Declension: Difference between revisions

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imported>Arcrev1
m Reverted edits by 173.216.85.238 (talk): not providing a reliable source (WP:CITE, WP:RS) (HG) (3.4.13)
 
imported>Ponor
no real need for all these colors, gray is enough for some distinction and has CCR of 4 and 5
 
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{{Short description|Inflection of words according to number, gender, and/or case}}
{{Short description|Inflection of words according to number, gender, and/or case}}{{more citations needed|date=September 2017}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2017}}
{{Grammatical categories}}
{{Grammatical categories}}


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==English-speaking perspective==
==English-speaking perspective==
<!-- This section uses Croatian as an invisible comparison language in the comments. Glosses are widely used for the same purpose, but additional lines in a foreign language might just confuse.-->
<!-- This section uses Croatian as an invisible comparison language in the comments. Glosses are widely used for the same purpose, but additional lines in a foreign language might just confuse.-->
Unlike English, many languages use [[suffixes]] to specify subjects and objects and word cases in general. [[Inflected languages]] have a freer word order than modern English, an [[analytic language]] in which [[word order]] identifies the subject and object.<ref name="Drout">{{Cite book|first=Michael|last=Drout|title=King Alfred's Grammar|chapter=Word Order and Cases|url=https://people.umass.edu/sharris/in/gram/KingAlfredGrammar.html|chapter-url=https://people.umass.edu/sharris/in/gram/GrammarBook/GramCases.html|access-date=2021-05-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224012042/http://people.umass.edu/sharris/in/gram/KingAlfredGrammar.html|archive-date=2020-02-24|url-status=live|website=umass.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Martin|first1=Howard|last2=Ng|first2=Alan|last3=Korpi|first3=Sarah|title=Word Order |url=https://courses.dcs.wisc.edu/wp/readinggerman/word-order/|access-date=2021-09-23|website=A Foundation Course in Reading German|publisher=University of Wisconsin-Madison}}</ref> As an example, even though both of the following sentences consist of the same words, the meaning is different:<ref name="Drout" />
Unlike English, many languages use [[suffixes]] to specify subjects and objects or word relationships in general. These inflections identify the specific grammatical function of a word within a sentence, known as its case. Different endings mark words as the thing performing an action (subject), things directly receiving the action (direct object), things indirectly receiving the action and objects of prepositions (indirect object), objects of prepositions, and things possessed by other things (genitive).<ref name="Drout" />
 
[[Inflected languages]] have a freer word order than modern English, an [[analytic language]] in which [[word order]] identifies the subject and object.<ref name="Drout">{{Cite book|first=Michael|last=Drout|title=King Alfred's Grammar|chapter=Word Order and Cases|url=https://people.umass.edu/sharris/in/gram/KingAlfredGrammar.html|chapter-url=https://people.umass.edu/sharris/in/gram/GrammarBook/GramCases.html|access-date=2021-05-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224012042/http://people.umass.edu/sharris/in/gram/KingAlfredGrammar.html|archive-date=2020-02-24|url-status=live|website=umass.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Martin|first1=Howard|last2=Ng|first2=Alan|last3=Korpi|first3=Sarah|title=Word Order |url=https://courses.dcs.wisc.edu/wp/readinggerman/word-order/|access-date=2021-09-23|website=A Foundation Course in Reading German|publisher=University of Wisconsin-Madison}}</ref> As an example, even though both of the following sentences consist of the same words, the meaning is different:<ref name="Drout" />
* "The dog chased a cat."
* "The dog chased a cat."
* "A cat chased the dog."
* "A cat chased the dog."


Hypothetically speaking, suppose English were a language with a more complex declension system in which cases were formed by adding the suffixes:<!--similar to notation in Drout, just shorter-->
Hypothetically speaking, suppose English were a language with a more complex declension system in which cases were formed by adding the suffixes:<!--similar to notation in Drout, just shorter-->
: -{{blue|no}} (for [[Nominative case|nominative]] singular), -{{cyan|ge}} ([[Genitive case|genitive]]), -{{brown|da}} ([[Dative case|dative]]), -{{green|ac}} ([[Accusative case|accusative]]), -{{orange|lo}} ([[Locative case|locative]]), -{{purple|in}} ([[Instrumental case|instrumental]]), -{{gray|vo}} ([[Vocative case|vocative]]), -{{pink|ab}} ([[Ablative case|ablative]])
: -{{gray|no}} (for [[Nominative case|nominative]] singular), -{{gray|ge}} ([[Genitive case|genitive]]), -{{gray|da}} ([[Dative case|dative]]), -{{gray|ac}} ([[Accusative case|accusative]]), -{{gray|lo}} ([[Locative case|locative]]), -{{gray|in}} ([[Instrumental case|instrumental]]), -{{gray|vo}} ([[Vocative case|vocative]]), -{{gray|ab}} ([[Ablative case|ablative]])


The first sentence above could be formed with any of the following [[Word order|word orders]] and would have the same meaning:<ref name="Drout" />
The first sentence above could be formed with any of the following [[Word order|word orders]] and would have the same meaning:<ref name="Drout" />
* "The dog{{blue|no}} chased a cat{{green|ac}}."  
* "The dog{{gray|no}} chased a cat{{gray|ac}}."  
* "A cat{{green|ac}} chased the dog{{blue|no}}."
* "A cat{{gray|ac}} chased the dog{{gray|no}}."
* "Chased a cat{{green|ac}} the dog{{blue|no}}."
* "Chased a cat{{gray|ac}} the dog{{gray|no}}."


As a more complex example, the sentence:  
As a more complex example, the sentence:  
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* A cat was down our street chasing dog this little boy's mum!<!-- Croatian: Mačku je po našoj ulici lovio pas ovoga malenog dječaka, mama! -->
* A cat was down our street chasing dog this little boy's mum!<!-- Croatian: Mačku je po našoj ulici lovio pas ovoga malenog dječaka, mama! -->


But if English were a highly inflected language, like [[Latin]] or some [[Slavic languages]] such as [[Croatian language|Croatian]], both sentences could mean the same thing.<ref name="Drout" /> They would both contain five nouns in five different cases: ''mum'' – vocative (hey!), ''dog'' – nominative (who?), ''boy'' – genitive (of whom?), ''cat'' – accusative (whom?), ''street'' – locative (where?);<ref>{{Cite web|title=Imenice|trans-title=Nouns|url=http://gramatika.hr/pravilo/imenice/17/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-23|website=Hrvatska školska gramatika|publisher=Institut za hrvatski jezik i jezikoslovlje|language=hr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326143831/http://gramatika.hr:80/pravilo/imenice/17/ |archive-date=2018-03-26 }}</ref> the adjective ''little'' would be in the same case as the noun it modifies (''boy''), and the case of the determiner ''our'' would [[Agreement (linguistics)|agree]] with the case of the noun it determines (''street'').<ref>{{Cite web|title=Atribut|trans-title=Attribute|url=http://gramatika.hr/pravilo/atribut/80/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-23|website=Hrvatska školska gramatika|language=hr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326144854/http://gramatika.hr:80/pravilo/atribut/80/ |archive-date=2018-03-26 }}</ref>
But if English were a highly inflected language, like [[Latin]] or some [[Slavic languages]] such as [[Croatian language|Croatian]], both sentences could mean the same thing.<ref name="Drout" /> They would both contain five nouns in five different cases: ''mum'' – vocative (hey!), ''dog'' – nominative (who?), ''boy'' – genitive (of whom?), ''cat'' – accusative (whom?), ''street'' – locative (where?);<ref>{{Cite web|title=Imenice|trans-title=Nouns|url=http://gramatika.hr/pravilo/imenice/17/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-23|website=Hrvatska školska gramatika|publisher=Institut za hrvatski jezik i jezikoslovlje|language=hr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326143831/http://gramatika.hr/pravilo/imenice/17/|archive-date=2018-03-26}}</ref> the adjective ''little'' would be in the same case as the noun it modifies (''boy''), and the case of the determiner ''our'' would [[Agreement (linguistics)|agree]] with the case of the noun it determines (''street'').<ref>{{Cite web|title=Atribut|trans-title=Attribute|url=http://gramatika.hr/pravilo/atribut/80/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-23|website=Hrvatska školska gramatika|language=hr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326144854/http://gramatika.hr/pravilo/atribut/80/|archive-date=2018-03-26}}</ref>


Using the case suffixes invented for this example, the original sentence would read:
Using the case suffixes invented for this example, the original sentence would read:
* Mum{{gray|vo}}, this{{cyan|ge}} little{{cyan|ge}} boy{{cyan|ge}} dog{{blue|no}} was chasing a cat{{green|ac}} down our{{orange|lo}} street{{orange|lo}}!<!--Croatian: Mama, ovoga malenog dječaka pas lovio je mačku po našoj ulici!-->
* Mum{{gray|vo}}, this{{gray|ge}} little{{gray|ge}} boy{{gray|ge}} dog{{gray|no}} was chasing a cat{{gray|ac}} down our{{gray|lo}} street{{gray|lo}}!<!--Croatian: Mama, ovoga malenog dječaka pas lovio je mačku po našoj ulici!-->


And like other inflected languages, the sentence rearranged in the following ways would mean virtually the same thing, but with different expressiveness:<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Red riječi u rečenici|trans-title=Word order in sentences|url=http://gramatika.hr/pravilo/red-rijeci-u-recenici/108/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-23|website=Hrvatska školska gramatika|language=hr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326143919/http://gramatika.hr:80/pravilo/red-rijeci-u-recenici/108/ |archive-date=2018-03-26 }}</ref>
And like other inflected languages, the sentence rearranged in the following ways would mean virtually the same thing, but with different expressiveness:<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Red riječi u rečenici|trans-title=Word order in sentences|url=http://gramatika.hr/pravilo/red-rijeci-u-recenici/108/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-23|website=Hrvatska školska gramatika|language=hr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326143919/http://gramatika.hr/pravilo/red-rijeci-u-recenici/108/|archive-date=2018-03-26}}</ref>
* A cat{{green|ac}} was down our{{orange|lo}} street{{orange|lo}} chasing dog{{blue|no}} this{{cyan|ge}} little{{cyan|ge}} boy{{cyan|ge}}, mum{{gray|vo}}!<!--Croatian: Mačku je po našoj ulici lovio pas ovoga malenog dječaka, mama!-->
* A cat{{gray|ac}} was down our{{gray|lo}} street{{gray|lo}} chasing dog{{gray|no}} this{{gray|ge}} little{{gray|ge}} boy{{gray|ge}}, mum{{gray|vo}}!<!--Croatian: Mačku je po našoj ulici lovio pas ovoga malenog dječaka, mama!-->
* Mum{{gray|vo}}, down street{{orange|lo}} our{{orange|lo}} a cat{{green|ac}} was chasing this{{cyan|ge}} little{{cyan|ge}} boy{{cyan|ge}} dog{{blue|no}}!<!--Croatian: Mama, po ulici našoj mačku je lovio ovoga malenog dječaka pas!-->
* Mum{{gray|vo}}, down street{{gray|lo}} our{{gray|lo}} a cat{{gray|ac}} was chasing this{{gray|ge}} little{{gray|ge}} boy{{gray|ge}} dog{{gray|no}}!<!--Croatian: Mama, po ulici našoj mačku je lovio ovoga malenog dječaka pas!-->


Instead of the ''locative'', the ''instrumental form'' of "down our street" could also be used:<ref name="Stolac">{{Cite web|title=Zagrebačka slavistička škola – Izražavanje prostornih značenja padežnim oblicima|url=https://www.hrvatskiplus.org/article.php?id=1823&naslov=izrazavanje-prostornih-znacenja-padeznim-oblicima|first=Diana|last=Stolac|language=hr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520140620/https://www.hrvatskiplus.org/article.php?id=1823&naslov=izrazavanje-prostornih-znacenja-padeznim-oblicima|archive-date=2021-05-20|url-status=live|website=hrvatskiplus.org}}</ref>
Instead of the ''locative'', the ''instrumental form'' of "down our street" could also be used:<ref name="Stolac">{{Cite web|title=Zagrebačka slavistička škola – Izražavanje prostornih značenja padežnim oblicima|url=https://www.hrvatskiplus.org/article.php?id=1823&naslov=izrazavanje-prostornih-znacenja-padeznim-oblicima|first=Diana|last=Stolac|language=hr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520140620/https://www.hrvatskiplus.org/article.php?id=1823&naslov=izrazavanje-prostornih-znacenja-padeznim-oblicima|archive-date=2021-05-20|url-status=live|website=hrvatskiplus.org}}</ref>
* Mum{{gray|vo}}, this{{cyan|ge}} little{{cyan|ge}} boy{{cyan|ge}} dog{{blue|no}} our{{purple|in}} street{{purple|in}} was chasing a cat{{green|ac}}!<!--Croatian: Mama, ovoga malenog dječaka pas našom je ulicom lovio mačku!-->
* Mum{{gray|vo}}, this{{gray|ge}} little{{gray|ge}} boy{{gray|ge}} dog{{gray|no}} our{{gray|in}} street{{gray|in}} was chasing a cat{{gray|ac}}!<!--Croatian: Mama, ovoga malenog dječaka pas našom je ulicom lovio mačku!-->
* A cat{{green|ac}} was, mum{{gray|vo}}, our{{purple|in}} street{{purple|in}} chasing dog{{blue|no}} this{{cyan|ge}} little{{cyan|ge}} boy{{cyan|ge}}<!--Croatian: Mačku je, mama, našom ulicom mačku lovio pas ovoga malenog dječaka!-->
* A cat{{gray|ac}} was, mum{{gray|vo}}, our{{gray|in}} street{{gray|in}} chasing dog{{gray|no}} this{{gray|ge}} little{{gray|ge}} boy{{gray|ge}}<!--Croatian: Mačku je, mama, našom ulicom mačku lovio pas ovoga malenog dječaka!-->
* Our{{purple|in}} street{{purple|in}} a cat{{green|ac}} was chasing dog{{blue|no}} this{{cyan|ge}} little{{cyan|ge}} boy{{cyan|ge}}, mum{{gray|vo}}!<!--Croatian: Našom ulicom mačku je lovio pas ovoga malenog dječaka, mama!-->
* Our{{gray|in}} street{{gray|in}} a cat{{gray|ac}} was chasing dog{{gray|no}} this{{gray|ge}} little{{gray|ge}} boy{{gray|ge}}, mum{{gray|vo}}!<!--Croatian: Našom ulicom mačku je lovio pas ovoga malenog dječaka, mama!-->


Different word orders preserving the original meaning are possible in an inflected language,<ref name=":0" /> while modern English relies on word order for meaning, with a little flexibility.<ref name="Drout" /> This is one of the advantages of an inflected language. The English sentences above, when read without the made-up case suffixes, are confusing.
Different word orders preserving the original meaning are possible in an inflected language,<ref name=":0" /> while modern English relies on word order for meaning, with a little flexibility.<ref name="Drout" /> This is one of the advantages of an inflected language. The English sentences above, when read without the made-up case suffixes, are confusing.


These contrived examples are relatively simple, whereas actual inflected languages have a far more complicated set of declensions, where the suffixes (or prefixes or [[infixes]]) change depending on the [[Noun gender|gender of the noun]], the [[Grammatical number|quantity of the noun]], and other possible factors. This complexity and the possible lengthening of words is one of the disadvantages of inflected languages. Notably, many of these languages lack [[Article (grammar)|articles]]. There may also be ''irregular nouns'' where the declensions are unique for each word (like [[irregular verbs]] with [[Verb conjugation|conjugation]]). In inflected languages, other [[Part of speech|parts of speech]] such as [[Numeral (linguistics)|numerals]], [[demonstrative]]s, [[Adjective|adjectives]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vrste riječi|url=http://gramatika.hr/pravilo/vrste-rijeci/16/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-23|website=Hrvatska školska gramatika|language=hr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326145055/http://gramatika.hr:80/pravilo/vrste-rijeci/16/ |archive-date=2018-03-26 }}</ref> and [[Article (grammar)|articles]]<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Martin|first1=Howard|last2=Ng|first2=Alan|last3=Korpi|first3=Sarah |title=Cases |url=https://courses.dcs.wisc.edu/wp/readinggerman/category/02-cases-present/ |url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-23 |website=A Foundation Course in Reading German |publisher=University of Wisconsin-Madison|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919021351/https://courses.dcs.wisc.edu/wp/readinggerman/category/02-cases-present/ |archive-date=2015-09-19 }}</ref> are also declined.
These contrived examples are relatively simple, whereas actual inflected languages have a far more complicated set of declensions, where the suffixes (or prefixes or [[infixes]]) change depending on the [[Noun gender|gender of the noun]], the [[Grammatical number|quantity of the noun]], and other possible factors. This complexity and the possible lengthening of words is one of the disadvantages of inflected languages. Notably, many of these languages lack [[Article (grammar)|articles]]. There may also be ''irregular nouns'' where the declensions are unique for each word (like [[irregular verbs]] with [[Verb conjugation|conjugation]]). In inflected languages, other [[Part of speech|parts of speech]] such as [[Numeral (linguistics)|numerals]], [[demonstrative]]s, [[Adjective|adjectives]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vrste riječi|url=http://gramatika.hr/pravilo/vrste-rijeci/16/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-23|website=Hrvatska školska gramatika|language=hr|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326145055/http://gramatika.hr/pravilo/vrste-rijeci/16/|archive-date=2018-03-26}}</ref> and [[Article (grammar)|articles]]<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Martin|first1=Howard|last2=Ng|first2=Alan|last3=Korpi|first3=Sarah |title=Cases |url=https://courses.dcs.wisc.edu/wp/readinggerman/category/02-cases-present/ |url-status=live|access-date=2021-09-23 |website=A Foundation Course in Reading German |publisher=University of Wisconsin-Madison|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919021351/https://courses.dcs.wisc.edu/wp/readinggerman/category/02-cases-present/ |archive-date=2015-09-19 }}</ref> are also declined.


== History ==
== History ==
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===Determiners===
===Determiners===
{{unref section|date=January 2026}}
The demonstrative determiners ''this'' and ''that'' are declined for number, as ''these'' and ''those''.
The demonstrative determiners ''this'' and ''that'' are declined for number, as ''these'' and ''those''.


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==Latin==
==Latin==
{{Main|Latin declension|Latin syntax}}
{{Main|Latin declension|Latin syntax}}
 
{{unref section|date=January 2026}}
Just as verbs in Latin are conjugated to indicate grammatical information, Latin nouns and adjectives that modify them are declined to signal their roles in sentences. There are five important cases for Latin nouns: [[Nominative case|nominative]], [[Genitive case|genitive]], [[Dative case|dative]], [[Accusative case|accusative]], and [[Ablative (Latin)|ablative]]. Since the [[vocative case]] [[Vocative case#Latin|usually]] takes the same form as the nominative, it is seldom spelt out in grammar books.{{dubious|date=May 2019}} Yet another case, the [[Locative case|locative]], is limited to a small number of words.
Just as verbs in Latin are conjugated to indicate grammatical information, Latin nouns and adjectives that modify them are declined to signal their roles in sentences. There are five important cases for Latin nouns: [[Nominative case|nominative]], [[Genitive case|genitive]], [[Dative case|dative]], [[Accusative case|accusative]], and [[Ablative (Latin)|ablative]]. Since the [[vocative case]] [[Vocative case#Latin|usually]] takes the same form as the nominative, it is seldom spelt out in grammar books.{{dubious|date=May 2019}} Yet another case, the [[Locative case|locative]], is limited to a small number of words.


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*Ablative case is used to modify verbs and can be translated as 'by', 'with', 'from', etc.
*Ablative case is used to modify verbs and can be translated as 'by', 'with', 'from', etc.
*Vocative case is used to address a person or thing.
*Vocative case is used to address a person or thing.
The genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative also have important functions to indicate the object of a preposition.
The genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative also have important functions to indicate the object of a preposition.


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|puell'''ae'''
|puell'''ae'''
|}
|}
From the provided examples we can see how cases work:
From the provided examples we can see how cases work:
{{interlinear|lang=la|indent=2
{{interlinear|lang=la|indent=2
| liber puerī
| liber puerī
| book boy.GEN
| book boy.GEN
| the book of the boy}}
| the book of the boy}}
 
{{interlinear
{{interlinear|lang=la|indent=2
| lang = la
| puer puellae rosam dat
| indent = 2|puer puellae rosam dat|boy.NOM girl.DAT rose.ACC give.3SG.PRES|the boy gives the girl a rose
| boy.NOM girl.DAT rose.ACC give.3SG.PRES
}}
| the boy gives the girl a rose}}


==Sanskrit==
==Sanskrit==
{{Main|Sanskrit nouns}}
{{Main|Sanskrit nouns}}
[[Sanskrit]], another Indo-European language, has eight cases: [[nominative]], [[vocative case|vocative]], [[accusative case|accusative]], [[genitive]], [[dative case|dative]], [[ablative case|ablative]], [[locative case|locative]] and [[instrumental case|instrumental]].<ref>[[James Clackson]] (2007) [https://books.google.com/books?id=DJDjNp6wODoC&pg=PA90 ''Indo-European linguistics: an introduction''], p.90</ref> Some do not count vocative as a separate case, despite it having a distinctive ending in the singular, but consider it as a different use of the nominative.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Huet |first1=Gérard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t2f1hneiV08C&pg=PA68 |title=Sanskrit Computational Linguistics: First and Second International Symposia Rocquencourt, France, October 29-31, 2007 Providence, RI, USA, May 15-17, 2008, Revised Selected Papers |last2=Kulkarni |first2=Amba |last3=Scharf |first3=Peter |date=2009-03-09 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-642-00154-3 |language=en}}</ref>
[[Sanskrit]], another Indo-European language, has eight cases: [[nominative]], [[vocative case|vocative]], [[accusative case|accusative]], [[genitive]], [[dative case|dative]], [[ablative case|ablative]], [[locative case|locative]] and [[instrumental case|instrumental]].<ref>[[James Clackson]] (2007) [https://books.google.com/books?id=DJDjNp6wODoC&pg=PA90 ''Indo-European linguistics: an introduction''], p.90</ref> Some do not count vocative as a separate case, despite it having a distinctive ending in the singular, but consider it as a different use of the nominative.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last1=Huet |first1=Gérard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t2f1hneiV08C&pg=PA68 |title=Sanskrit Computational Linguistics: First and Second International Symposia Rocquencourt, France, October 29-31, 2007 Providence, RI, USA, May 15-17, 2008, Revised Selected Papers |last2=Kulkarni |first2=Amba |last3=Scharf |first3=Peter |date=2009-03-09 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-642-00154-3 |language=en}}</ref>


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For example, consider the following sentence:
For example, consider the following sentence:


{{interlinear|indent=3
{{interlinear
| {{transliteration|sa|vṛkṣ-āt}} {{transliteration|sa|parṇ-aṁ}} {{transliteration|sa|bhūm-āu}} {{transliteration|sa|patati}}
| indent = 3|{{transliteration|sa|vṛkṣ-āt}} {{transliteration|sa|parṇ-aṁ}} {{transliteration|sa|bhūm-āu}} {{transliteration|sa|patati}}|{from the tree} {a leaf} {to the ground} falls|"a leaf falls from the tree to the ground"
| {from the tree} {a leaf} {to the ground} falls
}}
| "a leaf falls from the tree to the ground"}}


Here ''leaf'' is the agent, ''tree'' is the source, and ''ground'' is the locus. The endings ''-aṁ'', ''-at'', ''-āu'' mark the cases associated with these meanings.
Here ''leaf'' is the agent, ''tree'' is the source, and ''ground'' is the locus. The endings ''-aṁ'', ''-at'', ''-āu'' mark the cases associated with these meanings.
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==Declension in specific languages==
==Declension in specific languages==
{{unref section|date=January 2026}}
*[[Albanian morphology|Albanian declension]]
*[[Albanian morphology|Albanian declension]]
*[[Basque grammar#Declension|Basque declension]]
*[[Basque grammar#Declension|Basque declension]]


=== Arabic ===
=== Arabic ===
* Classical and Modern Standard [[ʾIʿrab|Arabic declension (ʾIʿrab)]]  
* Classical and Modern Standard [[ʾIʿrab|Arabic declension (ʾIʿrab)]]  


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=== Romance languages ===
=== Romance languages ===
* [[Romanian grammar|Romanian declension]]
* [[Romanian grammar|Romanian declension]]


=== Indo-Aryan languages ===
=== Indo-Aryan languages ===
* [[Hindustani declension|Urdu and Hindi declension]]
* [[Hindustani declension|Urdu and Hindi declension]]


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=== Languages that lost their declension system ===
=== Languages that lost their declension system ===
* [[Varieties of Arabic|Modern Arabic dialects]] (incl. [[Maltese language|Maltese]])
* [[Varieties of Arabic|Modern Arabic dialects]] (incl. [[Maltese language|Maltese]])
* Most Germanic languages:
* Most Germanic languages:
** English  
** English  
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** many Norwegian dialects
** many Norwegian dialects
** many  Swedish dialects
** many  Swedish dialects
* Most Romance languages:
* Most Romance languages:
** Spanish  
** Spanish  
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{{Wiktionary|declension}}
{{Wiktionary|declension}}
*[http://www.hi.is/~eirikur/cases.pdf The Status of Morphological Case in the Icelandic Lexicon] by Eiríkur Rögnvaldsson. Discussion of whether cases convey any inherent syntactic or semantic meaning.
*[http://www.hi.is/~eirikur/cases.pdf The Status of Morphological Case in the Icelandic Lexicon] by Eiríkur Rögnvaldsson. Discussion of whether cases convey any inherent syntactic or semantic meaning.
*[http://web.phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de/~wdl/OptCase.pdf Optimal Case: The Distribution of Case in German and Icelandic] by Dieter Wunderlich
*[http://web.phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de/~wdl/OptCase.pdf Optimal Case: The Distribution of Case in German and Icelandic] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050119210831/http://web.phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de/~wdl/OptCase.pdf |date=2005-01-19 }} by Dieter Wunderlich
<!--*[http://phrontistery.info/cases.html A long list of names for cases] found in one language or another--><!--dead link-->
<!--*[http://phrontistery.info/cases.html A long list of names for cases] found in one language or another--><!--dead link-->
* <small>Lexicon of Linguistics:</small> [http://www2.let.uu.nl/UiL-OTS/Lexicon/zoek.pl?lemma=Declension Declension]
* <small>Lexicon of Linguistics:</small> [http://www2.let.uu.nl/UiL-OTS/Lexicon/zoek.pl?lemma=Declension Declension]
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