nominatively

Nominatively is an adverb used in linguistic descriptions to indicate that a word or phrase is in the nominative case. The nominative case is the grammatical form typically used for the subject of a finite verb in languages that mark case. When a noun, pronoun, or adjective carries nominative inflection, it signals its role as the subject within the sentence.

In languages with overt case systems, nominative marking contrasts with other cases such as the accusative, genitive, or dative. The subject of a sentence may be identified by nominative endings, by word order, or by a combination of both, depending on the language. English has largely lost a distinct nominative noun form, relying instead on word order for subject identification; pronouns, however, retain nominative forms (I, you, he, she, it, we, they). In linguistic analysis, nominatively marked phrases or words are described as being in the nominative case.

Usage examples illustrate the concept without implying that English uses a separate nominative noun form. In Latin, Puella cantat means “The girl sings,” with Puella in the nominative singular as the subject. In German, Der Mann schläft assigns the nominative to Der Mann for the subject. In Russian, the subject of a sentence is typically in the nominative case as well. These examples show how nominatively marked subjects function across languages with case systems.

Etymology derives from Latin nominativus, related to nomen “name.” The term is most common in grammar and typology discussions rather than everyday prose. See also nominative case, case system, and nominative-accusative alignment.