{{Short description|Case specifying the use of the object form of pronouns}} {{distinguish|oblique argument}}
In grammar, an '''oblique''' (abbreviated {{sc|'''obl'''}}; from {{langx|la|casus obliquus}}) or '''objective case''' (abbr. {{sc|'''obj'''}}) is a nominal case other than the nominative case and, sometimes, the vocative.
A noun or pronoun in the oblique case can generally appear in any role except as subject, for which the nominative case is used.<ref>"oblique" in David Crystal, 2008. ''A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics'', 6th ed.</ref> The term ''objective case'' is generally preferred by modern English grammarians, where it supplanted Old English's dative and accusative.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/objcaseterm.htm |title=Objective case (grammar) |work=(about) education |access-date=29 January 2016 |archive-date=26 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326214054/http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/objcaseterm.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/personal-pronoun#personal-pronoun__5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630085208/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/personal-pronoun#personal-pronoun__5 |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 30, 2013 |title=Personal pronoun |work=Oxford Dictionaries |publisher=Oxford University Press |access-date=29 January 2016 }}</ref> When the two terms are contrasted, they differ in the ability of a word in the oblique case to function as a possessive attributive; whether English has an oblique rather than an objective case then depends on how "proper" or widespread one considers the dialects where such usage is employed.
An oblique case often contrasts with an unmarked case, as in English oblique ''hi'''m''''' and ''the'''m''''' versus nominative ''he'' and ''they''. However, the term ''oblique'' is also used for languages without a nominative case, such as ergative–absolutive languages; in the Northwest Caucasian languages, for example, the oblique-case marker serves to mark the ergative, dative, and applicative case roles, contrasting with the absolutive case, which is unmarked.
== Hindustani == {{main|Hindustani declension}}
Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu) nouns, pronouns and postpositions decline for an oblique case which exclusively serves to mark the grammatical case roles using the case-marking postpositions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267724707 |title=CASE IN HINDI |first=Andrew |last=Spencer |via=ResearchGate}} </ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226198692 |via=ResearchGate|doi=10.1007/978-1-4020-6497-5_4 |chapter=Ergative Case-marking in Hindi |title=Differential Subject Marking |series=Studies in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory |year=2009 |last1=De Hoop |first1=Helen |last2=Narasimhan |first2=Bhuvana |volume=72 |pages=63–78 |isbn=978-1-4020-6498-2 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://alt.qcri.org/~ndurrani/pubs/system_grammatical_relations.pdf |title=System for Grammatical relations in Urdu |first=Nadir |last=Durrani |website=alt.qcri.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite CiteSeerX|title=M. Butt: Structure of Urdu 1 the Structure of Urdu — Case|citeseerx=10.1.1.708.2327}}</ref> The oblique case has similarities with the vocative case in Hindustani. Some examples of the declension pattern are shown in the tables below:<ref>{{Cite web|date=2012-04-19|title=Hindi Noun Cases|url=https://hindilanguage.info/hindi-grammar/nouns/case/|access-date=2020-09-01|website=hindilanguage.info|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-06-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604084641/https://hindilanguage.info/hindi-grammar/nouns/case/|url-status=dead}}</ref> {| | {| class="wikitable" |+Pronouns ! colspan="2" |Case !1P !2P !3P |- ! colspan="2" |Nominative | rowspan="2" |मैं ma͠i | rowspan="2" |तू tū |ये ye |- ! rowspan="2" |Oblique !Ergative | rowspan="2" |इस is |- !Regular |मुझ mujh |तुझ tujh |} | {| class="wikitable" |+Noun ! rowspan="2" |Case ! colspan="2" |Masculine ! colspan="2" |Feminine |- !Singular !Plural !Singular !Plural |- !Nominative |लड़का laṛkā |लड़के laṛke | rowspan="2" |लड़की laṛkī |लड़कियाँ laṛkiyā̃ |- !Oblique |लड़के laṛke |लड़कों laṛkõ |लड़कियों laṛkiyõ |} | {| class="wikitable" |+Postpositions ! rowspan="2" |Case ! colspan="2" |Masculine ! colspan="2" |Feminine |- !Singular !Plural !Singular !Plural |- !Nominative | का kā | के ke | colspan="2" rowspan="2" | की kī |- !Oblique | colspan="2" | के ke |} |- |''<small>Singular pronouns are shown.</small>'' |<small>लड़का (laṛkā) = boy, लड़की (laṛkī) = girl</small> |<small>का (kā) is equivalent to the possessive 's of English</small> |}
==Bulgarian== Bulgarian, an analytic Slavic language, also has an oblique case form for pronouns:
Dative role: * "Give that ball ''to me''" дай тaзи топка на мен (''day tazi topka na men'')
(This oblique case is a relic of the original, more complex proto-Slavic system of noun cases, and there are remnants of other cases in Bulgarian, such as the vocative case of direct address)
==English== An objective case is marked on the English personal pronouns and as such serves the role of the accusative and dative cases that other Indo-European languages employ. These forms are often called object pronouns. They serve a variety of grammatical functions which they would not in languages that differentiate the two. An example using first person singular objective pronoun '''''me''''':
*in an accusative role for a direct object (including double object and oblique ditransitives): ::''Do you see '''me'''?'' ::''The army sent '''me''' to Korea.''
*in a dative role for an indirect object: ::''Kim passed the pancakes '''to me'''.'' ::''Kim passed '''me''' the pancakes.''
*as the object of a preposition (except in possessives): ::''That picture of '''me''' was blurry.'' ::(cf. double genitive as in ''That picture of mine was stolen.'')
*in copular deixis: ::[referring to a photograph] ''This is '''me''' on the beach.''
*in existentials (sometimes, but not always, replaceable by the nominative—in very formal style):<ref>{{cite book |last1=Huddleston |first1=Rodney |author-link1=Rodney Huddleston |last2= Pullum |first2= Geoffrey K.|author-link2= Geoffrey Pullum | title=The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language |year=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge; New York |isbn=0-521-43146-8 |page=459 }}</ref> ::''It's '''me''' again.'' ::(''cf. Once again, it is I.'' [formal]) ::''Who is it?—It's '''me'''.'' ::(''cf. It is I ''[''to whom you are speaking''].) ::''It's '''me''' who should fix it.'' ::(''cf. Since I made it, it is I who should fix it.'')
*in a nominative role with predicate or verbal ellipsis: ::''Who made this bicycle?—'''Me'''.'' ::(''cf. Who made this bicycle?—I did.'') ::''I like him.—Hey, '''me''' too.'' ::(''cf. I like him.—Hey, I do too.'') ::''Who's gonna clean up this mess?—Not '''me'''!''
*in coordinated nominals: ::'''''Me''' and him are going to the store.'' (only in colloquial speech) ::(''cf. Is he going? Yes, he and I are going.'')
*as a disjunctive topic marker: ::'''''Me''', I like French.''
The pronoun ''me'' is not inflected differently in any of these uses; it is used for all grammatical relationships except the genitive case of possession (in standard English) and a non-disjunctive nominative case as the subject.
*It may also be used as a comedic stylistic effect of blatant error (nonstandard, pidgin, baby or foreigner talk or "broken English"): ::[spoken by Cookie Monster] '''''Me''' so hungry.'' ::(''the above example also employs copula deletion to similar effect'')
==French== Old French had a nominative case and an oblique case, called {{Wikt-lang|fr|cas sujet}} and {{Wikt-lang|fr|cas régime}} respectively.
In Modern French, the two cases have mostly merged and the ''cas régime'' has survived as the sole form for the majority of nouns. For example, the word "''conte'' (count, earl)": *Old French: **Nominative: li {{Wikt-lang|fro|cuens|i=no}} (singular), li {{Wikt-lang|fro|conte|i=no}} (plural) **Oblique: le {{Wikt-lang|fro|conte|i=no}} (singular), les {{Wikt-lang|fro|contes|i=no}} (plural) *Modern French: ** le {{Wikt-lang|fr|conte|i=no}} (singular), les {{Wikt-lang|fr|contes|i=no}} (plural)
In some cases, both the ''cas sujet'' and ''cas régime'' of one noun have survived but produced two nouns in Modern French with different meanings. For example, today's {{Wikt-lang|fr|copain}} means "friend" and {{Wikt-lang|fr|compagnon}} means "companion", but in Old French these were different declensions of the same noun.
==Kurdish== Kurdish has an oblique for pronouns, objects, and for objects of izafe constructs.
==See also== *Object pronoun, which in English take the oblique case *Oblique argument *Object (grammar) *Subject pronoun *Disjunctive pronoun *Quirky subject
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== *{{wti}}
{{Grammatical cases}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oblique Case}} Category:Grammatical cases