Nouns: Instrumental Case — Croatian Grammar

The instrumental case answers "with what?" or "with whom?". Its two core meanings are the tool you do something with and the company you keep. A few prepositions also require it.

The Means or Tool

Used without any preposition, the instrumental names the instrument or means of an action - what you use to carry it out.

Ovo pismo sam napisao rukom.
I wrote this letter by hand.
Udari nogom i udari šakom.
Kick with your foot and hit with your fist.
Dobar kuhar reže nožem.
A good cook cuts with a knife.

Means of Transport

A very common use of the bare instrumental (with no preposition) is the means of travel - how you get somewhere.

Putujem autobusom.
I travel by bus.
Idem vlakom.
I am going by train.

The Endings

Masculine and neuter → -om, or -em after a soft consonant: ,
Feminine -a → -om: ,
Plural → -ima (masculine and neuter) or -ama (feminine): ,

Pišem olovkom.
I am writing with a pencil.

olovk- pencil, -om the instrumental ending
no word for "with" appears anywhere - the ending alone carries it

Company: 's' / 'sa' (with)

To say you do something together with someone, use the preposition plus the instrumental. Before a word beginning with s, z, š or ž, and before (me), it becomes : , , . Everywhere else it stays .

Ta žena šeta sa svojim psom.
That woman is walking with her dog.
Dođite plesati s nama.
Come and dance with us.

Pronouns in the Instrumental

(me), (you), (him / it), (her), (us), (you), (them)

Zabavno je biti s njim.
It is fun to be with him.

Manner and Path

The bare instrumental (with no preposition) can also describe the manner of an action or the path taken.

Idem ovim putem.
I am going this way.
Govori tihim glasom.
He speaks in a quiet voice.

Time: Parts of the Day and Recurring Days

The instrumental on its own also expresses when in a habitual sense - a part of the day, or a regularly recurring day.

Noću je obično mrak.
At night it is usually dark.
Subotom igram nogomet.
On Saturdays I play football.

Other Prepositions

The instrumental also follows the position words (above), (under), (in front of), (among) and in the sense of "behind / at".

Sjede za stolom.
They are sitting at the table.
Mačka spava pod stolom.
The cat sleeps under the table.
Auto je pred kućom.
The car is in front of the house.

Verbs That Take It

A few verbs and nouns take their object in the instrumental with no preposition. The most common is (to do, to be engaged in), used for sports and hobbies; (trade, shop) takes the goods it deals in the same way.

Bavljenje sportom dobro je za vaše zdravlje.
Doing sports is good for your health.
To je trgovina obućom.
It's a shoe shop.

One Word, Two Meanings

Keep the core split in mind: the bare instrumental is the means ("with a pen", "by bus"), while plus the instrumental is company ("with a friend"). Croatian, unlike some Slavic languages, does not use the instrumental for "to be a teacher" - that stays in the nominative ().

Idem autobusom s prijateljem.
I am going by bus with a friend.

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