5.1.2 Nominative: the case of the subject

The nominative is the form of the noun you will find in a dictionary. This is the form of the noun that is used for the subject of the sentence.

• femina aurum amat. The woman loves gold.
• servus forum videt. The slave sees the forum.

The nominative is also used for what is known as the complement, usually a word linked to the subject of a sentence by the verb ‘to be’.

• femina est regina. The woman is a queen.

(Note that in this sentence, woman – femina – is also in the nominative since it is the subject of the sentence. One way to think of the verb ‘to be’ is as an equals sign, linking the two nouns: femina = regina.)