Jan 18, 20202 min read

Uses of the Instrumental Case

Updated: Feb 12, 2022

To express the means by which an action is performed

Anna is writing with a pencil

Анна пишет карандашом

The book was written by an author

Книга была написана автором

We walked with a map

Мы гуляли с картой

As Parts of the Day

I work in the afternoon

Я работаю днём

We don’t have breakfast in the morning

Мы не завтракаем утром

As Seasons of the Year

We go to Italy in summer

Мы ездим в Италию летом

We live in Russia in winter

Мы живем в России зимой

After Certain Prepositions

1. C / With

I'm walking with my mum

Я иду с мамой

2. Перед / In front of

The cafe is in front of the bank

Кафе перед банком

3. За / Behind

The store is behind the corner

Магазин за углом

4. Над / Above

Clouds above the house

Тучи над домом

5. Под / Under

The cat is under the table

Кот под столом

6. Между / Between

The border between Russia and Kazakhstan

Граница между Россией и Казахстаном

After Certain Verbs

1. To be / Быть

I want to be an actress

Я хочу быть актрисой

2. To become / Становиться

He became a president

Он стал президентом

3. To be interested in / Интересоваться

We’re interested in art

Мы интересуемся искусством

4. To manage / Управлять

He manages the company

Он управляет компанией

The table below summarises the endings and uses of the Instrumental Case.

For reference, I’ve included the Nominative Case (also known as a dictionary form) to compare the endings between the two cases.

For singular nouns, there are 3 sets of endings to remember in the Instrumental Case:

ом/ем for masculine and neuter nouns

ой/ей for feminine nouns ending in -а or -ия in the Nominative Case

ью for feminine nouns ending in -ь in the Nominative Case

For plural nouns, there is just 1 set of endings to remember: ами/ями

Adjectives

Test your grammar

Put the words in brackets into the instrumental case.

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