Instrumental Adjective Agreement

Level 2

Adjectives must always agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, and case. When a noun is in the Instrumental case, the adjective describing it must also take an Instrumental ending. This happens when talking about tools ('with a pen'), accompaniment ('with a friend'), or professions ('is a good doctor').

How It Works

The Instrumental Case is extremely common in Polish. To form complete phrases, you pair the adjective endings (Masculine/Neuter singular: -ym / -im; Feminine singular: -ą; Plural: -ymi / -imi) with the corresponding noun endings (Masculine/Neuter: -em / -iem; Feminine: -ą / -ią; Plural: -ami). You will need to apply these in several key situations:

1. Means, Tools, and Transportation: Doing something 'by means of' or 'with' an object (used without a preposition). This includes modes of transportation, where English uses 'by'.
Piszę czarnym długopisem. (I am writing with a black pen.)
Jadę nowym samochodem. (I am driving a new car.)

2. Accompaniment: Doing something 'with' someone or something, using the preposition z. Note that z only takes the Instrumental when it means 'with'; when it means 'from' or 'out of', it takes the Genitive Case.
Idę z moim nowym przyjacielem. (I am going with my new friend.)

3. Professions, Identity, and Core Verbs: After the verb być (to be) when equating a subject with a noun phrase, as well as after verbs like zostać (to become), interesować się (to be interested in), zajmować się (to deal with / to do for a living), and opiekować się (to look after / care for).
Ona jest bardzo dobrą nauczycielką. (She is a very good teacher.)
Interesuję się polską historią. (I am interested in Polish history.)
Exception: When using the demonstrative pronoun to (this is / it is), you must use the Nominative Case instead (e.g., To jest dobra nauczycielka.).

4. Spatial Prepositions: After prepositions like pod (under), nad (over), przed (in front of), za (behind), and między (between) when describing a static location (answering 'where?'). Note that if these prepositions describe motion or destination (answering 'where to?'), they take the Accusative Case.

5. Time Expressions: Used in certain time phrases to describe when something happens, including seasons (e.g., wiosną - in spring, latem - in summer, jesienią - in autumn, zimą - in winter).
Wracam późnym wieczorem. (I am returning late in the evening.)

6. Moving Body Parts: The Instrumental is used for verbs involving the movement of body parts.
On macha prawą ręką. (He is waving his right hand.)
Ona kiwa głową. (She is nodding her head.)

Important Spelling Rules (k/g and soft stems): Polish phonotactics dictate that the letter y can never follow k or g. Therefore, adjectives ending in -ki or -gi must always take the endings -im and -imi (e.g., wysokim, never wysokym). For feminine singular, k/g stems still take -ą (e.g., wysoką). For true soft-stem adjectives (which end in -i in their dictionary form, like tani or ostatni), they take -im for masculine/neuter and -imi for plural. For the feminine singular, they simply add -ą to the soft stem, retaining the i (e.g., tani- + -ą = tanią).

Examples (5)

  1. Piszę czarnym długopisem.

    I am writing with a black pen.

    Word by Word: I write black pen.

    Used to indicate the tool or instrument (means) being used. The masculine adjective 'czarny' takes the '-ym' ending.

  2. Idę do kina z moim nowym przyjacielem.

    I am going to the cinema with my new friend.

    Word by Word: I go to cinema with my new friend.

    Used for accompaniment after the preposition 'z'. Both the possessive pronoun 'moim' and the adjective 'nowym' take Instrumental endings.

  3. Ona jest bardzo dobrą nauczycielką.

    She is a very good teacher.

    Word by Word: She is very good teacher.

    Used for professions after the verb 'być'. The feminine adjective 'dobra' takes the '-ą' ending.

  4. Pies śpi pod dużym stołem.

    The dog is sleeping under a large table.

    Word by Word: Dog sleeps under large table.

    Used after the spatial preposition 'pod' (under). The masculine adjective 'duży' takes the '-ym' ending.

  5. Rozmawiam z tym wysokim mężczyzną.

    I am talking with this tall man.

    Word by Word: I talk with this tall man.

    Demonstrates the k/g spelling rule. Because 'wysoki' ends in 'k', it must take the soft ending '-im' instead of '-ym'.

Common Mistakes

  • Mixing up the nasal vowels ą and ę in feminine phrases.

    Rozmawiam z tą nową kobietę.
    Rozmawiam z tą nową kobietą.

    While feminine adjectives end in -ą for both the Accusative and Instrumental cases, the noun endings differ. Instrumental feminine nouns end in -ą, while Accusative feminine nouns end in -ę. Make sure both the adjective and the noun end in -ą for the Instrumental.

  • Ignoring the k/g spelling rule.

    Piszę długym ołówkiem.
    Piszę długim ołówkiem.

    The letter y can never follow k or g in Polish. Adjectives with stems ending in k or g must use the soft endings -im or -imi instead of -ym/-ymi.

  • Using the Instrumental for standalone adjectives after the verb 'być'.

    Mój brat jest bardzo mądrym.
    Mój brat jest bardzo mądry.

    The Instrumental case is only used after być (to be) when there is a noun phrase (e.g., 'He is a smart boy'). If the adjective stands alone as a predicate ('He is smart'), it must remain in the Nominative case.

How It Connects

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Instrumental Adjective AgreementLevel 2

Learn This First

Learn Instrumental Singular Endings, Adjective Agreement before Instrumental Adjective Agreement.