Cases of Nouns: When to Use

Subjective, Objective, and Possessive

APRIL 14, 2014 BY KATHY MURDOCK

Nouns in the English language have

three cases: subjective, objective and possessive. The case of the noun
depends on how the noun functions in the sentence. Is the noun used as the
main subject of the sentence? Is the noun used to show possession of
something else? Is the noun in the sentence receiving something from
another object? Does the noun follow a preposition? Answering the above
questions can help you determine the type of nouns found in a sentence.
The function of the noun determines its case. Sign up for Advanced
English Grammar to learn more about nouns (indefinite, definite) or
other parts of speech. Then follow along with this article to learn more
about the three cases of nouns: subjective, objective and possessive.

First, a Word About Cases of Nouns: Changing Form

(Or How Nouns Usually Dont!)
Unlike verbs, which might change form depending upon the tense used in
the sentence ie: jog, jogging, jogged or lick, licking, licked most nouns
do not change form depending upon their case. As with most things, there
are exceptions. One exception to this general rule when it comes to cases of
nouns: Possessive nouns, which we will discuss later in this article,
sometimes change form through the addition of an apostrophe and,
possibly, an s.

Though we are discussing cases of nouns in particular, pronouns also

display the same cases as nouns. Pronouns may be used as the main subject
in a sentence; they may be used to display possession; and they may be
used as an object of a proposition. While cases of nouns do not typically
change form, cases of pronouns can.
Now, lets take a look at the cases of nouns separately with examples of
each.

Cases of Nouns: Subjective

Subjective nouns are sometimes referred to as nominative nouns. These
nouns either are the subject of the sentence or they are used as a predicate
noun, which follows a be verb and renames the main subject of the
sentence. These are likely the easiest nouns to spot, as they are typically the
subject of the verb in the sentence.
Lets take a look at a few examples of subjective/nominative nouns:
Mary drove to the store. Mary is a subjective noun; she is the one that
drove.
Elvis sang for many years. Elvis was the one doing the singing; Elvis is the
subjective noun.
Now, compare those two examples with the following two examples of how
they may be used as a predicate noun:
The teacher was the speaker. The speaker is renaming who the teacher was
and it is linked by was.
Allen is a pediatrician. Pediatrician is the predicate noun as it is renaming
who Allen is and it is linked by the verb is.

Cases of Nouns: Objective

Nouns are referred to as objective when they are used as direct objects,
indirect objects or objects of a preposition. Locating the objective nouns
can be a bit trickier than spotting a subjective or predicate noun, but with a
little practice you will have no trouble identifying these cases of nouns in a
sentence. So lets practice!

Direct Objects: Direct objects receive action in a sentence. They can

typically be found by looking at the verb in the sentence and asking what?
or sometimes whom? As an example:
Show her the book now. (Show whom the book? Her. Her is the direct
object.)
My brother licked a lizard. (Licked what? A lizard. Lizard is the direct
object.)
Indirect Objects: Indirect objects receive the direct object and can be
identified by locating the direct object first and then asking who received
that direct object. Sounds confusing? It wont be after youve had a bit of
practice locating the indirect object. Lets look at a few examples:
Mark threw his father the football. Here, the verb is throw. Throw what?
The football, which is the direct object. Threw the football to whom? He
threw it to his father, which would be the recipient of the direct object (the
football) and, therefore, the indirect object.
Heres another example of an indirect object:
Barbara gave her sister a dollar. To whom did she give the dollar, which is
your direct object? To her sister. So, her sister is the recipient, or the
indirect object, based on the rules above.
Objects of a Preposition: The object of a preposition is the noun or pronoun
that follows a preposition. For example:
He eats with me. With is the preposition, so me is the object of the
preposition.
We used one example above that could have been written by using an object
of the preposition. Look at this:
Mark threw his father the football.
Instead, we could have written:
Mark threw the football to his father. In this instance, due to the use of the
preposition to, father becomes the object of a preposition.

Cases of Nouns: Possessive

Nouns are considered possessive when they are used to show ownership of
something. They will sometimes use an apostrophe, but this is not always
the case. Pronouns can also be used in the possessive case, as in his
backpack or her purse.
Examples of possessive nouns include:
Marys backpack was red. Marys is the possessive noun showing ownership
of the backpack.
Geralds shirt was blue with white stripes. Geralds is the possessive noun.
The course Elementary English Course EFL teaches students about
possessive pronouns.

Cases of Nouns: Getting Your Toes Wet

While we have briefly broken down the different cases of nouns and given
you some examples of each, this lesson is just allowing you to get your toes
wet when it comes to practicing these parts of speech. We did not talk about
a variety of other things, such as predicate adjectives, which describes
nouns; intransitive verbs, which do not have direct objects; or verb
complements. For more advanced lessons in the English language, try
our Intermediate English course.
To practice more usage of nouns, along with verbs and pronouns, sign up
for The Elements of English Grammar, which offers practice sessions
and over 430 minutes of video instruction.