Lesson 4 · Review

Nominative, Accusative, and Genitive — vocabulary, rules, and a self-check

Read through the vocabulary and the rules, then test yourself below. Answer in your head before you click.

IVocabulary

New nouns, a new verb, and two question words. Say each aloud as you read it.

deagoddess
DiānaDiana
feraa wild beast
LātōnaLatona
sagittaarrow
necat(he/she/it) kills
quiswho? (nominative)
cuiuswhose? (genitive)
est(he/she/it) is
suntthey are
etand

IIThe Three Case Uses

One sentence shows all three at once: Fīlia agricolae nautam amat — "the farmer's daughter loves the sailor."

Rule 1 — Nominative subject

The subject of a finite verb is in the nominative and answers the question Who? (Latin quis?).

Fīlia agricolae nautam amat — fīlia (nominative) is the subject: Who loves? The daughter.

Rule 2 — Accusative object

The direct object of a transitive verb is in the accusative and answers the question Whom? or What?

Fīlia agricolae nautam amat — nautam (accusative) is the object: Whom does she love? The sailor.

Rule 3 — Genitive of the possessor

The word naming the owner or possessor is in the genitive and answers the question Whose? (Latin cuius?).

Fīlia agricolae nautam amat — agricolae (genitive) names the possessor: Whose daughter? The farmer's.

The question words

quis? ("who?") is itself a nominative — it asks for the subject. cuius? ("whose?") is a genitive — it asks for the possessor.

Quis Diānam amat? — Who loves Diana? · Cuius fīlia est Diāna? — Whose daughter is Diana?

IIISelf-check

Pick an answer; wrong picks turn red and you may try again. Six out of six before you start the exercises.

Question 1

In Fīlia agricolae nautam amat ("the farmer's daughter loves the sailor"), which word is the subject?

Right. The subject is in the nominative and answers "Who?" (Rule 1). Fīlia ends in -a (nominative) and is the one who loves.

Not quite — who performs the action? That word is the nominative subject.

Question 2

In the same sentence, what is agricolae?

Right. The genitive names the possessor and answers "Whose?" (Rule 3). Agricolae tells us whose daughter — the farmer's.

Not quite — "the farmer's daughter": which case marks the owner?

Question 3

What case is nautam, and what is its job in the sentence?

Right. The -am ending marks the accusative, the direct object that answers "Whom?" (Rule 2): whom does she love? The sailor.

Not quite — the -am ending marks which case? What question does it answer?

Question 4

Which interrogative word asks "Whose?" and itself stands in the genitive?

Right. Cuius? is the genitive of the interrogative and asks for the possessor — "Whose?" (quis? is the nominative, asking "Who?"; necat is a verb.)

Not quite — "Whose?" goes with the possessor (genitive). Which word is that?

Question 5

What does Diāna feram necat mean?

Right. Diāna ends in -a (nominative subject) and feram in -am (accusative object): Diana does the killing, the wild beast receives it.

Not quite — which word has the -a (subject) ending and which has -am (object)?

Question 6

The question Quis Diānam amat? begins with quis. What does quis ask, and what case is it?

Right. Quis? is the nominative interrogative and asks for the subject — "Who?" The answer would itself be a nominative (e.g. Lātōna Diānam amat).

Not quite — quis is the nominative form; which question does the nominative answer?

Answered correctly: 0 / 6