nominatiivisel

Nominatiivisel is the adessive singular form of the Estonian adjective nominatiivne, meaning "nominative." It is used when describing something related to or located in the nominative case. This form appears in phrases such as nominatiivsel juhul, meaning "in the nominative case," and is common in grammar explanations and dictionaries.

Morphology and use: In Estonian, adjectives decline to agree with the noun they modify in number and case. The base form nominatiivne denotes the concept of nominative. To describe a noun in the adessive case or in contexts where the phrase refers to the nominative in a location or state, the adjective takes the adessive singular ending -sel, yielding nominatiivsel. The corresponding plural adessive form would be nominatiivsetel, used when describing multiple items in the nominative-related context. Thus nominatiivisel functions as the grammatically required form in phrases like "nominatiivsel juhul."

Function in grammar texts: Nominatiivisel functions as a descriptive, inflected form rather than a standalone lexical item. It appears primarily in instructional materials, glossaries, and explanatory prose about how Estonian adjectives agree with nouns across cases. It helps learners specify that a given noun or noun phrase is being discussed in relation to the nominative case.

Examples: In grammatical discussion, one may encounter: Sõna 'kass' nominatiivsel juhul on 'kass' — meaning that in the nominative case, the word is in its base form. Another example: Sõnade kirjeldamisel võib kasutada fraasi nominatiivsel juhul, et viidata nominatiivse kasti või vormi rollile lauses.

See also: nominatiiv, Estonian grammar, grammatical cases.