From KneeQuickie
The
accusative case (abbreviated
ACC) of a
noun is generally the
case used to mark the direct object of a
verb. The same is used in many languages for the objects of some, or all, the
prepositions.
Common usages
Like the nominative case, it is quite prevalent in the Indo-European languages. It is also found in Finno-Ugric languages, and also in Semitic languages. In Indo-European languages, it is generally used to not just mark the direct object, but also to mark the motion towards an object.
In natural languages
The accusative is typical in accusative languages, marking what is affected by the verb's action. Languages such as Greek, and other Indo-European languages, tend to also apply a sense of motion when being used with prepositions, as the following example suggests.
Accusative case in Ancient Greek
| ἐγῶ | τὰ | δῶρα | δίδωμι
|
| egôː | tà dôːr-a | dí-doː-mi
|
| I-NOM.SG | the-ACC.PL gift-ACC.PL | give-1SG
|
| I give the gifts
|
| ἐν τοὺς λόφους | ἐφύγομεν
|
| en toùs lópʰous | e-pʰug-omen
|
| in the-ACC.PL hill.ACC.PL | AUG-flee-AOR-1PL
|
| We fled into the hills.
|
