Panlaffic cases

There are twelve cases that appear in the Panlaffic languages.

Nominative case
The nominative case is used to name something as well as to denote the subject of an action or state.
 * "The dog"
 * "The dog bit the man"

Accusative case
The accusative case denotes the direct object of a transitive verb.
 * "The dog bit the man"

Genitive case
The genitive case denotes possession or relationship as well as a lack or replacement of something.
 * "The boy's  father"
 * "The party member"
 * "There is no water"
 * "Instead of sweets, eat fruit"
 * "We can't go without him"
 * "Everyone is here except her"
 * "The school had to close because of the snow"
 * "Thanks to the rain, the field was flooded"
 * "Amongst the contestants was last year's winner"
 * "For the sake of the plants, it must rain"
 * "Despite the snow the school was open"
 * "Pick a number from one to ten"
 * "He knelt in the presence of the King"

Dative case
The dative case is used to mark the the indirect object of a transitive verb.
 * "I gave a book to him"

Ablative case
The ablative case is used to indicate movement away from, out of or off something or somewhere, as well as source. Languages that do not have an ablative case use the genitive instead.
 * "I left that town a month ago"
 * "They moved away from the city centre a while ago"
 * "He got out of the car"
 * "Get off the roof!"
 * "He is from England"
 * "Get out from under the table!"
 * "I'm just leaving Michael's [house]"
 * "According to the papers that restaurant is fantastic"

Allative case
The allative case is used to indicate movement to, into, onto, under or towards something or somewhere. Languages without an allative case use the accusative in its stead.
 * "I came to this city last year"
 * "They moved into their new house last week"
 * "The cat ran under the table"
 * "They went and hid behind the sofa"
 * "Go along the river and past the hotel"
 * "Can we try and walk beyond those hills?"
 * "Jump over the fence!"
 * "Are we going to Michael's [house] tonight?"

Allative-dative case
All Panlaffic languages except for Church Kihā́mmic and Kyánnic have a merged dative and allative case, usually just called the allative. The allative-dative is used for the instances listed above as well as the one listed under dative, that is the indirect object of a transitive verb.

Instrumental case
The instrumental case denotes either the use of an object to perform an action or company. Languages lacking the instrumental use the accusative instead.
 * "He writes with his best pen"
 * "I went to the cinema with my family"
 * "The museum was opened by the mayor"
 * "You can get to the school quicker via that shortcut"
 * "Go along the river then past the hotel"
 * "They went across the bridge"
 * "We need to go through the tunnel"
 * "I'm going to the shops for some milk"
 * "I'm just going to pay for these"
 * "These are for adults, not children!"
 * "He ran around the track several times"
 * "The house is surrounded by the police"
 * "He's arguing for speed cameras"

Prepositional case
The prepositional case denotes a location, such as in, at, on, under et cetera, as well as about or concerning.
 * "Moscow is in Russia"
 * "I can't talk at the moment, I'm at work"
 * "The lamp is on the desk"
 * "Our dog is under the table"
 * "We're talking about the match"
 * "Keep this between us"
 * "Pick a number between one and ten"
 * "I must get home before my delivery"
 * "I'm in front of your house"
 * "I stood near the bus stop"
 * "We'll wait by the bridge"
 * "The plane is now over Milan"
 * "What's behind that door?"
 * "The house is beyond those hills"
 * "There is a bridge across the river."
 * "We're waiting outside your house"
 * "He knelt in the presence of the King"
 * "There is a fence around the park"
 * "The ladder is leant against the wall"
 * "There is a café opposite my house"
 * "Next to the pub is a bank"
 * "I'm still at Michael's [house]"
 * "I'm against smoking in public"

Terminative case
The terminative case is used in phrases that involve limitations of time or distance. In the languages that lack the terminative the genitive is normally used instead.
 * "I'm working until the weekend"
 * "Go as far as the café"
 * "During the lesson they took notes"
 * "After the match they went home"
 * "We'll be home in five minutes"
 * "Can I stay for another hour? "
 * "By four o'clock you have to have left"
 * "Pick a number from one to ten"

Comparative case
The comparative (or equative) case is used to mark a similarity to something or that two things have the same quantity of something. For the languages lacking a comparative case either the accusative case or an alternative construction, more similar to English, is used.
 * "He swims like a fish"
 * "I have approximately £1000 in the bank"
 * "The sky is a reddish colour"

Partitive case
The partitive case is used to indicate an indefinite quantity (i.e. "some" or "any"), in all but Church Kihā́mmic the partitive has been replaced by the genitive case and an indefinite pronoun.
 * "There some milk in the glass"
 * "Are there any sweets left?"
 * "I'm going to buy some sausages"

Vocative case
The vocative case is used for when identifying the person (or object) being addressed. The nominative is used in languages which lack the vocative.


 * "Anthony, wait!"
 * "O Simon, why did you do that?"
 * "Dear Mr Thompson..."
 * "You fool!"
 * "Grenade!"