Instrumental -om / -em

Instrumental Singular Endings

Level 2

Many masculine and neuter nouns take instrumental singular -om or -em. Common feminine -a nouns take -om.

How It Works

Many hard-stem masculine nouns use -om: vlak/vlakom. A palatal ending often selects -em: prijatelj/prijateljem. Neuter more gives morem, while selo gives selom.

Common feminine -a nouns replace that ending with -om: olovka/olovkom, sestra/sestrom. Consonant-final feminine nouns have another pattern, so do not add -om indiscriminately.

There are lexical and phonological exceptions to a simple hard-versus-soft division. The school grammar, for example, records forms with -om after some palatal stems containing e. Use the dictionary’s instrumental form when the expected ending is uncertain.

Examples (4)

  1. Putujem vlakom.

    I am travelling by train.

    Vlak takes -om.

  2. Razgovaram s prijateljem.

    I am talking with a friend.

    Prijatelj takes -em.

  3. Pišem olovkom.

    I am writing with a pencil.

    Feminine olovka takes -om.

  4. Plovimo morem.

    We are sailing by sea.

    Neuter more has instrumental morem.

How It Connects

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Instrumental -om / -emLevel 2Instrumental Singular Endings

Learn This First

The instrumental endings realize a separate case in the seven-case system.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.