Re: Case

il di wenoers il 9 l'Ecuis 1.999, Nicolla yscreus:

> I'm just curious, but those of you who do use case in your language, how
> many do you have?  Where does it go from being "cool" to just plain
> unworkable?
Dumnonian grammarians define for Kernu 3 cases (nominative, dative and
accusative).  Not too "imaginative" perhaps, but it's a Romance language,
so what do you expect? :) There is also a possessive case (genitive), but
they consider that a part of the accusative.  They allow it official
existence only for a small group of eclectic words.

The nom., apart from it's normal functions, also serves at times as an
instrumental case.  The dative is used for indirect objects, direct
objects of sensory verbs, some possessive constructions and adjectives of
fitness and appropriateness.  The accusative basically does everything
else.

Someone or other mentioned the idea that SOV langs tend to retain case
markers, while SVO tend to lose them.  Well, surprise, surprise: Kernu is
adamantly SOV.  When it's not being cantankerously something else, anyway.

Padraic.

> Nicole
> --
> "What's it going to be then, eh?"
perry mi, yn ngesse tostu   e'n ndrais.
For   me, a  cheese toasted & a pint (of beer).