nominativsingulativ

Nominativsingulativ is a term used in linguistic descriptions to denote the nominative singular form of a noun or pronoun in languages that mark grammatical case. In standard terminology, this form is usually called the nominative singular; nominativsingulativ appears as a coined label in certain typological discussions or wording variants. The nominative singular marks the syntactic role of a word as the subject of a clause or as a predicate nominative in languages with case systems, and it often corresponds to the word’s base form.

Morphology and usage: The nominative singular is typically the form that agrees with or determines determiners and adjectives in languages with rich morphology. In many languages the form is singular by default and may also reflect gender or noun class. Some languages have distinct endings for nominative singular that differ from other cases (for example, German der Hund in nominative singular versus den Hund in accusative), while others use the same form across cases. Pronouns often have clearly distinct nominative singular forms (I, you, he, she, we, they in English; ich, du, er, sie, es in German, etc.).

Cross-linguistic notes: In languages with no overt case marking, the nominative singular concept exists mainly as a syntactic role rather than a morphologically distinct form; word order and function determine subjecthood. In highly inflected languages, the nominative singular can interact with noun class, agreement, and agreement on adjectives.

See also: nominative case, singular, declension. The term nominativsingulativ is primarily used in theoretical or typological contexts and is not a universal label in everyday grammar.