object agent accusative transitive preposition subject
Nominative case is used in languages with nominative - systems . It expresses the or experiencer of a or intransitive sentence . It is usually the of the sentence .
preposition patient intransitive subject possession movement direct transitive Accusative
case is is used in languages with nominative - accusative systems . It used for the or theme of the sentence . It is most often assigned to the object of a verb . Accusative case can also be used with the object of a that indicates .
dog uses possession toy motion owns noun
Genitive case shows or ownership . It is assigned to the that the thing being possessed , e . g . , in the phrase " the dog's toy , " the is the owner .
indirect direct recipient object stationary preposition motion
Dative case is used for a thematic role or the object of a . When it indicates a recipient , it is assigned to the object . When it is used for the of a preposition , it is generally used for or non - moving objects .
with 'by' action means in place
Instrumental case is assigned to a noun to indicate that the noun is the by which an is accomplished . In English , this function is usually marked the prepositions 'with' or .
transitive absolutive subject
Ergative case is used in languages with ergative - systems . Ergative case marks the of verbs .
ergative transitive subjects
Absolutive case is used in languages with - absolutive systems . It is used for objects of verbs and of intransitive verbs .