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Overview of the nine cases of Mathal and when to use them.

This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 19 Oct 2022, 15:55.

[comments] casesmthlmathalnominativegenitiveaccusativelocativedativeablativetemporativecausativeinstrumentalgrammar Grammar (8 articles)

[Public] ? ?

1. Adjectives ? ?

2. Articles & Nouns ? ?

3. Cases ? ?

4. Complementary Distribution ? ?

5. Pronouns ? ?

6. Root, The Basic Unit ? ?

7. Syntax ? ?

8. Verbs ? ?

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Menu 1. CASES 2. NOMINATIVE 3. ACCUSATIVE 4. GENITIVE 5. LOCATIVE 6. DATIVE 7. ABLATIVE 8. TEMPORATIVE 9. INSTRUMENTAL 10. CAUSATIVE

[edit] [top]CASES

A case is a type of grammatical property that assigns a specific function to nouns, pronouns, determiners, adjectives, and also numerals.

Mathal has neither adverbs nor prepositions. This information is entirely carried by nine cases, which all will be explained in detail below.

[edit] [top]NOMINATIVE

CASE	Prefix	USAGE	Question
Nominative	not needed	Subject of a Verb Someone who does something Something that does something	Who? What?

Nominative is generally used for the Subject (single argument of intransitive clause) or Agent (of a transitive clause).

INTRANSITIVE CLAUSES
Example	English	Mathal	Runes
to be:	I am Vølvar.	Vølvar a'benem.¹	Vølvar a'benem.
to be:	It is raining.	Ðas a'grinaþ.²	Ðas a'grinaþ.
to become:	He/She/They is/are becoming a great cook.	ef jaidatje Kor a'vilener.³	ef jaidatje Kor a'vilener.

¹ 'to be' can be seen as an equal-sign here. Left side equals the right side. I = Vølvar. Since 'I' is the Subject in this clause, so is Vølvar. The Nominative does not need an affix, so the name is just written as it is. The Subject 'I' is already included at the end of the short-verb 'ben' and does not necessarily need to appear a second time.
² 'It' is here in form of the so-called dummy pronoun. It is a pronoun that neither belongs to the common nor the neuter gender. 'It' does not describe a specific object or thing, it is a placeholder, a term to describe the current moment but not a clear object like the weather. Since 'grin' belongs to the short-verbs, it does not need a pronoun BUT there is a necessity for it. A Verb alone cannot build a sentence or phrase and always takes the second position in a sentence.
³ 'to become' has the same value as 'to be', it functions as '='. What stays left and right of the verb can only be in the nominative case. 'vilin' is a short verb and does not request a pronoun. Due to the fact that the phrase has another noun, this can be put in first position and the sentence is complete.

TRANSITIVE CLAUSES
Gender	English	Mathal	Runes
Common	We will paint pictures.	Bóni y'píðoran ei:píðoruf.⁴	Bóni y'píðoran ei:píðoruf.
Neuter	Our trap has stopped the thief.	bɪŋ Þnuim a'brérer ei:tíreŋ.⁵	bɪŋ Þnuim a'brérer ei:tíreŋ.

⁴'We' is the agent in the sentence that performs the action of 'painting'. Therefore, the pronoun does not receive an affix as it is common for the Nominative. The verb 'píþor' belongs to the long-verb class and thus needs a pronoun.
⁵ Here, the Subject consists of a noun an its posessive article. 'Our trap' is stopping the thief, it is the acting noun.

[edit] [top]ACCUSATIVE

Accusative	Prefix	USAGE	Question
Accusative	ei:	Object of a Verb Something is done to someone or something	Who? What?

The Accusative, aka objective case, is usually the direct object of a clause. It requires the affix 'ei' that is added to the front of the root by means of a ':' .

THE DIRECT OBJECT
English	Mathal	Runes
Human beings kill lambs.	Vougoþ a'nikinot ei:hikteloþ.¹	Vougoþ a'nikinot ei:hikteloþ.
I see the mountains.	Muiju a'vølem kvounung.²	Muiju a'vølem kvounung.
The bees like these flowers.	Býgong a'litot ika lúng bloup.³	Býgong a'litot ika lúng bloup.
A leaning tower brings luck.	if vinorji Børam a'fitin.⁴	if vinorji Børam a'fitin.

¹ 'kill' can be intransitive and transitive. Here it calls for an object that is being killed, 'lambs', by the subject 'human beings'.
² The pronoun 'I' sees who or what? The mountains, the object in this phrase. They are directly influenced by the action 'to see'. Since 'vøl' belongs to the short-verbs it does not actually require a pronoun, here though lies an emphasis on 'I'. It is 'I' who sees, not 'you' or 'they'. The sentence would work perfectly without the pronoun, then the object would need to be put first though.
³ 'like' always requires an object. Here it consists of a noun and its demonstrative determiner.
⁴ Though the English sentence does have a direct object, namely 'luck', there is none in Mathal. This information is already displayed in the verb which means 'to bring luck'. It is possible to write the sentence with the verb 'bring' and the object 'luck' but it would be considered less eloquent.

[edit] [top]GENITIVE

CASE	Prefix	USAGE	Question
Genitive	ai:	Shows attributive relationship towards another noun Shows belonging to someone or something	Whom? What?

Genitive shows possession or relation, it shows the possessor who possesses something or someone. It always follows the noun (in any case) that is being possessed.

English	Mathal	Runes
Those are the howls of wolves.	Lu: a'benuk Lekung ai:vuigoþ.¹	Lu: a'benuk Lekung ai:vuigoþ.
I have read my uncle's letters.	mø'líliran Bremung ai:ming bomul.²	mø'líliran Bremung ai:ming bomul.

^{1, 2} The word order is always the same. First comes the noun that is being possessed, then the possessor who is marked with the genitive prefix . Whose howls are they? The wolves. The howls belong to them. Whose letters are they? My uncle's.

English	Mathal	Runes
This book is his.	ling Krúm a'bener ai:reisa.³	ling Krúm a'bener ai:reisa.
This is her book.	li: a'bener ring Krúm.⁴	li: a'bener ring Krúm.
This is the book of her.	li: a'bener Krúming ai:reisa.⁵	li: a'bener Krúming ai:reisa.

³ While English uses a completely different pronoun (he vs. his), Mathal does not change the pronoun (reisa vs. ai:reisa) but marks that the function has changed, from subject to possessor.
^{4, 5}Another option to show possession is by using a possessive article. Here the possessed someone or something and the possessor change places.

English	Mathal	Runes
He grabbed my hat from Traldúr's table.	ei:ming kapam ø'pirer øi:dveming ai:Traldúr.⁶	ei:ming kapam ø'pirer øi:dveming ai:Traldúr.

⁶ Depending on the sentence's content and the intended focus, Mathal uses different ways to show possession. Possessive articles are preferred over the genitive case, it saves time. If they possessor needs to be stressed, the genitive case is more natural.

[edit] [top]LOCATIVE

CASE	Prefix	USAGE	Question
Locative	oi:	Subject of a Verb Someone who does something Something that does something	Where?

Locative marks that a noun is located at any area or location. While English uses prepositions and adverbs, Mathal only uses the locative case. It requires the affix <oi:> in front of the root.

English	Mathal	Runes
You are at work.	oi:grauðoring a'benes.	oi:grauðoring a'benes.
The dogs howl on the road.	Vaugong a'legot oi:tauming.	Vaugong a'legot oi:tauming.
Do you live in New York?	?a'traimol oi:Nú Jók?	?a'traimol oi:Nú Jók?

No matter if it's an address, a building, furniture, organizations, countries, cities, places in nature, vehicles, etc. Mathal always marks the location with the locative case. If the type of location is more specific the locative can be used in combination with the genitive case:

English	Mathal	Runes
They will be dancing within/inside of school	oi:plasing ai:súlaming y'viner.	oi:plasing ai:súlaming y'viner.
Our lives were easier outside the swamp.	bung Lín ø'benop synjafu oi:sveising ai:myining.	bung Lín ø'benop synjafu oi:sveising ai:myining.
An elephant stands between a hazel and a palm tree.	Fageþ a'núser oi:mising ai:korybeþ ót rekapeþ.	Fageþ a'núser oi:mising ai:korybeþ ót rekapeþ.
She is a queen among scorpions.	Kunileþ a'bener oi:monasing ai:dregoþ.	Kunileþ a'bener oi:monasing ai:dregoþ.

English	Mathal	Runes
The actress couldn't cry in grieve in front of the audience.	Plajoreng ø'fener ika at grýr oi:fosing ai:horong.	Plajoreng ø'fener ika at grýr oi:fosing ai:horong.
The sun hides behind a cloud.	Límoning a'leirer oi:basing ai:grøniþ	Límoning a'leirer oi:basing ai:grøniþ
Under the spruce tree lay a big sloth.	oi:drosing ai:pikebeng ø'pomer eþ pránje Løibøk.	oi:drosing ai:pikebeng ø'pomer eþ pránje Løibøk.
Above the rainbow flies a bat.	oi:snúsing ai:bjan a'flatarer Blageþ.	oi:snúsing ai:bjan a'flatarer Blageþ.
Two spiders are crawling on (top of) my forearm.	eþ metle Gøluk a'slørot oi:puning ai:meng gónal.	eþ metle Gøluk a'slørot oi:puning ai:meng gónal.
A kraken sleeps at the bottom of a sea.	Kobageþ a'slánan oi:góning ai:haniþ.	Kobageþ a'slánan oi:góning ai:haniþ.

English	Mathal	Runes
A lizard yawns next to the scrub.	Þageþ a'génaran oi:rising ai:kaning.	Þageþ a'génaran oi:rising ai:kaning.
There is a cut to the left of the cuticle.	Siriþ a'benaþ oi:sjerising ai:sing kjul.	Siriþ a'benaþ oi:sjerising ai:sing kjul.
Bones were found to the right of the farm.	Bainoþ ø'surafot oi:hoirising ai:bjaming.	Bainoþ ø'surafot oi:hoirising ai:bjaming.
North of a meadow lies a settlement.	oi:norising ai:kjuniþ a'plánan Lanariþ.	oi:norising ai:kjuniþ a'plánan Lanariþ.
No grass grows in the land's south.	Kobageþ a'slánan oi:góning ai:haniþ.	Kobageþ a'slánan oi:góning ai:haniþ.
A fire is burning west of the precipice.	oi:veþising ai:klouning a'sverer Dreloniþ.	oi:veþising ai:klouning a'sverer Dreloniþ.
A ray swims in the east of the sea.	Þmukeþ a'svirer oi:tauðising ai:haning.	Þmukeþ a'svirer oi:tauðising ai:haning.

[edit] [top]DATIVE

CASE	Prefix	USAGE	Question
Dative	ui:	Subject of a Verb Someone is giving something to someone Something is directed towards something	Whereto?

Dative shows the inderect object (i.e. recipient of something) of a clause) and shows direction towards someone or something, like a place or area or object.
indirect object - to/for
This basically corresponds to “to” or “for” in English, in the sense of doing something to/for someone, or giving something to/for someone (or something, it doesn’t have to be a person).
to them
the benefactive case is marked with -taki, expressing that the referent of the inflected noun benefits from the situation expressed by the verb, or, when there is no verb, that the noun to which it attaches is a recipient
for the benefit of
intended for

An autobenefactive case or voice marks a case where the agents and the benefactor are one and the same.
I am cooking for myself.

to turn into:

The raindrops turned into hail.

grinuŋ ø'mjúran ei'sjeluŋ ui'høkanuf

for
in front of
behind
under
up
down
on top
east
north
through
until Monday

[edit] [top]ABLATIVE

CASE	Prefix	USAGE	Question
Ablative	øi:	Subject of a Verb Someone comes from somewhere Something is given from someone	From where?

Ablative shows the direction from something or someone away.
This works like the Elative, but once again, it applies to solids and spaces. It corresponds to “from” in English.
from him
from the front of
from the back of
from under
from above
from the top
from west
from south
from inbetween
from Monday on/since Monday

[edit] [top]TEMPORATIVE

CASE	Prefix	USAGE	Question
Temporative	au:	Subject of a Verb When does someone live? When does something happen?	When?

Temporative is a case that informs about the time that something is occuring. This can be terminative or showing an ongoing process or point of time.
This corresponds to “at…time” or “at the time of…” in English. It pretty much exclusively deals with time.
in the morning
at midday
during the (span of the) night
at around (estimation of)
after 5 o'clock (at later time of 5)
before the night (at earlier time of night)
since (the beginning of)...
for (the length of) ...
in an hour / at the next hour

[edit] [top]INSTRUMENTAL

CASE	Prefix	USAGE	Question
Instrumental	ou:	Subject of a Verb When does someone live? When does something happen?	How?

The Instrumental shows how things are approached or by which means.
It corresponds to “with” in English, and as the Latin title suggests, it can mean using something as an instrument to do something. It can also mean doing something with somebody, in a lot of cases.
with
by means of
without / with zero
except / with exception of
in comparison with
under certain conditions
against ()
in contrast/on the contrary

[edit] [top]CAUSATIVE

CASE	Prefix	USAGE	Question
Causative	yi:	Subject of a Verb When does someone live? When does something happen?	Why?

This is an interesting one. It essentially corresponds to “for, for the purpose of”
because of
due to
for the purpose of
to be sorry for something
to apologize for something

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