Table Of Contents
- When To Use Instrumental?
- Substantives In Instrumental
- Adjectives In Instrumental
- Pronouns In Instrumental
- Instrumental Prepositions
- Passive Voice With Instrumental And -ься
- Instrumental Verbs
When To Use Instrumental?
Substantives in instrumental form answer two questions:
- Which instrument was used to achieve a goal? By which?
- In which role is someone acting? As whom?
In addition, there are specific grammatical constructs (prepositions, passive voice) which use instrumental case.
I arrived here by foot.
The cubicles were walled off by low chipboard walls.
He worked as a garbage collector, until he was elected as a memeber of parliament.
Substantives In instrumental
Instrumentals end is -ом / -ем for masculines and neuters and -ой/-ей for feminines. The IPA sound [ʲ] is present in instrumental -ем/-ей endings, and we use these "yeah-endings" when this sound is already present in the base form - that is, when the nominative ends in -й, -я or -е.
Last letter | Singular Instrumental Ending | Example | In English |
---|---|---|---|
consonant except й(masc.) | -ом |
Они́
избрали
её
президентом.
|
They elected her president. |
-й (m.) | -ем |
Ви́ски
хорошо́
сочета́ется
с
чаем.
|
Whisky goes very well with tea. |
-ь (masc.) like путь | -ем |
Ты
всегда́
будешь
жела́нным
гостем.
|
You will always be welcome. |
-ь (masc. or fem.) like способность | -ью |
То́м
и
Мэри
стоя́ли
за
дверью
и
шептались.
|
Tom and Mary were standing just outside the door, whispering to each other. |
-a (feminine) | -ой |
Я
отрица́тельно
покача́л
головой.
|
I shook my head no. |
-я (feminine) | -ей |
То́м
рабо́тает
над
но́вой
песней.
|
Tom is working on a new song. |
-o (neuter) | -ом |
Мне
всегда́
хоте́лось
занима́ться
се́льским
хозяйством.
|
I have always been interested in working in agriculture. |
-е (neuter) | -ем |
Он
горди́тся
свои́м
зна́нием
политики.
|
He prides himself on his knowledge of politics. |
Plural instrumental ending is either -ами or -ями. The Instrumental ending is -ям if the nominative ends я, е, й or ь, just like in dative. The only difference between plural instrumental and dative is the final -и.
Last letter | Plural Instrumental | Example | In English |
---|---|---|---|
consonant except й (masc.) | -ами | { "Том пробежал глазами список." | annotate }} | Tom skimmed through the list. |
-a (feminine) |
У
них
хоро́шие
отноше́ния
с
сосе́дними
странами.
|
They have good relations with neighbouring countries. | |
-o (neuter) |
Не́
игра́й
с
его́
чувствами!
|
Don't play with his feelings! | |
-й (masc.) | -ями |
Они́
бы́ли
героями.
|
They were heroes. |
-ь (masc. or fem.) |
Ра́ди
него́
мы
рискова́ли
жизнями.
|
We risked our lives for it. | |
-я (feminine) |
Он
развлека́ет
нас
свои́ми
смешны́ми
историями.
|
He amuses us with his funny stories. | |
-е (neuter) |
До́м
бы́л
окружен
полями.
|
The house was surrounded by fields. |
Adjectives In Instrumental
For adjectives in genitive, the masculine and neuter endings are -ого or -его. In this special case г is pronounced like в, for example кра́сного is pronounced [краaсново]. The feminine ending is -ой or -ей and the plural ending is -ых or -их.Common | Exceptions | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Regular Adjectives | Stem ends in г, к, х |
Stem ends in ж, ч, ш, щ |
Soft stem adjectives | Ending in -ой | |
Singular Masculine & Neuter | перед красным стулом in front of red chair |
с глубоким объяснением with a deep explanation |
хорошим кородом as a good king |
перед синим стулом in front of blue chair |
делиться большим кусоком мяса to share a big steak |
Singular Feminine | над красной кроватью above red bed |
с глубокой анестезией with a deep anestesia |
хорошей пианисткой as a good pianist |
над синей кроватью above blue bed |
делиться большой пиццой to share a big pizza |
Plural (any and all genders) |
за красными диванами behind red sofas |
с глубокими канавами with deep ditches |
хорошими людьми as good people |
за синими машинами behind blue cars |
делиться большими идеями to share big ideas |
Pronouns In Instrumental
Pronoun | Instrumental | Example | In Russian |
---|---|---|---|
I, я | мной |
Почему́
он
не́
заговори́л
со
мной?
|
Why isn't he talking with me? |
you (singular), ты | тобой |
Ту́т
прихо́дится
с
тобо́й
согласиться.
|
I have to agree with you on this. |
he (masc.), он | им |
То́м
вы́сунул
язык,
пытаясь
пойма́ть
им
снежинки.
|
Tom stuck out his tongue to try to catch snowflakes with it. |
she (fem.), она | ей/ею |
Аня
шагну́ла
вперед,
му́л
шёл
за
ней.
|
Anja walked in the front, the mule followed her. |
it (neut.), они | им |
Моё
де́рево
вы́глядит
больным.
Интересно,
что́
с
ним
не́
так.
|
My tree looks sick. I wonder what's wrong with it. |
we, мы | нами |
Ме́жду
на́ми
всё
кончено.
|
It's all over between us. |
you (plural), вы | вами |
На́до
бы́ло
мне
оста́ться
с
вами.
|
I should have stayed with you. |
they, они | ими |
яблоны
бы́ли
посажены
и́ми
на́
прода́жу
яблок.
|
The trees were planted by them to sell apples. |
oneself | собой |
Огро́мный
те́нт
можно
бы́ло
спустить,
чтобы
откры́ть
над
собо́й
беспреде́льное
небо.
|
The huge tent could be folded to open the sight of unbonded sky above oneself. |
Instrumental Prepositions
Preposition | Meaning | Example | In English |
---|---|---|---|
за + instrumental | behind, before |
Нас
на́до
заходи́ть
в
го́род
за
горой.
|
We must reach the city behind the mountains. |
между + instrumental | between, among | Котёнок находится между щенками. | The kitten is between the puppies. |
над + instrumental | on, on top of, above |
Он
склони́лся
над
са́мой
большо́й
кни́гой
из
всех.
|
He was bent over the biggest of all books. |
перед + instrumental | before |
Она́
прогуля́лась
пе́ред
завтраком.
|
She took a walk before breakfast. ) |
in front of |
Встре́тимся
пе́ред
театром.
|
Let us meet in front of the theatre. | |
под + instrumental | under |
Он
усну́л
по́д
деревом.
|
He fell asleep under the tree. |
с + instrumental | by, with |
А
что́
он
сде́лает
с
э́той
кошкой?
|
And what will he do with this cat? |
Passive Voice With Instrumental And -ься
English sentences can use either active voice or passive voice. The active voice ("Sorry, I made a mistake.") emphasizes conscious intention to take action, while the passive voice indicates that the agent is not known or events were unintentional or unavoidable ("Mistakes were made.") Paradoxically, there is also a passive voice construction, which emphasizes the agent: "Mistakes were made by me and others." Russian uses instrumental case to denote the by-agent.
Voice | Example | Role of "I" | Role of "mistake" | Connotation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Active voice | I made a mistake. | "I" is the subject | "mistake" is the object | I am in charge and take full responsibility of my actions. |
Passive voice | Mistakes were made. | "I" is omitted | "mistake" is the subject | Errare humanum est. Let's focus on avoiding these in the future instead of blaming. |
Passive + by | Mistakes were made by me. | "me" is the by-agent | "mistake" is the subject | I admit that I was wrong but it was the best I could do. |
Similar Russian construction, -ься-passive, puts the by-agent to instrumental form.
Instrumental Verbs
Some verbs put the (semantic) object to instrumental case.
She loves to do sports.
In retrospective meeting the participants share their thoughts about the sprint.
In times of crisis they forgot their enmities and shared meat and honey.