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Filmore Case Roles

Case grammar refers to a form where sentence structure analysis is realized in terms of the

semantic case relationships (Charles, 2010). Each verb sense is associated with a set of cases,

either obligatory or optional. Filmore identifies eight case roles in the English language. They

include the nominative case, accusative case, dative case, ablative case, ablative case, genitive

case, vocative case, locative case, and instrumental case. This paper examines the Filmore eight

case roles, exemplifying each one of them.

The first role is the nominative case, which indicates the subject of the sentence (Griarte, n.d.).

This does the function of indicating the function of a finite verb. In the nominative case, a

pronoun takes the role of a noun. Examples in sentences showing the nominative case (pronoun):

He bought a new car.

We went to the market.

They cried for help

The accusative case indicates the direct object of a verb (Griarte, n.d.). In this case, the direct

object comes immediately after the verb. Examples in sentences:

John forgot her.

The teacher remembered them.

The man fought us.

The dative case indicates the indirect object of a verb (Griarte, n.d.). Examples in a sentence

The shopkeeper gave us a discount.

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John kicked the ball to Mary.

He gave a pen to his girlfriend.

The ablative case indicates movement from something or cause (Griarte, n.d.). Examples in

sentences.

She was crying because of the pain.

Jane went to the hospital because she had labour pains.

She was unhappy give that she was scolded.

The genitive case plays the role of indicating the possessor of another noun (Griarte, n.d.). The

case corresponds to the English possessive case.

John’s cow is grazing seeping under the tree.

Mary’s pen was stolen.

The watchman’s radio was stolen.

The vocative case indicates the addressee in the sentence (Griarte, n.d.). This is the person being

spoken to by the speaker. Examples in sentences include:

Jane’s, is this your pen?

Hello, mum!

Mary, will you eat with me?

The locative case indicates the location (Griarte, n.d.). This is primarily the location of the

subject in a sentence. Examples in sentences include:

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We live in Kenya.

The students are at the orphanage.

The visitors arrived at school.

Lasty, the instrumental case performs the role of indicating the object used in performing an

action (Griarte, n.d.). This shows what one used to do which task. Examples in sentences:

Terry wiped the floor with a rag.

The went to the party by bus.

John went to his grandmother’s place on foot.

In conclusion, the Gilmore eight case perform different roles in sentences. The case grammar

reveals how the sentence structure analysis considering the semantic case relationships.
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References

Charles F.S. (2010). Case Grammar Understanding, Interpreting and Remembering Events.

Griarte, R. The Charles Fillmore's grammatical cases.

https://www.academia.edu/31364753/The_Charles_Fillmores_grammatical_cases