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Instrumental case of Russian nouns

Russian grammar --> Russian cases --> Instrumental Case

The instrumental case is a set of word forms which usually mark the means of the action, like the English preposition "with" in phrase "he is writing with a pen".

Contents 1. Uses of the Instrumental 2. Formation 2.1. Instrumental case endings 2.2. Instrumental singular 2.3. Instrumental plural 3. See also

Uses of the Instrumental

1. To indicate an instrument to carry out the action.

2. In a Passive voice construction, to indicate the author of the action.

3. After certain verbs:

быть - to be называться - to be called, to assume the name
становиться - to become
являться - to be, to serve as
управлять - to govern
увлекаться - to take a great interest (in smth.)
восхищаться - to admire

4. After certain prepositions:

за - behind
между - between
над - above
перед - in front of, before
под - under
с - with

5. With parts of the day and seasons of the year in expressions like:

утром - in the morning
днём - in the afternoon
весной - in spring
летом - in summer

Formation

Here we provide general rules how to form instrumental case forms from nominative singular forms. These rules cover the vast majority of Russian nouns. However, you should be aware that rules described below may have other exceptions.

Instrumental case endings

The table below represents regular endings for singular and plural instrumental case forms:

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	-ом / -ем / -ём	-ами / -ями
Feminine	-ой / -ей / -ёй / -ю
Neuter	-ом /-ем

Below, you will find detailed information about instrumental singular and plural forms of masculine, feminine and neuter nouns.

Instrumental singular

Masculine nouns

1. Nouns ending in a consonant should add the ending -ом. However, following the Spelling rule №3 nouns ending -ж, -ч, -щ, -ш can not be followed be the letter -о if the ending is not stressed, and take the unstressed ending -ем.

2. Nouns ending in -ь and -й may have endings -ем or -ём. The choice of the ending will depend on the stress. When the ending is not stressed, the word will drop -ь or -й and add the ending to -ем. If the ending is stressed, the word will drop -ь or -й and add the ending to -ём. It should be noticed that there are not many words with the stressed ending -ём in the instrumental case.

3. Masculine nouns ending in -a/-я (see: Masculine nouns) form the accusative case forms following the rules for feminine nouns (see below).

Feminine nouns

1. Nouns ending in -а should drop the final vowel and add the ending -ой. However, following the Spelling rule №3 nouns ending -жа, -ча, -ща, -ша, -ца can not be followed be the letter -о if the ending is not stressed, and take the unstressed ending -ей.

2. Nouns ending in -я may have endings -ей or -ёй. The choice of the ending will depend on the stress. When the ending is not stressed, the word will drop -я and add the ending to -ей. If the ending is stressed, the word will drop -я and add the ending to -ёй.

3. Nouns ending in -ь add the ending -ю:

Neuter nouns

1. Nouns ending in -o change their ending to -ом:

2. Nouns ending in -е change their ending to -ем:

3. Nouns ending in -мя (see: Neuter nouns ending in -мя) change -я to -енем:

Instrumental plural

Masculine nouns

1. Nouns ending in a consonant add the ending -ами:

2. Nouns ending in -ь and -й change their final letters to -ям:

3. Masculine nouns ending in -a/-я (see: Masculine nouns) form their instrumental case forms following the rules for feminine nouns (see below).

Feminine nouns

1. Nouns ending in -а change their ending to -ами:

2. Nouns ending in -я and in -ь change -я and -ь to -ями:

Neuter nouns

1. Nouns ending in -o change their ending to -ами:

2. Nouns ending in -е change their ending to -ями:

3. Nouns ending in -мя (see: Neuter nouns ending in -мя) change -я to -енами:

See also

- Russian Cases
- Russian Nouns Declension
- Exercises: Instrumental case of Russian nouns

You can find more examples of word forms in instrumental singular and instrumental plural on the page Russian nouns declension