For those of you who have never studied Latin, or German, or a host of other languages known as inflected languages, grammatical cases are noun and pronoun inflections which indicate the relationship of terms in a sentence to one another. In English, cases are now only important to indicate possession (cat/cat’s, it/its) and in pronouns (she/her, who/whom). However, some languages have up to fifteen cases. Copied from Phrontistery for comment and education
While that is all true, and I’m only learning about all of these myself at this point… however, a couple of definitions from Wiktionary made a few of these more interesting to an English writer who searches for ways to improve immersion.
For example, Caritive : Of words or endings that express a lack of something, for example English homeless/-less or unsalted/un-
For me, it is easier to use a tool when I have a good name for it. By good, I mean, something I didn’t make up myself. Good names make it simpler to talk to people about what techniques I’m using, and how they worked out.
With Caritive, I can envision using it as it suggests, choosing for a down or moody character to choose undead instead of immortal, depressed rather than blue, unsugared rather than diet, pitiless rather than cold.
Some of them, like similative I’m not sure how to portray or if there is a way. Take what is offered the profit says…
Here’s his list:
Word | Definition |
---|---|
abessive | indicating absence or lack |
ablative | indicating direction from or time when |
absolutive | indicating subject or object of intransitive verb |
accusative | indicating direct object of a verb |
adessive | indicating place where or proximity to |
adnominal | indicating adjective used as a noun |
agentive | indicating agent performing an action |
allative | indicating movement towards |
associative | indicating association with or accompaniment by |
benefactive | indicating for whom or which |
caritive | indicating lack of something |
causative | indicating causation by |
comitative | indicating accompaniment |
compellative | indicating address or appellation; vocative |
conformative | indicating resemblance; similative |
dative | indicating indirect object of a verb |
delative | indicating motion downward |
distributive | indicating separate members of a group, one at a time |
elative | indicating movement out of or away from |
equative | indicating likeness or identity |
ergative | indicating subject of a transitive verb |
essive | indicating a temporary state of being |
factive | indicating causation |
genitive | indicating possession, origin or relation |
illative | indicating movement into or toward |
inessive | indicating location within |
instructive | indicating means whereby |
instrumental | indicating means by which |
introessive | indicating motion into |
juxtapositive | indicating juxtaposition |
lative | indicating motion up to or as far as |
locative | indicating location or place where |
multiplicative | indicating repetition or augmentation |
mutative | indicating a change of place or state |
nominative | indicating subject of a verb |
oppositive | indicating opposition or location opposite to |
partitive | indicating a part of a larger whole |
perlative | indicating movement through or across |
possessive | indicating possession; genitive case |
predicative | indicating the predicate |
privative | indicating absence, deprivation or negation |
prolative | indicating motion alongside or means of motion |
relative | indicating relation or a prepositional object |
similative | indicating similarity to |
situative | indicating comparison of two things |
sociative | indicating association with the subject |
stative | indicating a state rather than an action |
subessive | indicating location under or below |
sublative | indicating movement towards the top of |
superessive | indicating location upon or on top of |
temporal | indicating time when |
terminative | indicating motion up to or time until |
translative | indicating process of change or movement through |
vocative | indicating calling or personal address |