Decension Meanings

Question 1

Nominative

Answer 1

subject, such as “he”; the subject of a statement and denotes the person or object that performs the action of the verb in the sentence. (answers “who?””)

Question 2

Accusitive

Answer 2

such as “him”; marks the direct object of a verb. (answers “whom?”)

Question 3

Genitive

Answer 3

expresses possession, measurement, or source. Many of its uses correspond in English to uses of the preposition “of”. (answers “whose?”)

Question 4

Dative

Answer 4

marks the recipient of an action, the indirect object of a verb. In English, the prepositions to and for frequently correspond to this case (answers “to whom?”)

Question 5

Ablative

Answer 5

expresses separation, indirection, or the means by which an action is performed. In English, the prepositions by, with, from, in and on are most commonly used to indicate these meanings. (answers “by/with/for whom?”)

Question 6

Vocative

Answer 6

the case of addressing someone; almost always identical to the nominative