Declension

Towards more picturesque speech™ →Go uptown SEC guidance on plain EnglishIndex: Click ᐅ to expand: Plain English Drafting Metaphor Tell me more Sign up for our newsletter — or just get in touch: for ½ a weekly 🍺 you get to consult JC. Ask about it here.

Declension is the variation in the form of a noun or pronoun, to denote number, gender, or function in a sentence. English speakers decline far less enthusiastically than Germans, and often cheat by using prepositions to help.

Nouns decline only to designate singular or plural, usually by adding an s.

Pronouns decline a bit more extravagantly, but are as nothing compared to German, where pronouns represent some kind of multi-dimensional matrix of fear and loathing. Take “I” for example.

Technically, English differentiates the subject (I), the object (me) and the possessive (mine), but in many cases the subject and object take the same form. (for example, you, it).

See also

• Pronouns
• Conjugation