The five cases
Nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative: five jobs a noun can do.
LatinBeginning Latin · How sentences workAbout 3 min: 1 reading, 2 practiceUpdated
- Name the five main cases
- Match each case to its job
- Recognise each case of puella in the singular
Latin Level 1: nouns and cases: lesson 3 of 13
- Beginning Latin · Sounds
- Saying Latin out loud 4 min
- Beginning Latin · How sentences work
- Endings do the work 3 min
- The five cases 3 min
- Beginning Latin · Nouns
- The first declension 3 min
- Adjectives agree with their nouns 3 min
- Beginning Latin · The second declension
- The second declension 4 min
- Predicate nouns and apposition 3 min
- Adjectives in all three genders 3 min
- Nouns in -ius, -er and -ir 4 min
- Beginning Latin · Pronouns and adjectives
- My, your, his, our 3 min
- Beginning Latin · The ablative
- Four ways to say "with" 3 min
- Beginning Latin · Pronouns and adjectives
- The nine irregular adjectives 4 min
- is, ea, id: this, that, he, she, it 3 min
Try first
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Pairs with D'Ooge, Latin for Beginners (Ginn, 1909), Lessons II–VI ("First Principles") and § 57 (summary table), pp. 12–25
What it is
Latin nouns have five main cases, each with its own ending and job. Here they are for puella (girl), singular:
| Case | Form | Job | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | puella | the subject | the girl |
| Genitive | puellae | the owner | of the girl, the girl's |
| Dative | puellae | the indirect object | to / for the girl |
| Accusative | puellam | the direct object | the girl |
| Ablative | puellā | by, with, from, in | by / with / from the girl |
(A sixth, the vocative, is used to call someone: Ō puella! For these nouns it looks like the nominative.)
Quick check
Tap an answer to check it.
Which case shows the owner of something?
- Dative is "to" or "for"
- Ablative is "by, with, from"
Show answer
Genitive. The genitive is the possessive: of the girl, the girl's.
Why it matters
Every Latin noun works through these same five jobs, so learning what each case does now makes every new noun easier. Later you will learn other sets of endings, but the jobs stay the same.
Worked example
Agricola puellae rosam dat. → The farmer gives a rose to the girl.
- agricola: nominative, the subject (the farmer)
- puellae: dative, the indirect object (to the girl)
- rosam: accusative, the direct object (a rose)
- dat: gives
Common mistake
Mixing up genitive and dative, because both are puellae in the singular. Use the sentence to decide: rosa puellae (the girl's rose) is genitive; puellae dat (gives to the girl) is dative.
Key terms
- case
- the form a noun takes for its job in the sentence
- nominative
- subject case
- genitive
- owner case: of …, …'s
- dative
- indirect object: to / for …
- accusative
- direct object case
- ablative
- by, with, from, in …
Practise the key terms
Tap a card to turn it over. 6 cards.
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| case | the form a noun takes for its job in the sentence |
| nominative | subject case |
| genitive | owner case: of …, …'s |
| dative | indirect object: to / for … |
| accusative | direct object case |
| ablative | by, with, from, in … |
Practice
Sort it
Which case is the girl in?
Puella cantat. (The girl sings.)
She does the action: subject.Show answer
Nominative. She does the action: subject.
Nauta puellam vocat. (The sailor calls the girl.)
She receives the action: direct object.Show answer
Accusative. She receives the action: direct object.
Casa puellae (the girl's cottage)
She owns the cottage.Show answer
Genitive. She owns the cottage.
Agricola puellae rosam dat.
The rose is given to her.Show answer
Dative. The rose is given to her.
cum puellā (with the girl)
"With" uses the ablative.Show answer
Ablative. "With" uses the ablative.
Quick quiz
Tap an answer to check it.
In Agricola puellae rosam dat, what is rosam?
- The subject is agricola
- The indirect object is puellae (to the girl)
Show answer
the direct object. rosam has the accusative ending -am.
Which form is the ablative singular?
- That is genitive or dative
- That is accusative
Show answer
puellā. The ablative ends in a long ā.
Practise speaking
Studyfern has no voice tools of its own. To practise out loud, copy this prompt into a voice-capable AI assistant and talk with it.
You are a patient Latin tutor. Use the classical pronunciation only, never the Church one: c is always k, g is always hard, v sounds like w, ae like the ai in aisle, and long vowels are held longer. Speak slowly. Use only these Latin words: puella, puellae, puellam, puellā, puellārum, puellīs. Say one of these forms and I will name its case or cases aloud. Then give me a case and I will say the form. Do 8 rounds. After each answer, tell me what kind of mistake I made, if any, and let me try again, then tell me one thing to improve. Keep every reply under 2 sentences. If I need a name or a town, I will make one up. Speak English except for the Latin itself.
Listen too. Listen to native speakers before and after: see the free listening and shadowing links.
Good to know. AI feedback on pronunciation is hit and miss, so check yourself against native recordings. This course teaches the classical pronunciation (see lesson 1); AI voices may mix it with the Church (Italian-style) one, so ask for classical and check against lesson 1. Don't share personal details: use a made-up name and town.
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In short
- Five main cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative.
- Each case is a job: subject, owner, to/for, object, by/with/from.
- puella, puellae, puellae, puellam, puellā in the singular.
- Genitive and dative share puellae: let the sentence decide.
Mastery check
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Check yourself
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Which case is the subject?
Show answer
Nominative.
Translate casa nautae.
Show answer
The sailor's cottage (genitive).
What does the dative usually mean in English?
Show answer
"To" or "for" someone.
Further reading
- D'Ooge, Latin for Beginners, Lessons II–VI and § 57. Public domain; Project Gutenberg.
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