In grammar, the absolutive case (abbreviated ABS) is the case of nouns in ergative–absolutive languages that would generally be the subjects of intransitive verbs or the objects of transitive verbs in the translational equivalents of nominative–accusative languages such as English.
For example, in Basque the noun mutil 'boy' takes the bare singular article -a both as the subject of the intransitive clause mutila etorri da ('the boy came') and as the object of the transitive clause Irakasleak mutila ikusi du ('the teacher has seen the boy') in which the agent bears the ergative ending -a-k.
In a very few cases, a marked absolutive has been reported, including in Nias and Sochiapam Chinantec.
On the other hand, in certain nominative–accusative languages, it is the accusative which is explicitly marked for case, whereas the nominative is unmarked and serves as citation form.
[2] In tripartite languages, both the agent and object of a transitive clause have case forms, ergative and accusative, and the agent of an intransitive clause is the unmarked citation form.