Verbal noun with instrumental agent

Level 5

A formal way to state who did an action when that action is expressed as a noun phrase (e.g., 'the approval of the law by the Senate').

How It Works

This pattern expresses the agent (doer) of an action that has been nominalized into a noun phrase. It is a condensing strategy that allows the speaker to pack a full clause into a dense noun phrase, shifting focus away from the doer and onto the action itself.

How it works:
When a verb is turned into a verbal noun (this rule also applies to other deverbal action nouns, like prodej or objev), the object receiving the action (the patient) is typically placed in the genitive case right after it—provided it was originally an accusative direct object. The agent (the doer) is placed in the bare instrumental case (7th case) without any preposition. This use of the instrumental is a syntactic carryover from the passive voice, which conveniently helps avoid a confusing chain of genitives.

Connection to the Passive Voice:
The instrumental of agent here is the exact same grammatical mechanism used in passive clauses (see instrumental agent in the passive). Notice the progression:

  • Active: Senát schválil zákon. (The Senate approved the law.)
  • Passive: Zákon byl schválen Senátem. (The law was approved by the Senate.)
  • Nominalization: schválení zákona Senátem (approval of the law by the Senate)

Objects in Other Cases:
If the original verb governs a different case (like the dative) or uses a preposition, the object keeps its original case in the nominalization. Because the patient is not in the genitive, the genitive slot is free, so the agent naturally takes the genitive case instead of the instrumental. For example: pomoc vlády lidem (help for the people by the government - dative) or útok nepřítele na město (attack on the city by the enemy - prepositional).

Word Order:
The word order is rigid: Action Noun + Patient + Instrumental Agent. Reversing the patient and agent is highly unnatural.

Register and Usage:
This construction is highly formal. It is a hallmark of administrative, legal, academic, and journalistic Czech. In casual, spoken Czech, native speakers strongly prefer active verbal clauses or use od + genitive for the agent (e.g., schválení od Senátu).

Important Distinctions:

  • Pronouns as Agents: Using personal pronouns in the bare instrumental (e.g., mnou, jím) sounds hyper-bureaucratic. Native speakers strongly prefer possessive pronouns or adjectives instead (e.g., jeho schválení zákona rather than schválení zákona jím).
  • Genitive vs. Instrumental Agent: If an intransitive action noun has no object, its agent takes the genitive (e.g., rozhodnutí soudu - the decision of the court). However, if you drop the patient of a strongly transitive action noun, the agent usually remains in the instrumental to avoid being mistaken for the patient (e.g., zabití lovcem - killing by a hunter, versus zabití lovce - killing of a hunter).
  • Instrumental of Means: The instrumental of means is an inanimate tool (e.g., psaní perem - writing with a pen), whereas the instrumental of agent is the conscious doer.

Examples (4)

  1. Po schválení zákona Senátem jej musí podepsat prezident.

    After the approval of the law by the Senate, the president must sign it.

    Word by Word: After approval of-law by-Senate it must sign president.

    The object (zákona) is in the genitive, so the agent (Senátem) is placed in the instrumental.

  2. Tradiční přístup, jako je kontrola úřadem, u korupce nefunguje.

    The traditional approach, such as inspection by an authority, does not work for corruption.

    Word by Word: Traditional approach, such as inspection by-authority, at corruption not-works.

    The agent (úřadem) performing the inspection is in the bare instrumental.

  3. Bylo nařízeno okamžité vyklizení budovy policií.

    Immediate evacuation of the building by the police was ordered.

    Word by Word: Was ordered immediate evacuation of-building by-police.

    A highly formal, administrative sentence condensing the action into a dense noun phrase.

  4. Kritizovali jsme nečekané zrušení letu leteckou společností.

    We criticized the unexpected cancellation of the flight by the airline.

    Word by Word: Criticized we unexpected cancellation of-flight by-airline company.

    The airline (leteckou společností) is the agent responsible for the cancellation.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'od' + genitive instead of the bare instrumental for the agent in formal writing.

    Po schválení zákona od Senátu jej musí podepsat prezident.
    Po schválení zákona Senátem jej musí podepsat prezident.

    While 'od + genitive' is a standard and natural way to express the agent in casual spoken Czech, formal written Czech strictly requires the bare instrumental case for the conscious agent of a verbal noun.

  • Chaining genitives for both the object and the agent.

    Čekáme na schválení zákona vlády.
    Čekáme na schválení zákona vládou.

    If the verbal noun has an object in the genitive (zákona), adding the agent in the genitive (vlády) creates severe ambiguity (it sounds like 'the government's law'). The agent must go into the instrumental.

  • Overusing this heavy nominalization in everyday spoken Czech.

    Uklízení pokoje mnou trvalo hodinu.
    Uklízel jsem pokoj hodinu.

    This pattern is highly formal and belongs in official texts or news. In casual speech, native speakers strongly prefer active verbal clauses.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Verbal noun with instrumental agentLevel 5

Learn This First

To understand how a verbal noun can take an agent in the instrumental case (e.g., 'schválení zákona Senátem'), a learner needs to be familiar with the formation of verbal nouns, the standard way they express objects using the genitive, and the general principle in Czech where the instrumental case marks the 'doer' in passive-like structures.