The nominative case (الرفع) is one of the three grammatical cases in Arabic. A word in the nominative case is called مرفوع. The primary marker of the nominative case is the ضمة (ُ) on the last letter of the word, though other markers exist for special noun categories.
Nominative Case Markers
- ضمة (ُ): The default marker for singular and broken plural nouns. Example: الطَّالِبُ (the student).
- الواو: For the five special nouns (أبو, أخو, حمو, فو, ذو) and sound masculine plural nouns. Example: المُعَلِّمُونَ (the teachers).
- الألف: For the dual form. Example: الطَّالِبَانِ (the two students).
When Is a Word Nominative?
The main grammatical roles that require the nominative case are:
- المبتدأ (Subject of a nominal sentence): الكِتَابُ مُفِيدٌ (The book is useful).
- الخبر (Predicate of a nominal sentence): الكِتَابُ مُفِيدٌ (useful is the predicate, also nominative).
- الفاعل (Doer/subject of a verb): جَاءَ الرَّجُلُ (The man came).
- نائب الفاعل (Deputy subject in passive constructions): كُتِبَ الدَّرْسُ (The lesson was written).
- اسم كان (Subject of كان and its sisters): كَانَ الوَلَدُ نَائِمًا (The boy was sleeping).
Recognizing when a word should be nominative is one of the core skills in Nahw. Every time you encounter a noun in an Arabic sentence, ask yourself: "What is this word's grammatical role?" If it fits one of the categories above, it should be مرفوع. Practice this analysis with every sentence you read, and it will become second nature.