Cases in English. Cases of nouns in English. The possessive case is not used

And numerals, which serve to connect words in a sentence. But their cases in English, which are variants of the same word (word form), nevertheless, exist. Fortunately, there are only 3 of them: object, subjective and possessive. Let's talk about each one of them. C "mon.

Subject and object cases in English

To understand the concept of the objective case, we will have to go back in time and recall a little the school course of the Russian language. We all remember that the subject is the word in the nominative case. As for the rest of the nouns and pronouns in the sentence, they will most often be objects. AT English language everything follows the same principle. The pronoun or noun is either the subject ( subject), or complement ( object). Recall that the subject answers the question "who?" and what"? (Nominative case). It's easy to guess that subject will stand in subjective case, a additions- in objective case.

A man saw a dog near a building.

There are 3 nouns in this sentence: a man, a dog and a building.
At the first place, as always, is subject for which is used subjective case in English. It is followed by addition a dog, which, respectively, is in object case. As can be seen from the example, the form of the noun has not changed.

Object case for pronouns

With nouns, everything is simple - they do not change their form for both cases (subjective and objective). But pronouns have their own special form in the case when they are not in the place of the subject:

I saw him, and he saw me.

Possessive case in English

If everything is more or less clear with the subject and object cases, since they correspond to the case forms of the Russian language, then we do not have the possessive case. The questions of belonging (“whose?”, “Whose?”, “Whose?”, “Whose?”) are answered by an adjective. And in English this function is performed by the category of case of nouns and pronouns.

However, for nouns and pronouns, the implementation of the possessive function will be different.

"" is used to indicate ownership of nouns. s“Moreover, the ending is added to the noun to which something belongs.

This is my mother's bag
This is my mother's bag.

If a noun ends with hissing or " s", then just add apostrophe :

I"ll take my parents" car.
I'll take my parents' car.

should be distinguished possessive «" s» from verb abbreviations « is» — «" s».

I like John's new blazer.

Whose new blazer? John, therefore John's — possessive noun John.

I think John's right.

What is John doing? is right, therefore John's — reduction from John is right.

Now let's look at some special cases use of the possessive ending "" s»:

• If the plural form of the noun ends not on « s”, then we use the full version of the possessive ending - apostrophe + « s': mouse - mice. The main character is mice's King.- The main character is the Mouse King.
• In English, there are compound nouns consisting of several words. As a rule, they are written with a hyphen. to such words "" s» is added after the very last word: We all waited for The-Boy-Who-Lived's speech. We were all waiting for the speech of the boy who lived.

The possessive case of inanimate nouns is formed by the preposition " of', not the endings '' s» (the headquarter of the company). But there are exceptions for:

• Planets - Jupiter's size.
• Newspapers and organizations - Times "s editor, UNESCO's operation.
• Distance and time - ten meter's height, a minute's business.
• Seasons and months - summer's sadness, July's hit.
• Cities and countries - Minsk's Main Square, Russian "s elite force.

Words like nature, ship, nation, country,car, water, city, boat, ocean and town - ship's crew, nation's pride, car's engine etc.

Ownership pronouns also have their own form:

My son is the smartest in his class.
My son is the smartest in his class.

As you can see from the example, the possessive pronoun must be followed by a noun. However, pronouns have an absolute form that allows them to be used without a noun or in a different position (not just in front).

He was a friend of mine.
He was my friend.

Where are your socks? -I don't know, but yours are there.
Where are your socks? - I don't know, but yours are there.

That's all absolute forms of possessives pronouns:

Che thought about it ... And to whom am I writing this? Still not enough to become a schizo. I'd better spin the slots and go ----------

Conclusion

Cases in English perform somewhat different functions than in Russian. This can cause difficulties when translating and trying to express your idea. But there are only three of them, and the way of education is easier than in Russian - you do not need to memorize the spelling of endings, based on such complex concepts as declension, gender and number.

To improve your skills in using English cases, as well as practice using them and clarify the remaining nuances, use the services of an online tutor. It's quick, easy, and doesn't even require you to leave your home. try it ;)

Big and friendly family EnglishDom

Used in written and spoken language, it occurs more often among those who are seriously engaged in the study of this subject. Now it has become a necessity to own foreign language. And own it high level is possible only if you thoroughly study the grammatical features of the language. This is where we need information about how many cases nouns have in English, how they are formed and when they need to be applied. That is what we are going to talk about in this article.

The concept of cases

First, let's figure out what cases exist in English. The table, usage examples and translation options will not give us a complete understanding of the topic, since everything is taken there briefly, concisely and designed for an experienced user. It is necessary to carefully study each case separately and understand the similarities and differences from cases in Russian. This is necessary to facilitate the assimilation of the material. So, in English there are two cases:

1. The case is common, which has the name Common Case.
2. Possessive case, translated as Possessive Case.

What is a fall in and of itself? This is a grammatical trick that helps express the relation of the noun to other words in the sentence. Initially, back in ancient English, there were several cases similar to Russian:

• nominative;
• genitive;
• dative;
• accusative;
• instrumental.

But over time, changes in linguistics, most of the cases disappeared, only two remained. We are dealing with them to this day. This cannot but please language learners, as the understanding and use of words in a sentence has become much easier.

Common case

When discussing the topic of how many cases there are in English, it would be appropriate to start with the common case. This grammatical nuance does not affect the form of the word in any way, while its meaning is so vague that words can be used in different situations and contexts. The common case has two uses:

1. As the subject of the action, basically acting as the subject of the sentence: The frog jumps high. He swims fast.
2. As an action object, acting as a receiver. I gave it to the man. He called us at 4.

At the same time, it should be noted that this distinction does not have any effect on the noun. It has always stood in its form and will remain in the same form. But with pronouns, the situation is different. Their form depends on what function they perform, whether they are an object or a subject. We will see this clearly in the examples in the table.

	I bought a car. I bought a car.		He gave me a book. He gave me a book.
	He bought a car. He bought a car.		He gave him a book. He gave him a book.
	She bought a car. She bought a car.		He gave her a book. He gave her a book.
	It bought a car. It (the enterprise) bought the car.		He gave it a book. He gave him a book.
	We bought a car. We bought a car.		He gave us a book. He gave us a book.
	They bought a car. They bought a car.		He gave them a book. He gave them a book.
	You bought a car. You (you) bought a car.		He gave you a book. He gave you (you) a book.

Here on such simple examples You can see the difference in the form of pronouns. As for nouns, their form does not change. The meaning of a word and its relation to other words in a sentence are determined by their place in the word order. This factor makes English one of the easiest to learn. In addition to the established word order, there are also prepositions that help to understand what role a particular noun plays in a sentence.

For example:

• They made it with a knife. They did it with a knife. The preposition with helps to correctly define the function of the word "knife".
• He goes to school. He goes to school. The preposition to also helps to correctly interpret the use of the word "school".

Possessive

Further, speaking about how many cases there are in English, we move on to the second case - the possessive. Already from the name it becomes clear what question he answers: whose? whose? whose? whose? Special possessive forms are used to denote this pronoun:

Personal pronoun	Possessive pronoun
		John kissed my hand. John kissed my hand.
		I saw his mother. I saw his mother.
		He made her phone. He made her phone.
		We looked at its window. We looked at his (factory's) window.
		Our city is big. Our city is big.
		This is your school. This is your school.
		All their toys are broken. All their toys are broken.

This is how things are if we are talking about pronouns. Nouns have a different picture. There are two possible expressions for this case:

1. Using an apostrophe and ending -s.
2. The use of the preposition of.

If the noun is animate, then the first option applies here. For example, mother's bag - mother's bag, brother's book - brother's book etc. At the same time, it is the apostrophe that shows what belongs to whom. If the noun is not alive, then using the first option is incorrect, and a preposition comes to the rescue, for example: the door of the room - the door of the room, the part of the story - part of the story etc.

Case Features

As we continue to discuss how many cases there are in the English language, we must not forget about the features and exceptions that the English language is so famous for. So, there are a few things to keep in mind:

• if the word consists of two or more parts, then the possessive ending will be added only to the last: passer-by's ticket - passer-by's ticket;
• if this form refers not to one, but to several words, then the ending will also be added at the end of the phrase: father and mother's room - mom and dad's room;
• if the noun is plural, only an apostrophe is added to it: sisters' dinner - sisters' dinner.

Exceptions

There are a number of inanimate words to which it is possible to apply the possessive ending -s:

• measures of time and distance: today's bus - today's bus;
• cities, countries: Russian's industry - Russian industry;
• newspapers, organizations OBSCE's car - OSCE car;
• the words: nation, country, city, town, ship, car, boat, nature, water, ocean;
• month, seasons: winter's weather - winter weather;
• planets: Jupiter's light - the light of Jupiter;
• established phrases.

Speaking about how many cases there are in English, the number of exceptions should also be taken into account. This is the most important point. After all, everyone knows: it is not so important to learn the rule as its exceptions.

Application of prepositions

Also, English cases in practice help to express prepositions. There are some of the most popular prepositions that convey the meaning of the dative and

• Preposition to. Shows the direction of action and conveys the dative case: She goes to Mike. She goes to Mike.
• Preposition with. Used to show the use of some object or tool, and conveys the instrumental case: She was killed with a knife. She was killed with a knife.
• Preposition by. Indicates who or what is doing the action: They saw a bag carried by a man. They saw a bag carried by a man.

As you can see, with the help of such simple tricks, the grammar of the English language manages to convey all the necessary information both in writing and orally.

From the first word, the phrase "cases in English" causes anxiety and a lot of questions.

No need to be scared!

Unlike the Russian language, in English everything is much simpler. So much so that having met with English cases, people do not even know that they are studying them.

In this article, we will deal with the very concept of case, remember what role it plays in our native Russian language, and how cases are used in English.

So let's get started. Let's start with our native language.

What is "fall"?

We all know that in Russian there are words that answer the question "who? / What?". Such words denote objects, events, living beings, and so on.

For example:

"What?": rain, house, train, weather, mood.

"Who?": friend, brother, John, cat.

What is "case" and how does it work in Russian?

The case just shows us the connection of words that answer the question “who / what” with other words.

For example, take the word "house". We can change it, depending on what we want to say.

He bought (what?) a house.

He is happy with (what?) the house.

He thinks (about what?) about the house.

As you can see, our word is changed to make the sentence logical.

So what happens if you remove the cases?

As you have already noticed, it is cases that help us understand what is happening in a sentence.

Without them, it would seem incoherent. It would be difficult for us to understand what the interlocutor means:

[Frogs] eat [mosquitoes].

Who eats whom? Mosquito frogs, or frog mosquitoes?

[Emma] likes [John].

Who likes who? Emma to John or John to Emma?

How are cases used in English?

The good news is that cases are still easier in English than in Russian. On the this moment there are only three of them.

1) Subjective Case

2) Object case (Objectivecase)

3) Possessive case (Possessivecase).

Don't be afraid of complicated names! Now we will analyze them in order.

Subjective case in English

The very word "subject" is someone or something who performs an action, is the main character in the sentence.

For example:

Cat sleeping on the table.

As you can see, the word "cat" - main character suggestions.

subjective case (subjective case)- this is the form in which the word that performs the action and is the main character of the sentence does not change.

He is staying at this hotel.
He lives in this hotel.

my new car works well.
My new car works well.

John asked me about it yesterday.
John asked me about it yesterday.

We can ask the question “who / what” to all the highlighted words, they are the main ones in the sentence and do not change in any way. That's the whole subjective case.

Object case in English

Objective Case called "objective" because the word does not perform an action, but is object: that is, the object / person to whom this action is directed.

In English, only pronouns have this case.

What is a pronoun?

Pronoun- a word that indicates objects (I, you, he, she) and signs (mine, yours, hers).

With the help of pronouns, we replace words in a sentence to avoid repetition. Let's look at this with an example:

Tom is studying at the university. He(we are replacing the name Tom so as not to repeat) will finish his(replace the word university) in a year.

This is how we replaced the words "Tom" and "university" with the help of pronouns so as not to repeat them in the next sentence.

The object case appears when pronouns do not take action, that is, they are anything but the main character.

Compare:

I know him well.
I I know He is well.

He bought flowers for her.
He bought flowers for her.

What can you tell me about them?
What you to me can talk about them?

Here "I", "he", "you" answer the question "who?" and take action.

But in the same sentences there were words “his”, “her”, “them”, which do not perform an action, but experience them on themselves:

Iknowhim well.
I know his OK.

He bought flowers for her.
He bought flowers for her.

What can you tell me about them?
What can you tell me about them?

As you can see, the pronouns in this case change. It happens like this:

regular shape	Objective case
I I	me me, me, me
You You you	you you, you, you; you, you, you
We We	us us, us, us
They They are	them them, them, them
He He	him him, him, them
She She is	her her, her, her
It It	it him, him, them

What happens to other words that name specific objects, animals, or people?

They remain unchanged. Compare:

Iknowhim (changehe onhim)well.
I know him well.

Iknowmybrother (leave unchanged)well.
I know my brother well.

As you can see, we do not change the word brother in any way. Since such words do not change, they are considered to always be in the subjective case!

Possessive case in English

“Possessive” means that it refers to a situation where something belongs to something.

In English, ownership is indicated by " s at the end of a word.

My friend"s brother is a very interesting person.
Brother my friend- a very interesting person.

I saw John's car near the office.
I have seen car John next to the office.

In most cases, we simply append it to the word: my friend "s advice (my friend's advice), somebody "s coat (someone's coat), John "s car (John's car).

However, there are some nuances regarding the use "s.

Exceptions are words that themselves end in - s: boss (boss, boss), Jones (surname Jones).

In such cases, we put the sign """ after the word:

Boss [boss] / - Boss" [bo’siz] / ["bɒsɪz]

Jones [jones] / - Jones" [jones] / ["dʒəʊnzɪz]

Also note that pronouns like I, he, she, it, etc. have their own forms of the possessive case:

regular shape	Objective case
I I	my my
You You you	your yours / yours
We We	our our
They They are	their them
He He	his his
She She is	her her
It It	its him, her

Let's summarize. Let's take another look at the case usage table in English.

General table of case usage in English

Cases in English are used as follows:

subjective case	Objective case	Possessive
We don't change the word. We use for: 1. Pronouns that perform actions (i.e., being the main character). She liveshere. She lives here. We went to the park. We went to the park 2. All nouns (objects, people, animals, etc.). My friend lives here. My friend lives here. I brought some pizza. I brought some pizza.	Use for items when they are affected. We change only pronouns to: me, you, him, her, it, us, them. For example: He called me yesterday. He called to me yesterday. We saw them at the meeting. We saw them at the meeting.	Denotes the belonging of one object to another. Add to word "s. We change pronouns to: my, your, his, her, its, our, their. This is my son's photo. This is a photo of my son. His new book is amazing. His new book is amazing.

That, in fact, is all that can be said about cases in English.

As you can see, the situation here is much simpler than in Russian. The English language is arranged in such a way that it does not need such a complex system as in Russian, where it is possible to understand who likes whom (John Emma or Emma John) only with the help of cases. For English, word order is sufficient.

I hope this article helped you figure out another aspect of English grammar! Now let's put all this into practice.

Reinforcement task

Replace the underlined word with the word in brackets in the correct form. Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

1. Our (we) house is located near the subway.
2. I talked to her (she) yesterday.
3. Machine Mr. Reynolds(Mr. Raynolds) stands under the window of his (he) office.
4. We would like to ask him (he) a question.
5. I received a letter from cousin(cousin).
6. He bought this ring for her (she).
7. My colleague told them (they) about me (I).
8. I listened to the reports of my colleagues (colleague).

In the case when in the common case it is used without a preposition, its relation to other words in a sentence is determined solely by the place occupied in the proposal. If the noun is located before the predicate, then it is subject and corresponds to the nominative case in Russian. If it's worth after the predicate, then it is direct complement and is often used in the accusative case.

• The student(Student: noun as subject) recognized the teacher (recognized the teacher).
• The teacher recognized (The teacher found out) the student(student: direct object).

Between the predicate and the noun, which is a direct object, there can be another noun in the common case without a preposition, denoting a person. Such a noun is indirect addition and corresponds to the dative case in Russian.

A noun in the possessive case answers the question whose? - whose? whose? whose?, serves as a definition denoting the belonging of an object. In the possessive case, only animate nouns are used.

Possessive case formation

In the singular, the possessive case is formed by adding the ending -"s.

• The girl "s hat - Girl's hat
• The hourse "s leg - Horse leg

In the plural, the possessive case is formed by simply adding an apostrophe:

• The boys "books - Boys' books
• The workers" tools — Tools of the workers

If there are two or more persons who have the object, then the possessive case ending is added to the last noun:

• Mary and Helen "s flat is large - Peter and Elena's apartment is large

Use of the possessive case

When a noun (friends), defined by a noun in the possessive case (Kate "s), has other definitions (best), then the noun in the possessive case (Kate" s) comes before them (best):

• Kate "s friends - Katya's friends
• Kate "s best friends - Katya's best friends

Along with a noun in the possessive case, a noun with a preposition is used to express belonging of.

• My friend "s father = The father of my friend - My friend's father

Here you can find English cases, their names, examples of application.

CASE

1. In English, only two cases of nouns have been preserved: common (the Common Case) and possessive (the Possessive Case).

A noun in the general case does not have a special ending. The function of a noun in the general case is determined by its place in the sentence:

After exams (time circumstance) students (subject) of the history faculty (definition) left for an archaeological expedition.
After the exams, students of the Faculty of History left for an archaeological expedition.

2. A noun in the possessive case expresses belonging, is a definition to another noun and is placed before it.

The possessive case form is formed by adding "s (an apostrophe and s) to a singular noun in the common case. This ending is pronounced according to the same rules as the plural ending of nouns, i.e. depending on the previous sound:

1. After voiceless consonants like [s]:
the cadet "s book cadet's book

2. After voiced consonants and vowels like [z]:
Frunze "s works ["frunzaz] - Frunze's works
the worker "s profession - the profession of a worker

3. After hissing sounds like:
Bush "s songs - Bush songs

3. The form of the possessive case of nouns ending in the common case with the consonants -s, -ss, -x, is formed using only an apostrophe ("). In this case, the final consonants are pronounced as:

Dickens" ["dikinziz] works - works by Dickens

4. The form of the possessive case of plural nouns with the plural ending -s is formed by adding only an apostrophe ("") to the ending:

his brothers "teacher - the teacher of his brothers

The possessive form of nouns that do not have a plural ending is formed, as in the singular, by
addition "s:

her children "s room her children's room

5. To form the possessive case of complex nouns "s is added to the stem of the last word:

editor-in-chief "s room - editor-in-chief's office

6. The following nouns can have the possessive case:
a. All nouns denoting animate objects:

the cat "s eyes - cat's eyes
his brother "s name - the name of his brother

b. Collective nouns:

party "s policy - party policy
their family "s pride - the pride of their family

c. Nouns denoting the concepts of time, distance, weight, cost:

an hour's walk - an hour's walk
at one mile "s distance - at a distance of one mile

d. Nouns denoting names
stars, planets, cities, countries, seas, etc.:

the moon "s light - moonlight (moonlight)
the ocean "s waves - waves of the ocean

e. Nouns denoting machines
machine parts, ships, aircraft, etc.:

the plane "s engine - aircraft engine
the steamer "s name - the name of the steamer

f. Nouns that are geographical proper names:

New York's life - life New York
Mont Blanc "s peak - the top of Mont Blanc

g. Nouns denoting seasons
days of the week, parts of the day, etc.

the spring "s streams - spring streams
today "s lesson - today's lesson

The form of the possessive case has been preserved in some expressions:

live by one "s finger" s ends - go to the extreme
for pity "s sake - I beg you
a pin "s head - a pin head, etc.

In all other cases, the relation of belonging is conveyed by a noun with the preposition of. A noun with the preposition of is placed after the noun it defines:

the center of the city - city center

EXPRESSION OF CASE RELATIONS

7. The relations of nouns to other words in a sentence, which in Russian are transmitted by means of case endings, namely the relations of the genitive, dative and instrumental cases, in English are transmitted by a noun in the common case in combination with prepositions.

8. The relations transmitted in Russian by the genitive case (answering the questions of whom? What?) Are expressed using the preposition of:

Music is the universal language of mankind.
Music is the universal language of mankind.

9. Relations transmitted in Russian dative case(answering questions to whom? why?), are expressed in English using the preposition to:

The name of Zina Portnova, a young partisan from Leningrad was given to an ocean liner.
The name of Zina Portnova, a young partisan from Leningrad, was given to an ocean liner.

10. Relations, conveyed in Russian by the instrumental case (answering questions by whom? with what?), Are expressed in English using the prepositions by or with. At the same time, the noun with the preposition by means actor, acting force, and a noun with the preposition with (except when this preposition indicates the compatibility of the action and corresponds to the Russian prepositions с, с) denotes a tool or instrument of action:

I have got many books written by J. London.
I have many books written by J. London.

We write with a pen or a pencil.
We write with a pen or pencil.

I "ll help you with great pleasure.
I will be happy to help you.

11. Case relations can be expressed with other prepositions:

On the way downstairs the nurse told me the story of my two friends.
On the way downstairs, the nanny told me the story of two of my friends.

Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people.
Democracy is the government of the people, elected by the people and for the people.