substantiv

Substantiv is a term used in grammar to denote a word class that refers to people, animals, objects, places, or ideas. In German language studies the word is commonly used interchangeably with noun (Nomen). Substantives can be common or proper, countable or mass, and they typically function as the main referents in clauses, serving as subjects, objects, or complements.

In German, substantives exhibit grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), number (singular or plural), and four cases (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive) that influence the form of accompanying articles and adjectives. They inflect according to declension patterns, such as weak, strong, or mixed kinds, and they take different definite or indefinite articles depending on case and gender. Nouns are capitalized in standard German orthography. Compound nouns are common, and plural formation varies widely. Nouns can also be created or extended through nominalization, turning verbs or adjectives into nouns.

Across languages, the term substantiv generally corresponds to the broad category of nouns, with variations in morphology and syntax. In Swedish and Norwegian, for example, substantiv covers common and proper nouns and interacts with definite and indefinite forms through articles or suffixes. In general, substantives form the core of noun phrases and undergo inflection for features like number, gender, case, and definiteness in languages that employ such systems.