You searched for: “cases
case (s) (noun), cases (pl)
1. A container for carrying or displaying items, often clear or transparent: "The unique rock collection was in a glass case in the museum so visitors could appreciate it."
2. Etymology: from late Middle English, from Old French casse, chasse; from Latin capsa, related to capere, "to hold".
This entry is located in the following unit: cap-, cip-, capt-, cept-, ceive, -ceipt, -ceit, -cipient (page 3)
case (verb), cases; cased; casing
This entry is located in the following unit: cap-, cip-, capt-, cept-, ceive, -ceipt, -ceit, -cipient (page 4)
Word Entries containing the term: “cases
ablative case (s) (noun), ablative cases (pl)
A grammatical case used in some languages to indicate movement away from something, removal of, separation from, or source of: The ablative case corresponds roughly to the English prepositions "from", "away from", and "concerning".

Raymond's sister had to memorize lists of ablative cases when she was studying a foreign language at school.

All of the ablative cases which the author used made the story interesting but a bit convoluted.

Examples of Grammatical Cases

Nouns and pronouns can be subjects, objects, or possessives and many pronouns and a few nouns show these various uses:

  • Nominative Cases: I, we, him, she, it, who
  • Objective Cases: me, us, him, them, her, whom
  • Possessives: our, my, mine, their, theirs, his, its

The nominative case shows that the noun or pronoun is being used as the subject of the verb: "The students learned about subjects in the English class and they usually know that verbs show what the subjects are doing."

The objective case indicates that the noun or pronoun is functioning as:

  • Object of the verb: "Jessica's complimentary remarks about Mike's work made him feel good."
  • Object of a preposition: "Everyone went home after the meeting except Phil.
This entry is located in the following unit: a-, ab-, abs- (page 4)
case (s) (noun) cases (pl)
1. An example of a special situation or an example of something that takes place: Tom's cousin was arrested by the police as a suspect in a bank robbery; however, it was a case of mistaken identity.

In many cases, reliable statistics are not available in the government's reports.

2. A process of an inquiry being conducted by the police: The authorities are trying to determine a case about a little girl's abduction as efforts are being made to find out who she is.
3. An instance of a disease or a medical problem: There are cases of thousands of people who are suffering from starvation.

Parents were asked to examine their children carefully because there were three cases of chicken pox in the school.

4. Someone whose situation is regarded as having no chance of improvement: Rebecca had a sad case of pancreatic cancer and was not expected to live much longer.
5. A legal action; especially, something that is to be decided in a court of law: Sam's sister had her lawyer bring a libel case against her former employer for abuse.
6. In grammar, a form of a noun, pronoun, or adjective showing its relationship to other words in a sentence: The cases of personal pronouns are "nominative, objective", and "possessive"."
  • The nominative cases are 1st person: I, we; 2nd person: you; 3rd person: he, she, it, they.
  • The objective cases are 1st person: me, us; 2nd person: you; 3rd person: him, her, them, it.
  • The possessive cases are 1st person: my, mine, our, ours; 2nd person: your, yours; 3rd person: his, her, hers, its, their, theirs.
7. The presentation of a convincing argument: The congressman made a good case for cutting expenses for the federal project.
8. Etymology: borrowed from old French cas which came from a Latin casus, "fall, chance" and cadere, "to fall".
This entry is located in the following unit: cad-, cas-, cid- (page 2)