nominatieve

The nominatieve, or nominative case, is a grammatical category used to mark the subject of a finite verb in languages with a system of inflection. The term comes from Latin nominativus, meaning related to naming or a name. In languages that use cases, the nominative typically designates the noun or pronoun that performs the action or is discussed in the clause.

In many languages, the nominative is the default form for subjects. For example, in German the subject of a sentence is usually in the nominative case, as in Der Mann schläft (The man sleeps), where Der Mann is nominative. In Russian, the subject noun often appears in the nominative form, such as Кот спит (Kot spit), where кот is in the nominative. English, by contrast, tends not to mark nouns with distinct endings, but pronouns have distinct nominative forms (I, you, he, she, we, they), which are used for subjects.

Marking of the nominative varies by language. Some languages show overt endings on nouns or adjectives, or use specific articles and word forms to signal the nominative. Others rely on word order and pronoun inflection rather than noun declension. In many languages with a rich case system, the nominative contrasts with other cases such as the accusative, genitive, and dative, each serving different grammatical roles.

Functions of the nominative include the subject of a sentence, the predicate noun or adjective in copular constructions, and, in some languages, the base form used for naming or citation. Etymologically, the term reflects its historical role in naming and identifying the subject within clauses.