Nom: Two categories are distinguished from a morphosyntactic perspective: 1. [Sa, Snona, Aa and Anona]; 2. [P]. This type is known as nominative or nominative–accusative.

(1) luw ńax-l.

(s)he laugh-prs.3sg

‘(S)he is laughing.’ (S. O.)

(2) luw xūxǝl-ǝl.

(s)he run-prs.3sg

‘(S)he is running.’ (S. O.)

(3) luw uli sijǝlǝ-l.

(s)he reindeer notice-prs.3sg

‘(S)he notices a reindeer.’ (S. O.)

(4) luw pisma xanš-l.

(s)he letter write-prs.3sg

‘(S)he is writing a letter.’ (S. O.)

In Synja Khanty, the typical sentence configuration is the nominative-accusative pattern. The non-volitional (1) and the volitional (2) nominal subjects of intransitive verbs are unmarked, just like the non-volitional subjects (3) and volitional (4) agents of transitive constructions. Nouns do not have marked accusative forms, but the patient is typically located between the subject and the verb in active sentences (3)–(4).

In the passive voice, the agent always takes a locative case ending (cf. Honti 1983, 1984: 93‒96, Kulonen 1989: 297‒302), however, the passive voice was not considered with this parameter.