Nominative Case in Latin: What You Need To Know
Wondering how to use or translate the nominative case in Latin? Then look no further.
This post is your comprehensive guide to the Latin nominative case. I will explain what the nominative is and what its uses are, with lots of examples.
What is the nominative case in Latin?
The nominative is the default case in Latin. You learn Latin nouns in the nominative singular form. When you memorize a vocabulary word, you are memorizing the nominative singular.
The nominative singular appears first in dictionary entries and textbook vocabulary lists. It also appears first in declension paradigms. Basically, you always start with the nominative!
The very name of the case stresses this primacy. In Latin, this case is known as the cāsus nōminātīvus or the “naming case”.
Nōminātīvus comes from the verb nōminō “name, call by name”, which in turn goes back to the noun nōmen. Nōmen means “name” or, in a grammatical context, “noun.”
nōmen “name” > nōminō “call by name” > cāsus nōminātīvus “naming case” > nominative
This etymology makes sense when we study the uses of the nominative. The nominative is the default case, the one that you use to name the subject of a sentence.
With this background, let’s examine the uses of the nominative case in detail.
How is the Latin nominative case used?
There are two primary uses of the nominative case: for subjects and for predicate nominatives. Don’t worry if you don’t know what those terms mean – I will explain further down.
These two uses are by far the most frequent, but we will also touch briefly on a third possible use of the nominative: for exclamations.
1. Subject of a Finite Verb
The subject of a finite verb is always in the nominative case. Remember: the subject is the noun or pronoun that controls the verb.
If the verb is active, the subject performs the action. If the verb is passive, the subject receives it.
I have put the subjects in bold in the following English and Latin sentences.
The sailors see the water. = Nautae aquam vident.
The woman will come tomorrow. = Fēmina crās veniet.
The wall was tall. = Mūrus erat altus.
All of these examples involve the subjects of active verbs. The subjects – the sailors, the woman, and the wall – are the ones that perform the actions of seeing, arriving, and being. (Insofar as you can perform the action of being . . .)
Now let’s look at the subjects of passive verbs.
The priest was heard. = Sacerdōs audītus est.
The dogs are carried by the men. = Canēs a virīs portantur.
War will be declared. = Bellum nūntiābitur.
In all of these examples, the subjects – the priest, dogs, and war – receive the actions of the passive verbs. But they are still the subjects, because the verbs agree with them in person and number.
Before we move on to the next usage of the Latin nominative case, I need to make one final distinction. The subjects of finite verbs are in the nominative.
What is a finite verb? Basically, it is a verb that is conjugated and has all the verbal properties of conjugation: person, number, tense, voice, and mood.
This distinction is important because the subjects of infinitives are in the accusative case, not the nominative. But if you are a beginning Latin student, you don’t need to worry about this yet.
The big takeaway: the subject of a Latin verb will be in the nominative.
2. Predicate Nominative or Predicate Adjective
Predicate nominatives are – gasp – in the nominative case. (The name is a big hint!) But, you may ask, what is a predicate nominative, anyway?
Predicate nominatives are nouns or pronouns that come after a linking verb. Predicate adjectives are adjectives that come after a linking verb.
The most common linking verb is the verb sum “to be”. Here are a few examples, with the predicate nominatives in bold.
The king is a farmer. = Rēx est agricola.
The girls were priestesses. = Puellae erant sacerdōtēs.
I will be a leader. = Dux erō.
These examples all involve the verb “to be” (Latin sum), but there are many other linking verbs. A few others in English are “become”, “seem”, “appear”, and “look”.
Linking verbs express an equivalence between the subject and the predicate. They say that X equals Y. And so, since the subject is in the nominative, it makes sense that the predicate nominative or adjective would also be in the nominative.
Here are some examples of sentences with predicate adjectives:
Today the girl seems happy. = Hodiē puella vidētur laeta.
You became good. Tū factus es bonus.
And there you go. As long as the subject is nominative, the predicate nominative or predicate adjective will also be in the nominative.
3. Nominative in Exclamations
Occasionally Romans used the nominative case for exclamations. This is not a very frequent use, however – usually the accusative case appears in this function.
A classic example of an exclamatory nominative is found in the Latin translation of the Gospel of St. John. When Pontius Pilate reveals Jesus to the crowd, he cries:
Behold the man! = Ecce homō!
John 19:5
Homō is in the nominative case, instead of the accusative as we might expect.
What does the Latin nominative case end in?
Now you know what the nominative case is and how it is used, but you may still be wondering: how do you recognize this case?
The nominative case ending of a noun depends on what declension it belongs to. Here are the common nominative endings for each declension:
- 1st declension: –a in the singular, –ae in the plural
- 2nd declension masculine: –us or -er in the singular, –ī in the plural
- 2nd declension neuter: –um in the singular, –a in the plural
- 3rd declension masculine/feminine: variable in the singular, -ēs in the plural
- 3rd declension neuter: variable in the singular, –a in the neuter plural
- 4th declension masculine: –us in the singular, –ūs in the plural
- 4th declension neuter: ū in the singular, –ua in the plural
- 5th declension: –ēs in the singular, –ēs in the plural
If you want to know more, check out this ultimate guide to Latin noun endings.
Final Thoughts on the Nominative Case in Latin
Are you feeling more confident about the Latin nominative case? The main two things to remember are
- subjects of finite verbs are in the nominative
- predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives are in the nominative
If you keep these functions in mind, you will do just fine.
Now one last note: in textbooks and dictionaries, you will often see “nominative” abbreviated to “nom.” or even just “N”.
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