What is the nominative case? (with examples)

What is the nominative case? (with examples)

The nominative case is the case used for a noun or pronoun that is the subject of a verb. For example (shaded nominative case):

• Mark eats cakes.
  (The noun “Mark“ is the subject of the verb “eats.“ “Mark“ is in the nominative case. In English, nouns do not change in different cases. Pronouns, however, do.)
• He eats cakes.
  (The pronoun “He“ is the subject of the verb “eats.“ “He“ is in the nominative case.)
• They eat cakes.
  (The pronoun “They“ is the subject of the verb “eats.“ “They“is in the nominative case.)

The nominative case is also used for a subject complement. For example:

• Mark is a businessman.
  (Here, “Mark“ is in the nominative case because it’s the subject of “is,“ and “businessman“ is in the nominative case because it’s a subject complement; i.e., it renames the subject.)
• It was I.
  (Here, “It“ is in the nominative case because it’s the subject of “was,“ and “I“is in the nominative case because it’s a subject complement; i.e., it renames the subject.)

The nominative case is also known as the subjective case.

Only Pronouns Change Their Forms

In modern English, a noun does not change its form in any case (apart from the possessive case). For example:

• The woman saw the cat.
  (Here, “woman“ is in the nominative case because it’s the subject of “saw.“)
• The cat saw the woman.
  (This time, “woman“is in the objective case, but there has been no change in spelling.)

A pronoun, however, changes its form depending on the case. Nominative pronouns (or subjective pronouns as they are better known) are“yo“, “you“, “the“, “ella“, “it’s“, “us“, “they“, “who“ y “whoever“. .“Look at this example:

• I saw the cat. The cat saw me.
  (“I“ is the subject of the verb “saw.“ It is a subjective pronoun. However, it changes to “me“when it is not in the nominative case; i.e., when it is not the subject of a verb or a subject complement.)

Nominative Pronouns

Here is a list of nominative pronouns and objective pronouns:

Nominative Pronoun	Objective Pronoun	Comment
I	me
you	you	There is no change.
he	him
she	her
it	it	There is no change.
we	us
they	them
who	whom
whoever	whomever

Why Should I Care about the Nominative Case?

Here are five good reasons to worry about the nominative case.

(Reason 1) Ensure subject-verb agreement.

A noun or pronoun in the nominative case must agree in number with its verb. This just means that a singular noun must match a singular verb. Similarly, a plural noun must match a plural verb. In other words, we must say“the cat was“and no“the cat was“. This is called subject-verb agreement.

This seems simple enough, but mistakes are common. The most common mistake is treating a modifier as a subject. Look at this example:

• A list of names were written on the paper. ❌
  (This is wrong because the noun in the nominative case is “list,“ which is singular. The phrase “of names“ is just a modifier. It doesn’t govern the verb.)
• A list of names was written on the paper. ✔️

(Reason 2) Learn the cases if you’re learning a foreign language.

El caso nominativo (también llamado “subjective case“) is the main case. It is the version of the word for the subject of your sentence. Any changes that occur in the other cases (called“oblique cases“) can be considered changes in the version of the nominative case. So the nominative case is the baseline. If you are learning a foreign language or teaching English, you should be comfortable with the nominative case feature. It is the first thing you will learn or teach.

(Reason 3) You can’t use “I“ as the object of a verb or the object of a preposition.

“I“is a nominative case pronoun. Therefore, it must be used as the subject of a verb. It cannot be an object of a verb (eg, They saw that I) or as the object of a preposition (eg, with me, to me). This includes when“yo“appears in terms like“my wife and I“ y “between you and me“. Look at these examples:

• They invited my wife and I. ❌
  (The nominative pronoun “I“ must be the subject of a verb. Here, it’s the direct object of the verb “invited.“ It should read “They invited me and my wife.“ Of note, the word order “my wife and me“ sounds awkward to most native English speakers, who prefer “me and my wife.“ This also contributes to writers saying “my wife and I.“)
• I presented a certificate from my wife and I. ❌
  (“I“ cannot be the object of a preposition. This should be “…from me and my wife.“)
• My wife and I presented a certificate. ✔️
  (This time, “I“ is fine. It’s the subject of the verb “presented.“)
• Between you and I, I think the plan will fail. ❌
  (The term “between you and I“ is always wrong. It should be “between you and me.“)

(Reason 4) Don’t use “myself“with an order.

The subject of a command (i.e., an imperative sentence) is a“you“inflicted. For example:

• Phone me on Tuesday.
  (There is an inferred “you“ in this order. In other words, “you“ is the subject of an imperative verb.)
• [You] Phone me on Tuesday.
  (Even though we don’t say the “you,“it is inferred.)

This is worth remembering because you can only use“yourself“ o “yourselves“with an imperative verb (ie, a command). you can’t use“myself“. Look at this wrong example:

• Email your proposals to Brian or directly to myself. ❌
  (You can’t use “myself“ with “you“ (even an inferred “you“ in an order). This should be “me“ not “myself.“)

(Reason 5) “Who“ is the nominative case. “Whom“ isn’t.

You can only use“who“when it is the subject of a verb (ie, in the nominative case). If it is not the subject of a verb, use“whom“. For example:

• Who was that? ✔️
  (Here, “who“ is the subject of “was.“ It is correct.)
• I know the boy who stole your washing. ✔️
  (Here, “who“ is the subject of “stole.“ It is correct.)
• Who are you talking to? ❌
  (Here, “who“ is not the subject of a verb. Therefore, it must be wrong. It should be “whom.“ The subject of “are talking“ is “you.“)