sentences and the forms such words take when they change tore ect their grammatical roles. It is not especially important to know what case means
or what the various cases are, but it is critical to use cases correctly, particularly for pronouns, which commonly change form as they change case.
Many of the most common grammar and
usage errors are mistakes with case. (Other languages have much more elaborate case systems.)
There are three cases in English 1.
Subjective (or
nominative), which is used for the
subjects of sentences or
clauses, as the
predicate (or complement) of
linking verbs, and as the
appositive of any of the
previous functions I see him, and he sees me Who sees whom The person who sees is the subject, and the person seen is the object The viewer’s eyes are her instrument of vision The underlined words are all in the subjective case 2.
Objective (or accusative, which is used as the
object of a
verb, verbal construction, or
preposition and as the appositive for any of these functions The thing that is seen moves you or leaves you cold People believe what they see they trust their eyes they trust them too much The underlined words are all in the objective case 3.
Possessive, which is used to indicate ownership His eyes are blue, and hers are green Her vision is as bad as his, and they must always wear their glasses.”
“Nature’s
ways are unavoidable, yet people’s ability to adapt is remarkable The underlined words are all in the possessive case.
Look at entries for speci c pronouns to nd the proper forms of these words in cases and more examples of how they are used correctly and incorrectly. See also
capitalization, lower case, and
upper case.Share with your friends: 
