Descriptions of basic cases

Nominative

The nominative case is used for the subject of sentences.

Kolic is a nominative-accusative language, which means that the subject of an intransitive sentence is marked the same way as the agent of the transitive sentence. The object of a transitive sentence is marked separately (see the accusative case).

Accusative

The accusative case marks the direct object of transitive sentences.

Note that if the direct object is a pronoun, it is usually infixed into the verb.

TODO: Add link after the section is done

Dative

The dative case is usually not analysed as its own case in Kolic. It is instead analysed as a different (but related) use of the lative directional case without any positional case.

Genitive

The genitive case (sometimes called the gentive-partitive in Kolic) marks a noun as modifying another noun, making it an attribute of the noun. It can be used for possessives, but note that Kolic has a separate way of deriving possessive adjectives from nouns, that is used more often.

Aside from the genitive function, the Kolic genitive also functions as a partitive - denoting partialness, or a (non-complete) quantity.

English Examples:

“They built a dog house.” - Although this is an example of a noun in a genitive function, this construction would usually be translated to Kolic using a compound noun, i.e. a doghouse. Note that the construction of compound nouns in Kolic puts the modifying noun (prefixed to the main noun) in a special form sometimes called the “compound form,” suffixing it with “u,” instead of using the genitive case. (Example: kyfð örðin = a house of a dog → örðukyfð = a doghouse)

“This is the boat of Gael.” - A semantically possessive function of a genitive. This sentence would more likely be expressed using the possessive form, which could be translated to English as “This is Gael’s boat.”

“She took a sip of water.” - This is an example of the gentive performing the partitive function.

Vocative

The vocative case is used for addressing or calling to another person, animal or object.

English Examples:

“How are you, Hilda?”

“Spot, come here!”

TODO: Add example of a vocation to an inanimate object. Probably from some poem

Comitative

The comitative case marks accompaniment. As opposed to the instrumental case, it can be translated as the English “with,” but only when if it’s used to mark accompaniment, not if it’s used to mark a tool. The English preposition “with” meaning “using” can be translated through the instrumental case (see below).

English examples:

“I’m going with Hilda.”

“I’d like to wipe the floor with you.” - as in “I’d like us to wipe the floor together”

Caution

❌ “I’m writing with a pencil” - not the comitative case.

Instrumental

A noun marked with the instrumental case is used as a tool with which an action is performed. It can be translated as the English preposition “using” or “with,” but only if it’s used to mark a tool with which an action is performed. The English preposition “with” meaning “accompanying,” can be translated through the comitative case (see above).

English examples:

“I’m writing with a pencil.”

“I’d like to wipe the floor with you.” - as in “I’d like to use you as the mop,” or more likely as a metaphor for beating someone up.

Caution

❌ “I’m going with Hilda” - not the instrumental case.

Abessive

The abessive case is in a sense the opposite of the comitative - it is the equivalent of the english preposition “without.”

Note that it can even be used as the opposite of the instrumental case, despite it being separate from the comitative.

English examples:

“Without meat, please.”

“If she doesn’t want to go, we’ll go without her.”

“I wrote the essay without a pencil.”

Benefactive

The benefactive case is the equivalent of the English “for.” It can also mark the intended result of an action, or the cause of an action.

English examples:

“Gael baked a cake for her.”

“We’ll be late because of his delay”

“I’m walking slowly, so that I don’t spill it.”

Descriptions of locatives (directions)

Static

The static direction is used whenever the subject is in the position described by the position case marker, relative to the referent. For example, if used with the postessive on the noun “wall”, it means the subject is behind a wall. See the other directions for contrast.

Lative

The lative direction is used whenever the subject is transitioning into the position described by the position case marker, relative to the referent. For example, if used with the postessive on the noun “wall,” it means the subject is going behind a wall.

The lative direction is also used as a dative case.

The dative function of the lative case marks the indirect object of sentences. It usually relates to giving.

English examples:

“I gave Hilda a pencil.”

“She’s singing a lullaby to the baby.”

Note

💡The dative case is also used when comparing. For example, “She’s older than him” and “They have the same amount as him” is said “She’s older to him” and “They have the same amount to him” respectively.

Ablative

The ablative direction is used whenever the subject is transitioning from the position described by the position case marker, relative to the referent. For example, if used with the postessive on the noun “wall,” it means the subject is moving from behind a wall.

Perlative

The ablative direction is used whenever the subject is moving through the position described by the position case marker, relative to the referent. For example, if used with the postessive on the noun “wall,” it means the subject is moving through the space behind a wall.

Descriptions of locatives (positions)

Note

In some situations, it is possible to use any of multiple different cases to perform the same function. It is generally up to the speaker, which one they choose.

The Empty Position {empty-description}

The empty positional case can be used when the position is clear from context, and either the lative, ablative, or perlative directional case is used. The empty positional case cannot be used with the static directional case.

It is also used when a position is inapplicable, for example when using the lative in the dative function, or the ablative in a metaphorical sense.

Examples:

I am going to the house could be said either as Tannu gär kyfðräjä, using the inessive lative, or simply Tannu gär kyfðjä, if it’s clear from context that the motion is into the house, and not to the outside of the house, or to any other position relative to the house.

Hilda is from Kól is Aera Hilda Kólän, since we’re not specifying a position relative to Kól.

They gave a flower to Gretti is Aenu eir fíðän néju Grettjä, since the lative directional case is serving the dative function, and not a movement to a location.

Inessive

The inessive case marks a position inside of the marked object (or a motion to the inside, from the inside, or through the inside, depending on the direction. This is true for all the locatives and will be assumed implicitly in the rest of the case descriptions. They will, however, all have at least one English example given, in the order Static - Lative - Ablative - Perlative)

English Examples:

“Check it out, I’m in the house like carpet.” - Static = inside

“I’m going into the house!” - Lative = to the inside

“It hatches from an egg.” - Ablative = from the inside

“The path goes through a tunnel.” - Perlative = through the inside

Adessive

The adessive case marks a position near the marked object.

English examples:

“I’m standing by the river.”

“She walked up to them.”

“He walked away from the sink.”

“She walked right by the house.”

Apudessive

The apudessive case marks a position next to the marked object - specifically on the side. For positions behind and in front of, there are the postessive and antessive cases (see below), and for a general position next to in any orientation, there’s the adessive case (see above).

Note that this rule doesn’t apply to objects without a clear front, back and side. In cases like “next to the cup,” both the adessive and apudessive may be used, sometimes one variant is preferred based on context. Postessive and antessive are only to be used in this context, if there’s a clear distinction between the front and back based on context (for example, “in front” might mean “next to, on the side closest to me”). This same distinction isn’t needed for the apudessive case.

English examples:

“They’re standing right next to her.”

“Put it next to the eggs.”

“He stood up from next to the fire.”

“A fox ran past (next to) me.” - Note that this construction isn’t used often. Speakers would often use the apudessive static or the adessive perlative, or even the adessive static instead. It is, however, used in some contexts (for example if emphasis is important).

Postessive

The postessive case marks a position behind the marked object.

English examples:

“She was hiding behind her.”

“Go look behind the house.”

“They jumped out at us from behind a tree.”

“The mouse ran behind the chest and under the loom.”

Antessive

The antessive case marks a position in front of the marked object.

English Examples:

“They stood before the house, talking.”

“Surprised, she ran out in front of the house.”

“He ran from before his house.”

“The crowd passed in front of the great hall.”

Superessive

The superessive case marks a position on top of the marked object. The superessive is distinct from the elevative (see below).

English examples:

“The cup is on the table.”

“Put the cup </ins>onto the table</ins>.”

“I took the cup from the table.”

“The cat ran across the table.”

Note that in the three latter examples, it would be perfectly fine to use the unspecified lative, ablative and perlative.

Subessive

The subessive case marks a position under the marked object.

English examples:

“When I came to visit Gael, they were still under their sheets.”

“The cat hid under the bed when the kid barged through the door.”

“She pulled the rug from under them.”

“He watched, amazed, as the boat passed under the bridge.”

Elevative

Warning

This term was made up by me, because I couldn’t find any existing terminology. Please let me know if you know of some, or if you think I could name this better.

The elevative case marks a position above the marked object.

English examples:

“Up in the skies above us”

“The bird flew above the house.”

“The bird attacked the mouse from above [it].”

“The cat jumped across the table.”

Pergressive

The pergressive case marks a position around (either encircling or in the general vicinity of) the marked object. If the precise meaning isn’t clear from the context, the “general vicinity” meaning is usually implicitly assumed. The “encircling” meaning can be achieved by additional modifiers.

English examples:

“There’s plenty of mushrooms growing around the hut.”

“Go to around the clearing, we’ll find you.”

“I got these from just around there.”

“I ran around the entire island.”

Intrative

The intrative case marks a position between the marked objects. If the intended objects are expressed with several nouns (for example “between the house and the tree” instead of “between the houses,” the intrative case is applied only to the last one.

English examples:

“There is something between them.”

“Gretti, stand between Gael and Hilda.”

“She emerged from between the trees.”

“They passed between the cliffs without a problem.”

Transessive

Warning

This term was made up by me, because I couldn’t find any existing terminology. Please let me know if you know of some, or if you think I could name this better.

This case roughly corresponds to the English “against” or “across.” Precisely, it expresses a location accross some space or object from the referred object.

Transessive can also be used in an orientative function.

Examples:

TODO: Add the Kolic translations and gloss

“My house is across [the street] from yours.”

“We went against them (to meet them)”

“She stood across from them (before them).”

TODO: Provide perlative

Essive

The essive case, although grouped together with the locatives for their morphology, marks a state as something. It is also often used metaphotically to denote a similarity, like the English preposition like.

English examples:

“She works as a healer.”

“They made the island from an inhospitable place into a home.”

The perlative essive is almost never used.

Example of the essive case performing the function of a simile:

“Being hunted like a doe”