Alanyesete

Alanyesete, or nominative case, is the grammatical case in Hungarian used for the subject of a clause. It marks the noun that performs the action or is being described, and in most cases the subject appears in its base form rather than with a dedicated suffix.

In the singular, the nominative typically uses the noun’s dictionary form. In the plural, most nouns take the standard plural ending -k (with vowel harmony determining the vowel in the ending), for example ház → házak. The definite article a/az may accompany a subject, but the nominative form of the noun remains the base form.

Usage of alanyesete is straightforward: the subject of a sentence is usually in the nominative, while other grammatical relations are expressed by other cases or, more often in Hungarian, by postposed postpositions and word order. Hungarian has a relatively free word order, so the subject (in the nominative) can appear in different positions for emphasis or topic construction.

The nominative contrasts with other cases such as the accusative, where the direct object is marked by the suffix -t (e.g., látom a házat, “I see the house” with házat in the accusative). Other cases express meanings like possession, location, or instrument, and they use various suffixes.

Examples: "A lány olvas." (The girl reads.) "A kutyák futnak." (The dogs run.) "Házak nagyok." (Houses are big.) These illustrate how the subject appears in the nominative form.

See also: Hungarian grammar, cases, alanyeset.