grammatical cases

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "grammatical cases" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when discussing the different forms that nouns, pronouns, and adjectives can take to indicate their grammatical function in a sentence. Example: "In languages like Latin and Russian, grammatical cases play a crucial role in determining the relationships between words in a sentence."

✓ Grammatically correct

Encyclopedias

Science

Wiki

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

9 human-written examples

Abaza, like Abkhaz, has no grammatical cases.

Encyclopedia Britannica

A student can find correct prepositions and/or grammatical cases for the given context.

Human-centric Computing and Information Sciences

For example, it can automatically select the proper verb form for the given subject-verb word pair; it can provide a list of prepositions and grammatical cases, used with the given verb; it can display a list of breakable things used with the verb to break or a list of drivable things used with the verb to drive, and so on.

Human-centric Computing and Information Sciences

In Czech, nouns and adjectives are declined into one of seven grammatical cases.

Wikipedia

There are two genders, no grammatical cases, and a distinction between plural and singular.

Wikipedia

Where other languages may use grammatical cases, Swedish uses numerous prepositions, similar to those found in English.

Wikipedia

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

51 human-written examples

What about Russian, with its Byzantine grammatical case endings mostly sounding the same but spelt differently?

The Economist

Others might even get upset about our alleged misuse of grammatical "case" (including cases such as dative and genitive that no longer exist in English).

The Guardian

Polyptoton, the device which repeats the same word in a different grammatical case, continues to enliven the emotional interplay in the sestet.

The Guardian - Books

Grammatical case markers on nouns the word elements that indicate the role of a noun or pronoun in a phrase, clause, or sentence— are absent from nearly all Mesoamerican languages, with rare exceptions.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Because Czech uses grammatical case to convey word function in a sentence (instead of relying on word order, as English does), its word order is flexible.

Wikipedia

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When discussing languages with complex case systems, use "grammatical cases" to clearly indicate the function of noun forms in a sentence. For example, "Latin utilizes a rich system of grammatical cases to convey meaning."

Common error

Avoid using prepositions as direct replacements for "grammatical cases" in languages where cases are structurally significant. While prepositions can sometimes convey similar meanings, they don't capture the full grammatical function that case endings provide.

Linguistic Context

The primary grammatical function of "grammatical cases" is to serve as a noun phrase, referring to the different forms a noun can take to indicate its grammatical role in a sentence. As Ludwig AI confirms, this term is grammatically sound. The examples show its use in discussing language structure and function.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Wiki

27%

Encyclopedias

20%

Science

27%

Less common in

News & Media

26%

Formal & Business

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "grammatical cases" refers to the different forms that nouns, pronouns, and adjectives take to indicate their grammatical function in a sentence. Ludwig AI confirms its grammatical correctness, although its frequency is uncommon. This phrase is primarily used in formal and scientific contexts, such as linguistic discussions and academic papers. When writing, ensure that you use "grammatical cases" when specifically referring to the inflectional forms of nouns and their functions, rather than using prepositions as direct replacements in languages where cases are structurally significant. Keep in mind that while there are several alternative phrases, such as "case morphology" or "case system", it's useful to specify these forms if your primary goal is to be crystal clear in your communication.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

case system

Refers to the overall system of grammatical cases within a language.

noun cases

Specifically highlights that cases apply to nouns.

case morphology

Focuses specifically on the morphological aspect of case marking.

case endings

Refers to the specific suffixes or prefixes that mark grammatical case.

noun declensions

Describes the process of nouns changing form to indicate grammatical case.

declensional paradigms

Emphasizes the patterns of noun declension according to case.

inflected forms of nouns

Highlights how nouns change form depending on their grammatical role.

inflectional forms

Highlights the inflectional changes that indicate grammatical case.

syntactic roles

Focuses on the function of words in a sentence, which case helps to indicate.

grammatical relations

Broader term referring to the relationships between words in a sentence, indicated by case among other means.

FAQs

How are "grammatical cases" used in a sentence?

"Grammatical cases" indicate a noun's function in a sentence, such as subject, object, or possessor. For instance, "In Latin, different endings on nouns show their grammatical role."

What's the difference between "grammatical cases" and prepositions?

"Grammatical cases" are inflections (changes in the form of a word) that indicate grammatical function, while prepositions are separate words that show relationships between words in a sentence. Some languages rely more on prepositions where others use cases.

Which languages commonly use "grammatical cases"?

Languages like Latin, German, Russian, and Finnish use "grammatical cases" extensively to define the role of nouns and pronouns within a sentence.

What are some examples of "grammatical cases"?

Common examples of "grammatical cases" include nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), genitive (possessive), dative (indirect object), and ablative (various adverbial functions). Some languages have more or fewer cases.