This
lesson looks at the “cases” that mark
a noun's function in the sentence (subject, direct
object, and indirect object).
First,
a quick grammar review:
Subject
of a sentence: who or what is
doing something.
Direct
object: who or what something is
being done to.
Indirect
object: who or what is
receiving the result. (This can
often be rephrased as “to” or “for”.)
Example:
Aldandil
gives Calanar the book.
subject:
Aldandil
direct
object: the book
indirect
object: Calanar
(Notice
that this sentence is equivalent to “Aldandil gives the book to
Calanar.)
Practice – Your Turn
Highlight the shaded boxes to see the answers.
Halla
cooks soup. “Halla”
subject; “soup” direct object
Halla
cooks everyone dinner. “Halla”
subject; “dinner” direct object; “everyone” indirect object
(The sentence is equivalent to "Halla cooks dinner for
everyone.")
Aldandil
brings Lossë
to Halla. “Aldandil”
subject; “Lossë”
direct object; (“to Halla” is a prepositional phrase)
Aldandil
brings Lossë her breakfast. “Aldandil”
subject; “her breakfast” direct object; “Lossë”
indirect object
Find
Lossë!
Bring
me my cloak!
The
fifth and sixth are tricky, because commands frequently do not state
the subject (thus violating the rule that a sentence always has at
least a subject and a verb!). Commands usually imply
a subject “you”. (“You
find Lossë!”)
“Find”
is the verb. Think about “who is going to do the finding?”;
that will be the subject. “Who is going to be found?”; that
will be the direct object.
(subject
“you” implied); “Lossë” direct object
(subject
“you” implied); "my cloak" direct object; "me"
indirect object.
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While
English doesn't generally use "cases," it does retain a
small relic of “cases” in the pronouns. “I”,
“he”,“she”, “we”, and “they” are used only for
subjects, while “me”, “him”,“her”, “us”, and “them”
are used for other parts of the sentence.
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In languages, such as Quenya,
that use cases:
“Nominative
case” marks a noun as the subject of the sentence.
“Accusative
case” marks a noun as the direct object in the sentence.
“Dative
case” marks a noun as the indirect object in the sentence.
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In
Quenya:
Subject
will be in Nominative case.
This
is the form we have been using in all of Part 1.
singular:
basic, unmodified, dictionary form
plural:
-r
after vowel except -ë
;
-r
after -ië
;
replace
-i
with -ë
;
-i
after consonant
Lassë
lanta. A leaf falls.
"Lassë"
(leaf) is in the nominative case.
Lassi
lantar. Leaves fall.
“Lassi”
is the nominative plural of lassë.
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Direct
Object will be in Accusative case.
If you were doing
something to a leaf, you would use “accusative”
case. The leaf is the “direct object” in the
sentence.
In
modern (Third/Fourth Age) Middle-Earth Quenya, Accusative case looks
exactly the same as Nominative. That is why we have, in
previous lessons, been using direct objects and not worrying about
their “case.”
Aldandil
rista lassë. Aldandil
cuts a leaf.
“Lassë”
is the accusative case of lassë.
Ilmarë
tulta lassi. Ilmarë
brings leaves.
“Lassi”
is the accusative plural case of lassë.
Á
hirë míri!
Find
jewels!
Cenen mar. I see home.
Cenen marinya. I
see my home.
The whole word "marinya" (my home) can be treated as a
single word that can take a case.
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How
do you tell which word is the subject and which is the direct object,
when Nominative and Accusative cases look the same? The same
way you do in English – by the word order.
Alqua matë
lingwë. A
swan eats a fish.
Lingwë
matë alqua. A
fish eats a swan.
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Indirect
Object will be in Dative case
A person
receiving
something, or receiving the benefit of something, would be the
indirect object of the
sentence, and would be in dative
case. (Bring it to me.
Do it for me.)
after
a consonant add -en
plural:
add -in
(For
words ending in -ë,
replace -ë with -in)
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Examples:
parma (book)
singular plural
nominative parma parmar
accusative parma parmar
dative parman parmain
lassë (leaf)
singular plural
nominative lassë lassi
accusative lassë lassi
dative lassen lassin
Atan (Human)
singular plural
nominative Atan Atani
accusative Atan Atani
dative Atanen Atanin
»»¤««
Names
take the same endings that any other noun does.
Á
anta Lossë Hallan.
Give
Lossë to Halla.
“Lossë”
is the direct object (accusative)
Hallan
is the indirect object (dative)
Á
anta Lossen orva.
Give
Lossë an apple.
Orva is the direct object (accusative)
“Lossen”
is the indirect object (dative).
sicil
(knife); anta- (give); harya- (posess)
Á
anta sicil Narwen.
Give the knife to Narwë.
Á
anta sicili Narwen.
Give the knives to Narwë.
Narwë
harya sicili.
Narwë
has knives.
Narwë
harya sicilenyar. Narwë
has my knives.
»»¤««
This is not easy material. Even your teacher
looks up both vocabulary and the endings. (Though I hope some
of the words that we use a lot are starting to look familiar.)
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Practice – Your Turn
Highlight the shaded boxes to see the answers.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│
useful vocabulary
│
│ mírë
jewel
│
│ cirya
ship
│
│ már
home
│
│ orva
apple
│
│ otorno
kinsman, male associate
│
│ osellë
kinswoman, female associate
│
│ parma
book
│
│
│
│ -(i)nya
my
(add this before the case ending)
│
│
│
│ Á
hirë
_____!
Find
_____!
│
│ Á
anta _____!
Give
_____!
│
│ Á
tulta _____!
Bring
_____!
│
│ Cenen
_____.
I
see ______
│
└────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Find
a jewel!
Á
hirë mírë.
Find
jewels!
Á
hirë míri.
Find
my jewels!
Á
hirë mírinya.
Find
jewels for Calanar!
Á
hirë míri
Calanaren.
Find
Calanar!
Á
hirë Calanar.
I
see a ship.
Cenen cirya.
I
see ships.
Cenen ciryar.
I
see a home.
Cenen már.
I
see homes.
Cenen mári.
I
see my home. Cenen márinya
Bring
the book to Calanar!
Á tulta parma Calanaren!
Calanar
brings Aldandil books. Calanar
tulta parmar Aldandilen.
Give
my book to Narwë.
Á anta parmanya Narwen
Give
my sister the book.
Á anta parma osellenyan.
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