| |
| META TOPICPARENT |
name="GreekGrammarNounsCases" |
The nominative is the case of specific designation. The Greeks
referred to it as the "naming case," for it often names the main
topic of the sentence. The main topic in a sentence semantically is, of
course, similar to the syntactical subject, but the two are not always
identical. Hence, the most common use of the nominative case is as subject.
Primary Uses of the Nominative
Subject
The substantive in the nominative case is frequently the subject of
a finite verb. The verb may be explicitly stated. But the subject may also
be implied, "embedded," as it were, in the verb.
- John 3:16 God loved the world
Predicate Nominative
The predicate nominative is approximately the same as the subject and
is joined to it by an equative verb, whehter stated or implied. The verbs
used for this "equation" are, most frequently, eimi, ginomai,
and uparxw.
- Matt 3:17 This is my beloved Son
- John 4:24 God is spirit
Nominative in Simple Apposition
The nominative case (as well as the other cases) can be an appositive
to another substantive in the same case. An appositional construction involves
(1) two adjacent substantives (2) in the same case (3) which refer to the
same person or thing, (4) and have the same syntactical relation to the
rest of the clause.
- Matt 3:1 John the Baptist came preaching
Grammatically Independent Uses of the Nominative
Nominative Absolute
The nominative absolute is the use of the nominative case in introductory
material, which is not ot be construed as a sentence. A nominative absolute
does not occur in a sentence, but only in titles, sautations, and other
introductory phrases.
- Matt 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ
- Rom 1:7 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Nominative Pendens (Pendent Nominative)
This nominative substantive is the logical rather than syntactical subject
at the beginning of a sentence, followed by a sentence in which this subject
is now replaced by a pronoun in the case required by syntax.
- Rev 3:12 The one who overcomes: I will make him a pilla
Parenthetic Nominative
A parenthetic nominative is actually the subject in a clause inside
a sentence that may or may not have a different subject;. It is the subject
of an explanatory clause within another clause.
- John 1:6 There came a man sent from God (his name was John)
Nominative for Vocative (Nominative for Address)
A substantive in the nominative is used in the place of the vocative
case to designate the addressee.
- John 17:25 Righteous Father, even the world has not known you.
- Mark 9:19 O unfaithful generation! How long will I be with you?
Nominative of Exclamation
The nominative substantive is used in an exclamation without any grammatical
connection to the rest of the sentence.
- Rom 7:24 [O] wretched man [that] I am!
Nominatives in Place of Oblique Cases
Nominative of Appelation
A title appears in the nominative and functions as though it were proper
name. Another case would normally be more appropriate, but the nominative
is used because of the special character of the individual described. The
key is that the nominative is treated as a proper name, which is
expected to be in another case.
- John 13:13 You call me Teacher and Lord
|
Copyright © 2008-2024 by the contributing authors. All material on this collaboration platform is the property of the contributing authors.
Ideas, requests, problems regarding TWiki?
Send feedback 