Prepositional case
Encyclopedia
Prepositional case is a grammatical case
that marks the object of a preposition. This term can be used in languages where nouns have a declensional form that appears exclusively in combination with certain prepositions. For example, in Russian
and Polish
, the case that appears with (non-directional) uses of the prepositions na, v, pri, o (roughly, "on", "in", "near", "about") is traditionally referred to as the prepositional case (Russian: предложный падеж, predlóžnyj padéž).
Because the objects of these prepositions often denote locations, this case is also sometimes called the locative case: Czech
and Slovak
lokál (as opposed to lokatív), miejscownik in Polish
. This is in concord with its etymology: the Slavic prepositional case hails from the Proto-Indo-European locative case (present in Armenian
, Sanskrit
, and Old Latin
, among others). Small rudimentary traces of locative case are also present in Russian - the prepositional case of certain nouns, often denoting locations, with "in/on" prepositions differs from the same case form of the same nouns with another prepositions, as in "в лесу (v lesu)"="in the forest" (locative), but "о лесе (o lese"="about the forest" (prepositional). For most words, the locative case is merged with the prepositional case - like "в машине (v mašine)"="in the car" and "о машине (o mašine)"="about the car."
In Irish
and Scottish Gaelic, nouns that are the objects of (most) prepositions may be marked with prepositional case, especially if preceded by the definite article. In traditional grammars, and in scholarly treatments of the early language, the term dative
case is incorrectly used for the prepositional case. This case is exclusively associated with prepositions. However not all prepositions trigger prepositional case marking, and a small group of prepositions which are termed compound mark their objects with genitive case
, these prepositions being historically derived from the fusion of a preposition plus a following noun which has become grammaticalised. (Compare English "in front of", "because of".) Note however that many nouns no longer exhibit distinct prepositional case forms in the conversational language.
In Pashto language, there also exists a case that occurs only in combination with certain prepositions. It is more often called the "first oblique" than the prepositional.
In many other languages, the term "prepositional case" is inappropriate, since the forms of nouns selected by prepositions also appear in non-prepositional contexts. For example, in English, prepositions govern the objective (or accusative) case, and so do verbs. In German
, prepositions can govern the genitive
, dative
, or accusative
, and none of these cases are exclusively associated with prepositions.
Grammatical case
In grammar, the case of a noun or pronoun is an inflectional form that indicates its grammatical function in a phrase, clause, or sentence. For example, a pronoun may play the role of subject , of direct object , or of possessor...
that marks the object of a preposition. This term can be used in languages where nouns have a declensional form that appears exclusively in combination with certain prepositions. For example, in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, the case that appears with (non-directional) uses of the prepositions na, v, pri, o (roughly, "on", "in", "near", "about") is traditionally referred to as the prepositional case (Russian: предложный падеж, predlóžnyj padéž).
Because the objects of these prepositions often denote locations, this case is also sometimes called the locative case: Czech
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
and Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
lokál (as opposed to lokatív), miejscownik in Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
. This is in concord with its etymology: the Slavic prepositional case hails from the Proto-Indo-European locative case (present in Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
, Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, and Old Latin
Old Latin
Old Latin refers to the Latin language in the period before the age of Classical Latin; that is, all Latin before 75 BC...
, among others). Small rudimentary traces of locative case are also present in Russian - the prepositional case of certain nouns, often denoting locations, with "in/on" prepositions differs from the same case form of the same nouns with another prepositions, as in "в лесу (v lesu)"="in the forest" (locative), but "о лесе (o lese"="about the forest" (prepositional). For most words, the locative case is merged with the prepositional case - like "в машине (v mašine)"="in the car" and "о машине (o mašine)"="about the car."
In Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
and Scottish Gaelic, nouns that are the objects of (most) prepositions may be marked with prepositional case, especially if preceded by the definite article. In traditional grammars, and in scholarly treatments of the early language, the term dative
Dative case
The dative case is a grammatical case generally used to indicate the noun to whom something is given, as in "George gave Jamie a drink"....
case is incorrectly used for the prepositional case. This case is exclusively associated with prepositions. However not all prepositions trigger prepositional case marking, and a small group of prepositions which are termed compound mark their objects with genitive case
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
, these prepositions being historically derived from the fusion of a preposition plus a following noun which has become grammaticalised. (Compare English "in front of", "because of".) Note however that many nouns no longer exhibit distinct prepositional case forms in the conversational language.
In Pashto language, there also exists a case that occurs only in combination with certain prepositions. It is more often called the "first oblique" than the prepositional.
In many other languages, the term "prepositional case" is inappropriate, since the forms of nouns selected by prepositions also appear in non-prepositional contexts. For example, in English, prepositions govern the objective (or accusative) case, and so do verbs. In German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, prepositions can govern the genitive
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
, dative
Dative case
The dative case is a grammatical case generally used to indicate the noun to whom something is given, as in "George gave Jamie a drink"....
, or accusative
Accusative case
The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions...
, and none of these cases are exclusively associated with prepositions.