SUBJECT OF A VERB
To determine the word or words acting as its subject ask who? or what? before the verb, The answer yields the subject. The answer yields the subject.
The nations are as a drop of a bucket. What are as a drop of a bucket? The nations-subject.
How beautiful upon the mountains are his feet.
Here the subject does not precede the verb, as normally it does. Nevertheless, the method of finding the subject remains the same. What are beautiful: feet-subject.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench.
There are two verbs in the preceding sentence; shall break and shall quenches, the subject of each, is located by asking who? before the relevant verb.
The nations are as a drop of a bucket. What are as a drop of a bucket? The nations-subject.
How beautiful upon the mountains are his feet.
Here the subject does not precede the verb, as normally it does. Nevertheless, the method of finding the subject remains the same. What are beautiful: feet-subject.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench.
There are two verbs in the preceding sentence; shall break and shall quenches, the subject of each, is located by asking who? before the relevant verb.
PREDICATE NOMINATIVE
After the copula or linking verb (a verb that expresses a state of being rather than an actions and acts as a king of equal sign linking subject and predicate) the nominative case is used. The most common of the linking verbs is be ( is, was, will be, have been, had been, ect.); but become, seem, appear, prove, look, and about fifty other verbs may be used as linking verb.
Note in the following examples how the predicate nominative (boldened) serves to define or explain the subject.
God is one.
The Bible is a little-known Book.
The Bible has become a little known book. We shall have been friends.
DIRECT ADDRESS
A noun is said to be an appositive of another noun, or in appositive with another noun. when it identifies the same person or object under another name. A noun is in the nominative case if it is in apposition with another noun in the nominative case.
Tom, the widow's son, raised pigs. Mary, a gardener, planted vegetables.
POSSESSIVE CASE
A noun is in the possessive (also called genitive) case when it adds (apostrophe s) or simply the apostrophe to Indicated ownership (possession), source or origin (genesis), manufacture or authorship, association or connection, and similar relationships.
USES OF THE POSSESSIVE
Ownership: Marco's millions, Edward's eye.
Source of Origin: God's country, mother's son.
Manufacture or authorship: John son's baby lotion.
Association, connection, attribute or duration: a woman's work, a month's delay at sword's point.
FORMATION OF THE POSSESSIVE
To form the possessive singular, add apostrophe s to the simple (nominative) form of the noun.
child's play Dickens' novels woman's work
To form the possessive plural, add only the apostrophe when the simple (nominative) plural form of the noun end in s, but and apostrophe s when the simple plural does not end in s.
Plural Ending in s Plural Not Ending in s
horses's tails children's play
devils' delights people's voices
ladies' day freshmen's folly
NOTE: The methods of forming the possessive case described and illustrated in the foregoing paragraphs have gained wide acceptance; they are valid as any and far more lucid than most, Unfortunately, other systems are in vogue.
To form the plural of a group of words containing a single idea (group genitive) and apostrophe s to the last word.
brother-in-law's virtues
The Y.M.C.A.'s program
In formal usage, inanimate objects do not take the possessive case, except for some constructions that have long been in the language.
pages of a book (rather than a book's pages)
principles of grammar (rather than grammar's principles)
leaves of a tree (rather than a tree's leaves)
BUT:
goodness' sake day's march
hair's breadth earth's surface
