Instrumental Case — With / By Means Of
Instrumental Case (Творительный падеж)
Answers кем? чем? (by whom? by what?)
Used for:
- Instrument/means: writing WITH a pen
- Accompaniment: going WITH someone
- Profession (with быть): I am a teacher
- After prepositions: с (with), за (behind/for), перед (in front of), между (between), над (above), под (under)
Instrumental Endings
| Gender | Nominative | Pronunciation | Instrumental | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | студент | stoo-DYENT | студентом | stoo-DYEN-tom |
| Masculine (-й) | музей | moo-ZYEY | музеем | moo-ZYE-yem |
| Feminine (-а) | книга | KNEEga | книгой | KNEEgoy |
| Feminine (-я) | земля | zyem-LYA | землёй | zyem-LYOY |
| Neuter | окно | ak-NO | окном | ak-NOM |
Key Patterns
Means/instrument:
- писать ручкой (pi-SAT’ ROOCHkoy) (to write with a pen)
- ехать автобусом (YE-khat’ af-TO-boo-som) (to go by bus)
Accompaniment (с + instrumental):
- Я иду с другом. (ya i-DOO s DROOgom) (I’m going with a friend.)
- Кофе с молоком. (KO-fye s ma-la-KOM) (Coffee with milk.)
Profession (быть + instrumental in non-present tenses):
- Он был учителем. (on byl oo-CHI-tye-lyem) (He was a teacher.)
- Она станет врачом. (a-NA STA-nyet vra-CHOM) (She will become a doctor.)
Practice
Instrumental of друг (friend, masculine)?
другом (с другом = with a friend)
How do you say 'to travel by train'?
ехать поездом (instrumental of поезд = поездом)
Translate: Я хочу стать учителем.
I want to become a teacher.