accusativeplural

Accusative plural is the form of a noun or noun phrase used when the noun is the direct object (accusative case) and refers to more than one entity. In languages with grammatical case and number, the accusative plural is marked by a specific inflection or suffix that signals both the object role and plurality. The exact form varies widely across languages.

In some languages, the accusative plural has a distinct ending different from the nominative plural; in others, the accusative plural is the same as the nominative plural, or it follows more complex rules influenced by animacy, gender, or declension class. This variation is central to morphology and affects agreement with adjectives or verbs.

Examples from various languages illustrate the range of patterns. Latin marks the accusative plural with endings such as -os or -as for different declensions (for example, libros “books”). German often uses the same plural form for nominative and accusative nouns, with definite articles marking the object case (die Bücher). Russian distinguishes between nominative and accusative plurals, and for animate nouns the accusative plural often aligns with the genitive plural (e.g., д Freunde → nominative друзья, accusative друзей). English typically lacks a distinct noun-form accusative plural; the direct object is indicated mainly through syntax, while pronouns do show object forms (them). Turkish marks the accusative with suffixes and also uses plural markers; the combination of plural and accusative is expressed by suffixation with vowel harmony rules.

In linguistic annotation and parsing, accusative plural forms provide crucial information about sentence structure, agreement, and semantics. See also case, number, and morphology.