Diachronic Analysis of Case Category in English Nouns

Abstract

The case category of English nouns has undergone substantial structural and functional changes throughout the historical development of the English language. From the relatively rich inflectional system of Old English to the reduced morphology of Middle English and the predominantly analytical structure of Modern English, the expression of grammatical relations has shifted from morphological marking to syntactic position, prepositions, and possessive constructions. This article examines the diachronic development of the case category in English nouns, focusing on the principal characteristics of Old English, Middle English, and Modern English. Particular attention is paid to the declensional patterns of nouns, the functions of the nominative, accusative, genitive, and dative cases, and the historical processes responsible for the gradual reduction of nominal inflections. The study employs descriptive, comparative-historical, and structural analyses to identify the major tendencies in the evolution of English nominal morphology. It demonstrates that the loss of case endings was not simply a morphological simplification but a broader grammatical reorganization that increased the importance of word order and analytical constructions. Although the traditional four-case system of Old English disappeared from the nominal paradigm, certain functions of the genitive survived in the Modern English possessive, while other grammatical relationships came to be expressed through prepositions and syntactic constructions. The historical development of English nominal case therefore illustrates the transition from a predominantly synthetic grammatical structure to a more analytical one.