In Russian, many words change by case. What is it? Case is a variable morphological feature of parts of speech associated with a change in the form of a word.
There are six cases in Russian, each of them has its own meaning. To determine the case, for example, of nouns, you need to ask the appropriate question. One of the cases, the fifth in this row, is called instrumental.
The name of this case already speaks about its meaning: an object, means or tool that is used to create, do something - for example, chop with an ax, draw with a brush, it is poured with rain. Questions answered by the words in this case: "By whom? By what?" In some cases, circumstantial questions may be asked. Another distinguishing feature from others is the instrumental case - endings: -oy (-s), -om (-em,) -yu (singular), -ami, -ami (plural) for nouns, -ym (-im), -oy (-s) (singular), -y (-im) (plural) for adjectives and ordinal numbers.
Creativecase has different meanings, for example:
- indicates the time at which an action is performed or a state manifests itself: sunbathing during the day, harvesting in the fall;
- indicates a tool or means, an instrument with which an action is performed: eat with a spoon, dig with a shovel;
- has the meaning of the method and manner of action; shows a qualitative, defining characteristic of the action: run at a gallop, sing in a bass voice, stand with your back, walk in small steps;
- the instrumental case can have the meaning of comparing the performance of an action with the quality of an object or image: pour like a wall, fly like lightning;
- an indication of the place where the action is performed: sail by the sea, go through the forest;
- the instrumental case can have a meaning indicating the attribute of an object: eyebrows with a house, sponges with a bow;
- the value of a partial, limited area of a feature: satisfied with the result, known for achievements;
- indication of sign, function, position: elected as a deputy, recognized as a means;
- a predicative sign for explaining the nominal part of the compound predicate: got a job as a loader, became a programmer;
- a meaning indicating the relationship of the object to the action: to convince by deed, to surprise by deed;
- the meaning of the manner of action and its method: to sing in bass, to take small steps;
- an indication of the age period of life: as a child, she cried a lot;
- the instrumental has a meaning indicating the one who performs the action: the work is protectedgraduate student, window smashed with stone;
- quantity value: count by fives.
| meaning | question | example |
| time of action | when? |
sleep at night sow in spring |
| tool, tool | what? | rake, cut with a knife |
| method and mode of action | what? how? | gallop, sing baritone, stand with your back |
| comparison with quality | what? how? | twirling around, roaring like a beluga, howling like a wolf |
| place of action | what? | run the field, make your way through the paths |
| indicating the sign of the subject | what? |
crochet tail |
| feature constraint | what? | famous for his feat |
| sign of function, position | who? what? | appointed as deputy |
| predicative sign | who? | got a janitor |
| relationship of object to action | what? how? | frustrated with an assessment, delight with a gift |
| action and how to do it | how? what? | swim breaststroke |
| age period of life | who? what? | cherish youth |
| quantity value | what? | multiply by tens |
Numbers also changeby cases, but their declension depends on which group of this part of speech they belong to: quantitative, ordinal or fractional.
The instrumental case of numerals has different variants, depending on their form: four, five, but five hundred and five hundred. There are two options for the declension of compound numbers: for cardinal numbers, all the words that make it up change, and for ordinal numbers, only the last one changes: six hundred fifty-two or six hundred and fifty-two.
