case grammar: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
C2Academic / Technical Linguistics
Quick answer
What does “case grammar” mean?
A model of grammatical analysis that categorizes sentence constituents based on their semantic or logical relationship to the verb, rather than purely syntactic categories.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A model of grammatical analysis that categorizes sentence constituents based on their semantic or logical relationship to the verb, rather than purely syntactic categories.
A theoretical framework in linguistics that posits underlying deep cases (like Agent, Patient, Instrument) that map onto surface grammatical relations (like subject, object).
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant lexical or conceptual differences between British and American usage in academic linguistics.
Connotations
Neutral technical term in both varieties.
Frequency
Equally low-frequency and specialized in both dialects, confined to linguistics discourse.
Grammar
How to Use “case grammar” in a Sentence
[subject] + [verb: explain, describe, critique] + case grammarcase grammar + [verb: posits, analyses, assigns] + [object]Vocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “case grammar” in a Sentence
adjective
British English
- A case grammar approach
- case grammar analysis
American English
- A case grammar approach
- case grammar framework
Usage
Meaning in Context
Academic
The lecture introduced the basic tenets of case grammar.
Technical
The parser uses a case grammar framework to assign semantic roles.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “case grammar”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “case grammar”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “case grammar”
- Using 'case grammar' to mean 'the grammar of grammatical cases'.
- Confusing 'deep cases' (Agent, Instrument) with surface cases (nominative, accusative).
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Case grammar deals with underlying semantic roles (Agent, Patient), not inflectional morphological cases found in languages like German or Russian.
The theory was primarily developed by the American linguist Charles J. Fillmore in the late 1960s.
Its core ideas have been absorbed and transformed in later theories like Frame Semantics and Role and Reference Grammar, so the original model is less dominant but historically crucial.
In the sentence 'She cut the bread with a knife', 'She' is the Agent (doer), 'the bread' is the Patient (affected entity), and 'a knife' is the Instrument (tool used).
A model of grammatical analysis that categorizes sentence constituents based on their semantic or logical relationship to the verb, rather than purely syntactic categories.
Case grammar is usually academic / technical linguistics in register.
Case grammar: in British English it is pronounced /ˈkeɪs ˌɡræm.ə/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈkeɪs ˌɡræm.ɚ/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of 'case' as the 'job' (Agent, Patient) a noun has in a sentence, and 'grammar' as the rules. Case grammar assigns jobs to words.
Conceptual Metaphor
LANGUAGE IS A PLAY (Nouns are actors playing roles like Agent or Patient in the verb's scene).
Practice
Quiz
What is the primary focus of case grammar?