Instrumental Case in Czech

In Brief

The Czech instrumental, called instrumentál or 7. pád (“seventh case”), changes the endings of nouns, adjectives, and pronouns. Use it without a preposition for a tool or means—Píšu tužkou (“I write with a pencil”)—and after prepositions such as s (“with”), nad (“above”), and pod (“under”). A useful beginner shortcut is masculine/neuter -em, feminine -ou, but other noun patterns also occur.

Overview

A case is a change in a word’s form that shows its job in a sentence. English usually expresses the same relationships through word order or words such as “with” and “by.” Czech often does both: the preposition may select the relationship, while the ending marks the noun as instrumental. In s bratrem (“with [my] brother”), for example, s means “with” and bratr changes to bratrem.

At A2, the most useful functions are concrete. The instrumental names what you use (tužkou, “with a pencil”), how you travel (vlakem, “by train”), who accompanies you (s kamarádkou, “with a friend”), or where something is in relation to something else (pod stolem, “under the table”). It also appears with být (“to be”) when a profession, function, or role is presented as a complement: Je lékařem (“He is a doctor”).

The instrumental affects every agreeing word in a noun phrase. An adjective (a describing word) therefore changes along with its noun: s novým kolegou (“with a new colleague”), červenou tužkou (“with a red pencil”). Learn whole phrases rather than isolated endings; they make the agreement pattern much easier to hear and remember.

How It Works

The core singular endings

The dictionary form of a noun is normally its nominative form—the form used for the subject of a sentence. To make the singular instrumental, identify the noun’s gender and declension pattern.

Noun type	Common instrumental ending	Dictionary form	Instrumental	Meaning in a phrase
Masculine, most consonant stems	-em	student, bratr, stroj	studentem, bratrem, strojem	se studentem — with a student
Masculine nouns in -a	-ou	kolega	kolegou	s kolegou — with a colleague
Feminine in -a	-ou	žena, škola	ženou, školou	se ženou — with a woman
Feminine soft/consonant patterns	usually -í	růže, píseň, kost	růží, písní, kostí	s písní — with a song
Neuter in -o	-em	město	městem	před městem — in front of the city
Neuter in -e	commonly -em	moře	mořem	nad mořem — above the sea
Neuter in -í	-ím	nádraží	nádražím	před nádražím — in front of the station

The shortcut -em / -ou covers many high-frequency singular nouns, but not all of them. Feminine nouns such as píseň and neuter nouns in -í must be learned with their own patterns. Some stems also change slightly: bratr → bratrem and kuře → kuřetem.

Adjective agreement

In a noun phrase, the adjective and noun must both be instrumental. In the singular, masculine and neuter adjectives generally end in -ým; feminine adjectives end in -ou.

Gender	Pattern	Example	English
Masculine singular	-ým + noun ending	s novým kolegou	with a new colleague
Feminine singular	-ou + noun ending	červenou tužkou	with a red pencil
Neuter singular	-ým + noun ending	před novým divadlem	in front of the new theatre
All genders, plural	usually -ými + plural noun	s dobrými přáteli	with good friends

Possessives and other words inside the phrase change too: s mým starším bratrem (“with my older brother”). Do not leave můj or starší in its dictionary form.

Tools, means, and transport: no preposition

When the noun tells you what is used to perform an action, Czech normally uses the instrumental without s:

• Píšu tužkou. — I write with a pencil.
• Krájí chleba nožem. — She cuts bread with a knife.
• Poslal jsem to e-mailem. — I sent it by email.

The same pattern is common for transport:

• Jedu vlakem. — I am going by train.
• Letíme letadlem. — We are flying by plane.

English “with” is therefore not an automatic signal for Czech s. Ask whether the noun is a tool or an accompanying person. A tool takes the bare instrumental; company takes s plus the instrumental.

Company: s or se + instrumental

Use s + instrumental for “with” in the sense of together with someone or something:

• Jdu s bratrem. — I’m going with my brother.
• Bydlí s kamarádkou. — He lives with a friend.
• Káva s mlékem. — Coffee with milk.

Se is a pronunciation-friendly form of the same preposition. It is used where s would create an awkward cluster, especially before another sibilant or a difficult group of consonants: se sestrou (“with [my] sister”), se studentem (“with a student”), se psem (“with a dog”), se mnou (“with me”).

Common personal-pronoun phrases are worth memorising as units:

English	Czech
with me	se mnou
with you (singular, informal)	s tebou
with him	s ním
with her	s ní
with us	s námi
with you (plural/formal)	s vámi
with them	s nimi

Position after za, mezi, nad, pod, and před

Several Czech prepositions take the instrumental when they describe a position or a resulting relationship:

Preposition + instrumental	Core meaning	Example	English
za	behind; following/after	Stojí za domem.	He is standing behind the house.
mezi	between; among	Je mezi školou a parkem.	It is between the school and the park.
nad	above, over	Lampa je nad stolem.	The lamp is above the table.
pod	under, below	Taška je pod židlí.	The bag is under the chair.
před	in front of; before	Čekám před kinem.	I’m waiting in front of the cinema.

After mezi, each coordinated noun must take the instrumental: mezi domem a školou (“between the house and the school”).

These prepositions can also occur with the accusative (the case often used for a direct object) when the meaning is movement into a new position. Compare:

• Kniha je pod stolem. — The book is under the table. (location: instrumental)
• Dávám knihu pod stůl. — I am putting the book under the table. (destination: accusative)

Do not reduce this to “movement always means accusative.” Some verbs of movement still describe following or going to meet someone with za + instrumental: Jdu za lékařem (“I’m going to see the doctor”). Learn the verb and prepositional phrase together.

Roles and professions with být

Czech can use both the nominative and instrumental after být (“to be”), but they do not always feel identical.

• Jsem lékař. — I am a doctor. This is the ordinary, neutral statement of identity or profession.
• Jsem lékařem. — I am a doctor. The instrumental is possible and can sound more formal or present “doctor” as a role or capacity.

The instrumental is especially natural—and with some verbs required—when a person becomes, remains, or serves as something:

• Stal se lékařem. — He became a doctor.
• Zůstala ředitelkou. — She remained the director.
• Pracuje jako učitelka. — She works as a teacher. Here jako normally keeps the nominative form; do not mechanically replace every English “as” with an instrumental.

For a beginner introducing yourself, the nominative Jsem student / Jsem studentka is a safe and very common choice. Learn the instrumental role pattern so that you can recognise and later use forms such as lékařem and ředitelkou.

A first look at the plural

Plural forms are less uniform, so treat this as a reference rather than a single rule.

Noun pattern	Typical plural ending	Example
Hard masculine	-y	s vlaky, se studenty
Soft masculine	-i	s muži, se stroji
Feminine in -a	-ami	se ženami
Other feminine patterns	often -emi, sometimes -mi	s růžemi, písněmi, kostmi
Neuter in -o	-y	před městy
Neuter in -í	-ími	před nádražími

The instrumental plural of regular adjectives is usually -ými: s novými studenty, mezi vysokými domy. Because noun classes vary, record a plural instrumental whenever a new noun does not fit a familiar pattern.

Examples in Context

Czech	English	Note
Píšu tužkou.	I write with a pencil.	Tool; no preposition
Otevírá dveře klíčem.	She opens the door with a key.	Means or instrument
Do práce jezdím autobusem.	I go to work by bus.	Transport
Poslal mi dokument e-mailem.	He sent me the document by email.	Means of communication
Jdu s bratrem.	I’m going with my brother.	Company with s
Večeřím se svou rodinou.	I’m having dinner with my family.	Se plus an agreeing possessive
Dám si kávu s mlékem.	I’ll have coffee with milk.	Accompaniment or ingredient
Jsem lékařem.	I am a doctor.	Profession presented as a role; somewhat formal
Petra se stala učitelkou.	Petra became a teacher.	Role after stát se
Auto stojí před domem.	The car is parked in front of the house.	Fixed position
Kočka spí pod stolem.	The cat is sleeping under the table.	Location with pod
Obraz visí nad pohovkou.	The picture hangs above the sofa.	Location with nad
Lékárna je mezi bankou a poštou.	The pharmacy is between the bank and the post office.	Both nouns are instrumental
Zahrada je za školou.	The garden is behind the school.	Location with za
Mluvil klidným hlasem.	He spoke in a calm voice.	Manner expressed by an instrumental phrase

Common Mistakes

Adding s before a tool

• Wrong: Píšu s tužkou.
• Right: Píšu tužkou.
• Why: A tool or means takes the instrumental without a preposition. S tužkou would mean that the pencil accompanies you, not that you use it to write.

Using the dictionary form after s

• Wrong: Jdu s bratr.
• Right: Jdu s bratrem.
• Why: The preposition s meaning “with” requires the instrumental. The masculine noun bratr becomes bratrem.

Changing the noun but not the adjective

• Wrong: s nový kolegou
• Right: s novým kolegou
• Why: Every agreeing word in the phrase must show the instrumental: masculine nový becomes novým, while kolega becomes kolegou.

Applying -ou to every feminine noun

• Wrong: s píseňou
• Right: s písní
• Why: -ou is the main pattern for feminine nouns in -a. Feminine nouns with other declension patterns often use -í or, in the plural, -emi/-mi.

Using instrumental for a destination after pod or za

• Wrong: Dávám tašku pod stolem.
• Right: Dávám tašku pod stůl.
• Why: The bag is moving into a position, so pod takes the accusative here. Once it is there, say Taška je pod stolem with the instrumental.

Assuming být always requires the instrumental

• Wrong assumption: “I must say Jsem studentem.”
• Natural neutral form: Jsem student.
• Also possible: Jsem studentem.
• Why: The nominative is very common for a straightforward identity or profession. The instrumental can frame it as a role and may sound more formal. After stát se (“become”), however, use the instrumental: Stal se studentem.

Usage Notes

English “with” covers several relationships that Czech keeps apart. For company or an added ingredient, use s/se + instrumental: s Janou, čaj s citronem. For the object used to do something, omit the preposition: řežu nožem (“I cut with a knife”). Building this meaning distinction is more reliable than translating word by word.

Transport phrases with the bare instrumental are extremely common: autem, vlakem, autobusem, tramvají, letadlem. Walking is an important lexical exception: Czech normally says jdu pěšky (“I go on foot”), using the adverb pěšky, not an instrumental noun.

Word order does not remove the case ending. Czech can move an instrumental phrase for emphasis: Tužkou nepíšu, píšu perem (“I don’t write with a pencil; I write with a pen”). The ending, rather than a fixed place in the sentence, continues to show the phrase’s function.

Beyond the Basics: Advanced Use

You do not need to produce all of these patterns at A2, but you will meet them in ordinary Czech.

The bare instrumental can express manner—how an action is performed—not only a physical tool: mluvit tichým hlasem (“to speak in a quiet voice”), pracovat rychlým tempem (“to work at a fast pace”), dívat se jiným způsobem (“to look at it in a different way”). It also appears in set adverbial expressions such as cestou domů (“on the way home”) and každým rokem (“with every passing year”). These are best learned as complete expressions.

Some verbs select an instrumental complement even without the core “tool” meaning. Common examples include zabývat se něčím (“to deal with / be engaged in something”), stát se někým/něčím (“to become someone/something”), and řídit se něčím (“to follow or be guided by something”). In Zabývá se českou historií (“She studies/deals with Czech history”), the instrumental is required by the verb pattern.

A few very common plural forms preserve old dual-number endings associated especially with paired body parts: rukama (“with the hands”), nohama (“with the legs/feet”), očima (“with the eyes”), and ušima (“with the ears”). Thus Czech says Drží hrnek oběma rukama (“She is holding the mug with both hands”). These forms are standard, not careless speech.

Numerals also have instrumental forms: dvěma (“with two”), třemi (“with three”), čtyřmi (“with four”), and pěti (“with five”). You may therefore see mezi dvěma domy (“between two houses”) or se třemi kolegy (“with three colleagues”). Master the ordinary singular phrases first, then add these high-frequency number patterns.

Finally, the contrast between instrumental and accusative after spatial prepositions depends on the relationship being expressed, not merely on whether the verb describes motion. Běží pod mostem can mean “He is running under the bridge,” with the running taking place there; běží pod most means “He is running to a position under the bridge.” Meanwhile, Jdu za kamarádem means “I’m going to see / after my friend” and uses the instrumental as part of the established jít za někým pattern.

Practice Tips

1. Sort phrases by meaning. Make three short lists: tool with no preposition (nožem, tužkou), company with s/se (s kolegou, se sestrou), and location (pod stolem, před školou). Say a full sentence from each list.
2. Learn noun and adjective together. Turn nový kolega into s novým kolegou, or červená tužka into červenou tužkou. This prevents the common habit of changing only the noun.
3. Practise location against destination. Place an object somewhere and narrate both steps: Dávám knihu na/pod… for the destination, then Kniha je na/pod… for its location. Focus on pairs such as pod stůl → pod stolem.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Case System Introduction — explains why Czech noun endings change and introduces the jobs performed by cases.