+ +Substantives have inflections of case to indicate their grammatical relations to verbs, to prepositions, or to other substantives.+

There are three cases,--the +nominative+, the +possessive+, and the +objective+.

The possessive case is often called the +genitive+.

The nominative and the objective case of a noun are always alike in form. In some pronouns, however, there is a difference (as,--_I_, _me_; _he_, _him_).

DECLENSION OF NOUNS

+87.+ The inflection of a substantive is called its +declension+. To +decline+ a noun is to give its case-forms in order, first in the singular number and then in the plural. Thus,--

SINGULAR

_Nominative_ boy horse fly chimney _Possessive_ boy’s horse’s fly’s chimney’s _Objective_ boy horse fly chimney

PLURAL

_Nominative_ boys horses flies chimneys _Possessive_ boys’ horses’ flies’ chimneys’ _Objective_ boys horses flies chimneys

SINGULAR

_Nominative_ calf lass man deer _Possessive_ calf’s lass’s man’s deer’s _Objective_ calf lass man deer

PLURAL

_Nominative_ calves lasses men deer _Possessive_ calves’ lasses’ men’s deer’s _Objective_ calves lasses men deer

NOMINATIVE CASE

+88.+ The +nominative case+ is used in the following constructions: (1) the subject, (2) the predicate nominative, (3) the vocative, (or nominative of direct address), (4) the exclamatory nominative, (5) appositive with a nominative, (6) the nominative absolute.

1. +The subject of a verb is in the nominative case.+

_Water_ freezes.

_Charles_ climbed the mountain.

The boy’s _face_ glowed with health and exercise.

A thousand _men_ were killed in this battle.

In the third example, _face_ is the simple subject; the complete subject is _the boy’s face_. In the fourth, _men_ is the simple subject; the complete subject is _a thousand men_. Both _face_ and _men_ are in the nominative case; _face_ is in the singular number; _men_ in the plural.

2. +A substantive standing in the predicate, but describing or defining the subject, agrees with the subject in case and is called a predicate nominative.+

A predicate nominative is also called a +subject complement+ or an +attribute+.

Lobsters are _crustaceans_.

A good book is a faithful _friend_.

Shakspere was a _native_ of Stratford-on-Avon.

Arnold proved a _traitor_.

Adams was elected _president_.

The rule for the case of the predicate nominative is particularly important with respect to pronouns (§ 119).

I am _he_. Are you _she_?

It is _I_. It was _we_ who did it.

The predicate nominative is commonest after the copula _is_ (in its various forms). It will be further studied in connection with intransitive and passive verbs (§§ 214, 252).

3. +A substantive used for the purpose of addressing a person directly, and not connected with any verb, is called a vocative.+

A vocative is in the nominative case, and is often called a +nominative by direct address+ or a +vocative nominative+.

Come, _Ruth_, give me your hand.

Turn to the right, _madam_.

_Herbert_, it is your turn.

Come with me, my _child_.

NOTE. A vocative word is sometimes said to be +independent by direct address+, because it stands by itself, unconnected with any verb. That a vocative is really in the nominative case may be seen in the use of the pronoun _thou_ in this construction: as,--I will arrest thee, _thou_ traitor (see § 115).

4. +A substantive used as an exclamation is called an exclamatory nominative (or nominative of exclamation).+

_Peace_, be still.

Fortunate _Ruth_!

A _drum_! a _drum_! Macbeth doth come.

Look! a _balloon_!

The _sun_! then we shall have a fine day.

Certain exclamatory nominatives are sometimes classed as interjections (§ 375).

5. +A substantive added to another substantive to explain it and signifying the same person or thing, is called an appositive and is said to be in apposition.+

+An appositive is in the same case as the substantive which it limits.+

Hence a substantive in apposition with a nominative is in the nominative case.

Mr. Scott, the _grocer_, is here. [Apposition with subject.]

Tom, old _fellow_, I am glad to see you. [Apposition with vocative.]

The discoverer of the Pacific was Balboa, a _Spaniard_. [Apposition with predicate nominative.]

NOTE. _Apposition_ means “attachment”; _appositive_ means “attached noun or pronoun.” An appositive modifies the noun with which it is in apposition much as an adjective might do (compare “Balboa, a _Spaniard_” with “_Spanish_ Balboa”). Hence it is classed as an adjective modifier.

POSSESSIVE CASE

+89.+ +The possessive case denotes ownership or possession.+

_John’s_ yacht lies at her moorings.

The _duck’s_ feet are webbed.

The _mutineer’s_ pistol burst when he fired.

NOTE. Most uses of the possessive come under the general head of +possession+ in some sense. Special varieties of meaning are +source+ (as in “_hen’s_ eggs”) and +authorship+ (as in “_Wordsworth’s_ sonnets”).

A possessive noun or pronoun modifies the substantive to which it is attached as an adjective might do. Hence it is classed as an adjective modifier.

Forms of the Possessive Case

+90.+ +The possessive case of most nouns has, in the singular number, the ending _’s_.+

EXAMPLES: the owl’s feathers, Elizabeth’s hat, the officer’s name.

+Plural nouns ending in _s_ take no further ending for the possessive. In writing, however, an apostrophe is put after the _s_ to indicate the possessive case.+

EXAMPLES: the owls’ feathers, the officers’ names, the artists’ petition, the engineers’ ball.

+Plural nouns not ending in _s_ take _’s_ in the possessive.+

EXAMPLES: the firemen’s ball, the policemen’s quarters, the children’s hour.

NOTE. In older English the possessive of most nouns was written as well as pronounced with the ending _-es_ or _-is_. Thus, in Chaucer, the possessive of _child_ is _childës_ or _childis_; that of _king_ is _kingës_ or _kingis_; that of _John_ is _Johnës_ or _Johnis_. The use of an apostrophe in the possessive is a comparatively modern device, due to a misunderstanding. Scholars at one time thought the _s_ of the possessive a fragment of the pronoun _his_; that is, they took such a phrase as _George’s book_ for a contraction of _George his book_. Hence they used the apostrophe before _s_ to signify the supposed omission of part of the word _his_. Similarly, in the possessive plural, there was thought to be an omission of a final _es_; that is, such a phrase as _the horses’ heads_ was thought to be a contraction of the _horseses_ heads. Both these errors have long been exploded.

+91.+ Nouns like _sheep_ and _deer_, which have the same form in both the singular and the plural, usually take _’s_ in the possessive plural.

Thus, _the deer’s tracks_ would be written, whether one deer or more were meant.

+92.+ POSSESSIVE SINGULAR OF NOUNS ENDING IN _S_.

1. Monosyllabic nouns ending in _s_ or an _s_-sound usually make their possessive singular by adding _’s_.

EXAMPLES: Charles’s hat, Forbes’s garden, Mr. Wells’s daughter, Rice’s carriage, Mrs. Dix’s family, a fox’s brush.

NOTE. Most of these monosyllabic nouns in s are family names. The rule accords with the best usage; but it is not absolute, for usage varies. Hence forms like _Charles’_ and _Wells’_ cannot be condemned as positively wrong, though _Charles’s_ and _Wells’s_ are preferable. In speaking, the shorter form is often ambiguous, for there is no difference in sound between _Dix’_ and _Dick’s_, _Mr. Hills’_ and _Mr. Hill’s_, _Dr. Childs’_ and _Dr. Child’s_.

2. Nouns of two or more syllables ending in _s_ or an _s_-sound, and not accented on the last syllable, may make their possessive singular by adding _’s_, or may take no ending in the possessive.

In the latter case, an apostrophe is added in writing, but in sound there is no difference between the possessive and the nominative.

EXAMPLES: Burrows’s (_or_ Burrows’) Hotel, Æneas’s (_or_ Æneas’) voyage, Beatrice’s (_or_ Beatrice’) gratitude, Felix’s (_or_ Felix’) arrival, for conscience’s (_or_ conscience’) sake.

Most of the nouns in question are proper names. In speaking, one must often use the longer form to prevent ambiguity; for _Williams’_ and _William’s_, _Roberts’_ and _Robert’s_, _Robbins’_ and _Robin’s_, are indistinguishable in sound.

NOTE. Nouns of two or more syllables ending in _s_ or an _s_-sound and accented on the last syllable, follow the rule for monosyllables. Thus,--_Laplace’s_ mathematics (not _Laplace’_); _Alphonse’s_ father (not _Alphonse’_).

When final _s_ is silent (as in many French names), _’s_ must of course be added in the possessive. Thus,--_Descartes’s_ philosophy (pronounced _Daycárt’s_).

Use of the Possessive Case

+93.+[16] Possession may be denoted by a phrase with _of_ as well as by the possessive case. The distinction between the two forms cannot be brought under rigid rules, but the following suggestions will be of use.

I. In older English and in poetry the possessive case of nouns is freely used, but in modern prose it is rare unless the possessor is a living being. A phrase with _of_ is used instead.

The mayor _of Detroit_ (NOT _Detroit’s_ mayor).

The top _of the post_ (NOT the _post’s_ top).

The prevalence _of the epidemic_ (NOT the _epidemic’s_ prevalence).

Contrast the poetic use:--

_Belgium’s_ capital had gathered then Her beauty and her chivalry.--BYRON.

Other prepositions are sometimes used: as,--“the explosion in _New York_” (NOT “_New York’s_ explosion”), “the station _at Plymouth_.”