PIE morphology MOC

PIE case system

As in many daughter languages, PIE case was a non-lexically governed concord class affecting nominals. Each case more or less represented a different function, though with much overlap especially in later stages and daughters.¹

Cases

Vocative

The vocative case represented ==direct address==.

Nominative

The nominative case represented ==the subject of a finite verb or the compliment of a copulative==.

Accusative

The accusative case represented ==the direct object==.

Dative

The dative case represented ==an indirect object, purpose, as well as benefactive cases and sometimes possession==.

Genitive

The genitive case formed ==compliments to noun phrases with implications of possession, measure, and partitive==.

Instrumental

The instrumental case represented ==an instrument or accompaniment==.

Ablative

The ablative case represented ==motion away from or separation==.

Locative

The locative case represented ==the location or time at, or within which==.

Allative

Allative case represented ==motion towards something==. While it was only attested in Old Hittite, some adverbs in Greek appear to be fossilised allatives.

• PIE allative /ǵʰmáh₂/ (by Lindeman's option surfacing ǵṃáh₂ ~ ǵmáh₂) "to the ground" (allative)
  • Old Hittite taknāh (allative)
  • Homeric Greek χᾰμαί (adverb)

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