nominatiivis

Nominatiivis is a term used in Estonian grammar to denote the nominative case, the basic form of a noun (and its adjectives) used in the subject position or as a predicate noun. In Estonian, the nominative is one of several cases used to mark a word’s syntactic role in a sentence, but it generally corresponds to the dictionary form of the word.

In use, a noun in the nominative case typically serves as the subject of a clause. It is also the form used for predicate nouns and adjectives in sentences with linking verbs, such as ta on arst, where arst is in the nominative and functions as a predicative noun. The nominative form is also the form found in dictionaries and encyclopedic entries for that word.

Estonian nouns undergo a range of case inflections, including genitive, partitive, and others, depending on number (singular or plural) and grammatical context. The nominative singular is usually the lemma, while the nominative plural forms vary by stem class and may involve different endings. Adjectives agree with the noun in case and number, and when they appear in the nominative, they take the corresponding nominative form of the adjective.

Nominatiivis is also used in linguistic descriptions and grammar teaching to label examples that illustrate how a word appears when it is in the nominative case. It is distinct from other case forms, which would mark roles such as possession, partial objects, or other syntactic functions.

In summary, nominatiivis refers to the nominative case's role and form in Estonian language description, highlighting its function as the base form and the form used for subjects and predicate nouns.