Church Slavonic nouns have special endings that indicates the grammatical role of the noun in the sentence. Each role is called a case. Church Slavonic has seven cases, listed below.

Nominative

The nominative case is used for the subject of the sentence. It is sometimes used in the predicate when the predicate is connected to the subject by a copula (linking verb). The nominative singular form of words is the form that is used in dictionary entries.

Examples: "My soul doth magnify the Lord.", "God is the Lord and hast appeared unto us.", "Blessed is the Kingdom..."

Genitive

The genitive case indicates possession or origin. In English, this is often rendered with the preposition "of".

Examples: "O Lord of Hosts, have mercy on us!", "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Dative

The dative case indicates the indirect object. In English, this is often rendered with the preposition "to" or "unto".

Examples: "We pray unto thee", "Give the talent to him"

Accusative

The accusative case indicates the direct object.

Examples: "We praise thee", "My soul doth magnify the Lord.", "Give the talent to him."

Instrumental

The instrumental case indicates the instrument by means of which an action is accomplished. In English, this is often rendered with the preposition "by," "through," or "with".

Examples: "trampling down death by death", "through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, have mercy on us", "sprinkle me with hyssop"

Prepositional/Locative

The prepositional case is used for objects of prepositions (although not all objects of prepositions are in the prepositional case). It often indicates location and is sometimes referred to as the locative case.

Examples: "Our Father, who art in the heavens"

Vocative

The vocative case is used for direct address. In English, this is often rendered with the word, "O".

Examples: "Glory to thee, O God", "O Theotokos and Virgin, rejoice!", "Father, bless!"