Objective Case: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know what the objective case is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on objective cases, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What is the objective case?

Today we will explore the objective case. Also called the accusative case or dative case, the objective case is used for nouns and pronouns that function as objects. These can function as a direct object, indirect object, or object of a preposition. The objective case only affects personal pronouns such as I, he, she, we, and they which change to me, him, her, us, and them, along with who and whoever which change to whom and whomever, according to Grammar Monster. These are called the objective pronoun or objective case pronoun, as opposed to the subject pronoun case or subjective case pronoun which would replace the subject of a sentence in English grammar. Other cases include the nominative case which uses predicate nominatives, possessive case which uses possessive pronouns, the subjective case version which replaces the subject of an infinitive, and other different forms. This can be used in 1st person, 2nd person, or 3rd person, so long as the receiver of the action, direct object of a verb, recipient of the direct object, or other objective case version is a noun, pronoun or noun clause.

Many different languages also contain words that mean objective case. You may notice that some of these translations of objective case look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases in different languages that likely have the same root or language of origin, causing them to sound the same. The below list of translations of objective case is provided by Word Sense

  •  Greek: αντικειμενικός‎
  •  Dutch: objectief‎, objectieve‎, zakelijk‎
  •  Turkish: nesnel‎
  •  Finnish: materiaalinen‎, esineellinen‎
  •  Tagalog: layunin‎
  •  Slovene: predmeten‎
  •  Romanian: obiectiv‎
  •  French: objectif‎ (masc.), objective‎ (fem.)
  •  Arabic: مَادِّيّ‎
  •  Catalan: objectiu‎
  •  Polish: obiektowy‎ (masc.), przedmiotowy‎ (masc.)
  •  Spanish: objetivo‎
  •  Swahili: shabaha‎
  •  Italian: oggettivo‎ (masc.), obiettivo‎ (masc.)
  •  Hungarian: tárgyi‎
  •  Portuguese: objetivo‎

What is an example of objective case?

The objective case can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of objective cases from Learn Grammar and Grammar that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use.  Take a look at these objective case examples. 

  •  I have met Michelle.
  •  We are traveling to the hills.
  •  The poet is writing a poem.
  •  The photographer is taking pictures.
  •  Jim is writing a letter.
  •  Please send him immediately.
  •  She sits with me.
  •  I will take care of this issue.
  •  Simpson likes soup.
  •  I saw her yesterday.
  •  We are going to the varsity.
  •  You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character by his way of eating jellybeans. (President Ronald Reagan)
  •  Friends should always tell you the truth. But, please don’t.
  •  I am preparing a cake.
  •  I wrote John a letter.
  •  The singer is singing a song.
  •  Robin is reading a novel.
  •  Jenn is preparing the meal.
  •  Please send me the letter immediately.
  •  Please pass me the pepper.
  •  The doctor is taking care of her.
  •  The auditor is auditing the files.
  •  They are coming to meet me.
  •  I have met her.
  •  Sara felt her heart beat faster.
  •  The teacher is teaching Sam.
  •  We will sail alongside her.
  •  The lyricist is writing a song.
  •  It is a present from them.
  •  She is standing beside me.
  •  Jack is doing the assignment.
  •  Please send this letter immediately.
  •  The teacher is teaching him.
  •  The doctor is taking care of Suzan.

What are other grammar terms?

There are many different literary and grammatical techniques and devices that you might see when you are reading prose or poetry. It is important to recognize these terms because they are always used for some purpose. Knowing these devices can help readers understand the author’s deeper meaning and why they are using such a device. Take a look at the below list of grammatical devices from OED and see how many you know! Then try researching ones that are unfamiliar to you. 

  •  subject
  •  agent noun
  •  finite
  •  non-referential
  •  compound | compounding
  •  inflection | inflected | inflectional
  •  cognate object
  •  direct question
  •  appositive
  •  adjective
  •  attributive
  •  intransitive
  •  bare infinitive
  •  combination
  •  base form
  •  conjunction (conj.)
  •  stem
  •  special use
  •  causative
  •  reflexive
  •  indirect speech
  •  agree | agreement
  •  adverb (adv.)
  •  participial adjective
  •  sentence adverb |sentence adverbial
  •  to-infinitive
  •  gender
  •  phrasal verb
  •  pleonasm | pleonastic
  •  imperative (imper.)
  •  copular verb | copula
  •  ellipsis | elliptical
  •  dual
  •  modify | modifier
  •  optative
  •  vocative
  •  indefinite
  •  zero
  •  main clause
  •  object | direct object | indirect object
  •  instrumental
  •  person
  •  passive infinitive
  •  subjective
  •  subjunctive
  •  prepositional phrase
  •  combining form (comb. form)
  •  relative
  •  count noun
  •  predicative
  •  similative
  •  declarative
  •  second person
  •  parasynthetic
  •  pro-form
  •  article
  •  indicative
  •  singular
  •  common noun
  •  number
  •  direct speech
  •  construction
  •  adverbial | adverbially
  •  non-finite
  •  feminine
  •  positive
  •  complement
  •  noun (n.)
  •  main verb
  •  past participle
  •  accusative
  •  active
  •  impersonal (impers.)
  •  genitive
  •  plural
  •  subordinate clause
  •  preposition (prep.)
  •  prepositional passive
  •  premodify | premodifier
  •  nominative
  •  interrogative
  •  filler
  •  prefix
  •  passive
  •  intensifier
  •  collective noun
  •  possessive
  •  personal pronoun
  •  neuter
  •  simple
  •  indirect object
  •  infinitive
  •  dative
  •  comparative
  •  nominal relative | nominal relative clause
  •  element
  •  tense
  •  indirect passive
  •  demonstrative
  •  third-person
  •  apodosis and protasis
  •  gerund
  •  suffix
  •  possessive adjective
  •  apposition
  •  determiner
  •  construed (const., constr.)
  •  objective
  •  perfect
  •  verbal noun
  •  prepositional object
  •  superlative
  •  unmarked genitive
  •  part of speech
  •  that-clause
  •  complementary
  •  noun phrase
  •  transitive
  •  anticipatory
  •  pronoun (pron.)
  •  postmodify | postmodifier
  •  first person
  •  parenthetical | parenthetically
  •  antecedent
  •  quasi-
  •  locative
  •  periphrasis | periphrastic
  •  present participle
  •  abstract
  •  participle | past participle | present participle
  •  collocation | collocate
  •  past tense
  •  absolute (absol.)
  •  proper noun | proper name
  •  double object
  •  concrete
  •  anaphoric
  •  auxiliary verb | auxiliary
  •  direct object
  •  phrase (phr.)
  •  cataphoric
  •  suffix
  •  progressive
  •  mood
  •  verb (v.)
  •  present tense
  •  indirect question
  •  modal verb | modal auxiliary verb | modal auxiliary
  •  mass noun
  •  masculine
  •  morpheme
  •  case
  •  interjection
  •  protasis
  •  clause
  •  possessive pronoun
  •  head
  •  definite article
  •  conditional

Overall, in modern English the objective case is used for nouns and pronouns that function as objects

Sources:

  1. objective: meaning, origin, translation | Word Sense 
  2. Glossary of grammatical terms | OED 
  3. Objective Case | What Is the Objective Case? | Grammar Monster 
  4. Examples of The Objective Case/Accusative Case/Dative Case | Learn English
  5. Objective Case | Grammar