Definition & Meaning of "nominative–accusative alignment"

What is "nominative–accusative alignment"?

Nominative-accusative alignment is a grammatical system used in many languages to mark the relationship between verbs and their subjects and objects. In this alignment type, the subject of both intransitive and transitive verbs is treated the same way, known as "nominative". In contrast, the object of a transitive verb is marked differently, referred to as "accusative". This system is common in languages like English, where the subject of a sentence remains consistent regardless of whether the verb is intransitive or transitive. Nominative-accusative alignment influences sentence structure and helps clarify the roles of different elements in a sentence, providing a foundation for understanding grammatical relationships.