Editing Polabian language (section)

===Nouns===
As in all Slavic languages, Polabian has three [[grammatical gender]]s: masculine, feminine and neuter. Polabian nouns may also be [[Animacy|animate]] or inanimate, and decline for six [[Case (linguistics)|cases]]: [[Nominative case|nominative]], [[Genitive case|genitive]], [[Dative case|dative]], [[Accusative case|accusative]], [[Instrumental case|instrumental]] and the [[Prepositional case|prepositional]]; the vocative case in Polabian was lost, being replaced by the nominative. Nouns were used mainly only in combination with prepositions, not only in the prepositional case, as in most Slavic languages, but also in the instrumental.{{sfn|Polański|2010|pp=99—100}} Within the inflectional endings, two [[Linguistic paradigm|paradigms]] exist, one of a masculine-neuter type, the other a feminine type; neither inflectional types are homogeneous.{{sfn|Polański|2010|pp=101—102}}

====Masculine and neuter nouns====
Masculine and neuter nouns are divided into two groups: those ending in -ă in the nominative singular those ending in anything else. Nouns ending in -ă probably took a feminine declension in the singular, as in other Slavic languages, but this is difficult to assert due to the fact that such nouns are known in the documents only in the nominative singular form. The second group of nouns is divided into a number of subtypes. The dual forms of masculine and neuter nouns are not attested.{{sfn|Polański|2010|pp=102—106}}

Within the singular, the following can be seen:
* Masculine nouns in the nominative are characterized by [[Null morpheme|zero endings]]: ''dåzd'' (“rain”), in addition, forms with the ending ''-ă'' are preserved : ''l̥ol̥ă'' (“father”), ''vau̯jă'' (“uncle”), and one form with the ending ''-åi̯'': ''komåi̯'' (“stone”). In the neuter gender, there are groups of nouns with endings ''-ü'': ''l̥otü'' (“summer”, “year”), ''-i'': ''püli''  (“field”), ''-ĕ'': ''gńozdĕ'' (“nest”) and ''-ą''/''-ă'': ''jai̯mą''/''jai̯mă'' (“name”).
* The masculine genitive singular endings are ''-o'' and ''-ă'': ''bügo'' (“god”), ''zai̯våtă'' (“life”, “belly”), ''-au̯''/''-åi̯'' or -ĕ: ''sned'au̯'' (“snow”), ''pelåi̯nĕ'' (“wormwood”). The genitive singular neuter endings ''-o'' or ''-ă'': ''pöl l̥oto'' (“six months”), ''mlåkă'' (“milk”), ''vai̯nă'' (“wine”).
* Masculine and neuter nouns in the dative case end in ''-au̯'' , ''-ai̯'', and ''-ĕ'': ''büd'au̯'' (“to God”), ''kå bezońĕ'' (“to run”). The first two endings differ by dialects, the third (reduced), unlike the first two, depends on the place of stress in the word. T. Ler-Splavinsky and some other scholars interpreted the endings ''-aw'' , ''-af'' , and ''-âw'' as the ending of the masculine dative case ''-åvĕ'' (from *''-ovi''), the authors of modern works on the Polabian language (K. Polyansky and others) are inclined to see the diphthong ''-au̯'' in these endings.
* Animate masculine nouns in the accusative are [[Syncretism (linguistics)|syncretic]] with the genitive case, and for inanimate masculine nouns and all neuter nouns, the accusative is syncretic with the nominative case.
* Masculine and neuter nouns in the instrumental singularend in ''-åm'': ''prid gordåm'' (“before the court”), ''prid l̥otåm'' (“before a year”).
* Most masculine and neuter nouns in the locative singular end in ''-e'' or ''-ă'': ''vå хlăde'' (“in the shadow”), ''vå vetră'' (“in the wind”. Velar consonants show alternation in this case: ''dek'' (“roof”)||''no decă'' (“on the roof”), ''krig'' (“war”)||''no kriʒe'' (“at war”). Masculine nouns whose stems end in a soft consonant take the ending ''-ĕ'': ''no pǫt'ĕ'' (“on the way/path”), ''no våtåi̯ńĕ'' (“on the fence”). A number of neuter nouns are characterized by the ending ''-ai̯'': ''no mărai̯'' (“at the sea”), ''vå pülai̯'' (“in the field”).
Within the plural, the following can be seen:
* Nouns in the nominative plural are characterized by a wide variety of endings: ''-ai̯''/''-ĕ'', ''-e'', ''-üvĕ'', ''-i'', ''-åi̯''/''-ĕ'', and ''-ă''  - ''lesai̯'' (“forests”), ''ṕåsĕ''/''pasai̯'' (“dogs”), ''nüze'' (“knives”), ''polcă'' (“fingers”). Since the nominative and accusative plural are syncretic, it is sometimes difficult or impossible to tell which case is attested in texts.
* The masculine genitive plural is characterized by endings ''-Ø'' and ''-üv'': ''ai̯ dåvüх gråi̯k'' (“at two pears”), ''cai̯stĕ priz grех́üv'' (“pure (free) from sins”). Neuter nouns only take the ending ''-Ø''.
* Only one example of the dative plural of masculine nouns is attested, formed with the ending ''-üm'': ''gresnărüm'' ("sinners").

{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse;text-align: center;"
 ! style="width:100px" rowspan="2" |Case
 ! colspan="3" |Singular
 |-
 ! style="width:150px" |Masculine
 ! style="width:150px" |Neuter	
 |-
 ! Nominative
 | ''-Ø'', ''-ă'', ''-åi̯''
 | ''-ü'', ''-i'' : ''-ĕ'', ''-ą'' : ''-ă''
 |-
 ! Genitive
 | ''-o'' : ''-ă'', ''-au̯'' : ''-åi̯''
 | ''-o'' : ''-ă''
 |-
 ! Dative
 |colspan="3" |''-au̯'' : ''-ai̯'' : ''-ĕ''
 |-
 ! Accusative
 |colspan="3" | = {{sc|nom (inanimate) or gen (animate}}
 |-
 ! Instrumental
 |colspan="3" | ''-åm''
 |-
 ! Prepositional
 |colspan="3" | ''-e'' : ''-ă'', ''-ai̯''
 |}
{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse;text-align: center;"
 ! style="width:100px" rowspan="2" |Case
 ! colspan="3" |Plural
 |-
 ! style="width:150px" |Masculine
 ! style="width:150px" |Neuter	
 |-
 ! Nominative
 | ''-ai̯'' : ''-åi̯'', ''-ĕ'', -e, ''-üvĕ'', ''-i''
 | ''-a''
 |-
 ! Genitive
 | ''-üv'' : ''-ev'', ''-Ø''
 | ''-Ø''
 |-
 ! Dative
 | ''-üm''
 | ''–''
 |-
 ! Accusative
 |colspan="3" | = {{sc|nom (inanimate) or gen (animate}}
 |-
 ! Instrumental
 | ''-ĕ''
 | ''–''
 |-
 ! Prepositional
 | ''–''
 | ''-åх''
 |}

====Feminine nouns====
There are three types of declension of feminine nouns. The first includes nouns with endings ''-o'' or ''-ă'' in the nominative singular case: ''bobo'' (“woman”), ''zenă'' (“wife”, “woman”). The second ends in ''-åi̯'', ''-ĕ'', or ''-ai̯'': ''motai̯'' (“mother”), ''bant'åi̯'' (“bench”). The third has a zero ending: ''vås'' (“louse”), ''t’üst'' (“bone”), ''vas'' (“village”).{{sfn|Polański|2010|pp=106—112}}

Within the singular, the following can be seen:
* Feminine nouns in the nominative singular end in ''-o''/''-ă'' (the reduced vowel ''-ă'' is marked in an unstressed position), or ''-åi̯''/''-ĕ'' (the presence of a full or reduced form also depends on the place of stress in the word), ''-ai̯'' (except ''motai̯'' ( “mother”) all words with this ending in Polabian are borrowings from Middle Low German) and ''-Ø'' (null morpheme).
* Feminine nouns in the genitive singular are characterized by the endings ''-ai̯''/''-ĕ'' (for nouns with endings ''-o''/''-ă'' in the nominative case): ''slåmåi̯'' (“straw”), ''pöl t'üpĕ'' (“half a pile”, “thirty”); ''-ă''/''ai̯'' ''zimă'' (“near the ground”), ''viz viză'' (“from the house”), there are no examples with a full vowel in the ending for this group of nouns; ''-i'' (for nouns ending with a consonant in the nominative case): ''råzi'' (“rye”), ''süli'' (“salt”); ''-vĕ'' (only one example of a noun form with this ending has been preserved): ''ai̯ kokvĕ'' (“at the pillory”).
* Feminine nouns in the dative singular take the ending ''-e''/''-ă'': ''kå stărne'' (“on the side”, “to the side”) and ''-ai̯'': ''kå zimai̯'' (“to the ground”).
* Feminine nouns in the accusative singular end in ''-ǫ'': ''korvǫ'' (“cow”); ''-ą''/''-ă'': ''no zimą'' (“on the ground”), ''zo nidelă'' (“per week”); and ''-Ø'' (for nouns ending in consonant in the nominative case): ''t'üst'' (“bone”), ''vas'' (“village”).
* Feminine nouns in the instrumental singular only have one ending, ''-ą'': ''så lüdą'' (“by boat”), ''püd zimą'' (“underground”), ''så pąstą'' (“fist”).
* Feminine nouns in the prepositional singular have endings ''-ă'': ''vå vidă'' (“in the water”); and -ĕ: ''no storně'' (“on the side”), ''no zimĕ'' (“on the ground”), ''vå vizĕ'' (“in the house”).
Within the plural, the following can be seen:
* Feminine nouns in the nominative and accusative plural are syncretic and take the endings ''-åi̯'': ''sestråi̯'' (“sisters”); ''-e''/''-ă'': ''vüce'' (“sheep”), ''nidelă'' (“weeks”); ''-ai̯''/''-ĕ'': ''golǫzai̯'' (“branches”), ''t’üstai̯''/''t’üstĕ'' (“bones”); and ''-våi̯'': ''grai̯svåi̯'' (“pears”).
Within the dual, the following can be seen:
* Feminine nouns in the nominative and accusative dual are syncretic and take the ending ''-e'': ''rǫce'' ("two hands/arms"), ''nüʒe'' ("two feet/legs").
* Feminine nouns in the genitive dual are syncretic with the genitive plural: ''ai̯ dåvüх grau̯k'' (“at two pears”).
* Feminine nouns in the dative and instrumental dual are syncretic and are characterized by the ending ''-omă'', only one such noun form is attested: ''så rǫkomă'' (“with two hands”).
{|
|
{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse;text-align: center;"
 ! style="width:100px" |Case
 ! style="width:280px" colspan="3" |Singular
 |-
 ! Nominative
 | ''-o'' : ''-ă'', ''-åi̯'', ''-Ø'', ''-ai̯''
 |-
 ! Genitive
 | ''-åi̯'' : ''-ĕ'', ''-ă'', ''-i'', ''-vĕ''
 |-
 ! Dative
 | ''-e'' : ''-ă'', ''-ai̯''
 |-
 ! Accusative
 | ''-ǫ'', ''-ą'' : ''-ă'', ''-Ø''
 |-
 ! Instrumental
 | ''-ǫ'', ''-ą'' : ''-ă''
 |-
 ! Prepositional
 | ''-e'' : ''-ă'', ''-ĕ''
 |}
|valign="top"|
{| class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse;text-align: center;"
 ! style="width:100px" |Case
 ! style="width:180px" |Plural
 ! style="width:180px" |Dual
 |-
 ! Nominative
 | ''-åi̯'': ''-ĕ'', ''-ai̯'' : ''-ĕ'', ''-e'' : ''-ă'', ''-våi̯''
 | ''-e''
 |-
 ! Genitive
 | ''-Ø''
 | ''–''
 |-
 ! Dative
 | ''-ăm''
 | ''-omă''
 |-
 ! Accusative
 |colspan="3" |= {{sc|nom}}
 |-
 ! Instrumental
 | ''-omĕ''
 | ''-omă''
 |-
 ! Prepositional
 |colspan="3" | ''–''
 |}
|}