sustantiva

Sustantiva is a term used in Spanish grammar to refer to aspects related to nouns (sustantivos) and to noun-like clauses. In this usage, sustantiva can describe both a word or phrase that functions as a noun and the clauses that behave as nouns within a larger sentence.

One common sense is to use sustantiva to refer to a word or expression that plays the role of a noun in a sentence. Examples include the noun itself, such as casa, ciudad o hambre, or nominalized forms like the infinitive comer in El comer sin hambre es arriesgado, where comer acts as a noun. In everyday language, these are often described as palabras sustantivas or sustantivas nominalizadas.

A second sense concerns oraciones sustantivas, or noun clauses. These are subordinate clauses that function as a noun within a sentence, serving as subjects, objetos directos, o complementos de otros verbos o preposiciones. Examples include Quien llegó tarde fue José (Quien llegó tarde) functioning as the subject, and Dije que llegarían temprano (que llegarían temprano) functioning as the direct object of dije.

The term sustantiva is more commonly encountered in formal or traditional grammar, where it is used to specify the noun-like nature of an element. In modern grammar, the more frequent label for the category is sustantivo, but sustantiva remains in use in phrases such as oración sustantiva, cláusula sustantiva o sintagma sustantivo to denote specific noun-related functions.

In summary, sustantiva relates to nouns and noun clauses in Spanish grammar, encompassing both nominal words and subordinate clauses that operate as nouns within larger sentences.