| 4.1 What is declension? |
The declension defines the relationship between objects within a sentence. In English there are two (well actually three) declensions:
The basic form (= Nominative; in Spanish nominativo). You'll find them by asking: Who is it? The subject (meaning the active part of a sentence) is always in nominative.
The possessive form (= Genitive; in Spanish genitivo). You'll find them by asking: Whose is it? It is mine, or his or hers.
The object form (in Spanish there are two: dativo and acusativo). In English sentences you'll find them by asking: Whom we are talking about? In Spanish there is a differentiation between a direct object (= acusativo) and an indirect object (dativo).
The last two of the four declensions are the most - let's say - interesting! Nevertheless, let's take one step at a time. Do we still understand when the object is put wrongly?
| Direct object (Whom do I see?) |
| I
see he. I see him. |
| Indirect object (Whom do I give my house?) |
| I give he
my house. I give him my house. |
As you see there is no difference in English whether the object is direct or indirect. Now we will see how to find the difference because using the right declension helps in understanding. Even though, usually it the communication is not inhibited when using the wrong one.
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