Instrumental Plural Endings

Level 2

The instrumental plural is used to express the means by which you do something, accompaniment ('with'), and location with certain prepositions. The best part? It completely ignores gender!

How It Works

Unlike the singular, the instrumental plural is the 'great equalizer'—it does not distinguish between masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns. All genders share the same set of endings.

Noun Endings:

  • -ami: The standard ending for almost all nouns (e.g., kobieta → kobietami, okno → oknami, pies → psami). Note that unlike adjectives, nouns ending in k or g do NOT soften and simply take -ami (e.g., pociągami, ptakami, nogami).
  • -mi: Used by a small group of highly frequent, usually soft-stem nouns (e.g., ludźmi / people, dziećmi / children, braćmi / brothers, gośćmi / guests, pieniędzmi / money, przyjaciółmi / friends, końmi / horses, dłońmi / hands).
  • -um nouns: Nouns ending in -um (like muzeum or centrum) are indeclinable in the singular, but take standard endings in the plural (e.g., muzeami, centrami).
  • Adjectival nouns: Nouns derived from adjectives (e.g., znajomy / acquaintance, dorosły / adult) take adjectival endings (-ymi/-imi) instead of noun endings. For example: Idę do kina ze znajomymi (I am going to the movies with acquaintances).
  • Dual endings: A few paired body parts have alternative historical endings alongside the standard ones: ręce → rękami or rękoma, oczy → oczami or oczyma, uszy → uszami or uszyma.

Adjective Endings:

  • -ymi: Attaches to hard stems (e.g., dobrymi, nowymi).
  • -imi: Attaches to soft stems and words ending in k or g due to spelling rules (e.g., polskimi, długimi).

Pronouns:

  • Possessive and demonstrative pronouns take the same endings as adjectives (e.g., moimi, twoimi, tymi).
  • Personal pronouns have specific forms: nami (us), wami (you all), and nimi (them).

When to use it:
Use these endings to express the tool used for an action, after the preposition z or ze (used before certain consonant clusters) meaning 'with' (accompaniment). Note that when z or ze means 'from' or 'out of' (e.g., z Polski), it takes the genitive case instead. The instrumental is also used after spatial prepositions (pod, między, nad, przed, and za). The instrumental is strictly governed by certain verbs, such as być (to be) to express identity or profession (e.g., Oni są lekarzami / They are doctors), zostać (to become), and interesować się (to be interested in). Important: When defining identity with być, the instrumental is only used when a noun is present. Standalone adjectives must take the nominative case (e.g., Oni są dobrzy, not Oni są dobrymi). Additionally, when using the demonstrative to to define identity (e.g., To są dobrzy ludzie), the noun phrase takes the nominative case, not the instrumental.

Examples (4)

  1. Lubię pracować z ludźmi, nie z liczbami.

    I like working with people, not with numbers.

    Word by Word: I-like to-work with people, not with numbers.

    Notice the irregular ending '-mi' in 'ludźmi' and the regular '-ami' in 'liczbami'.

  2. Oni są dobrymi nauczycielami.

    They are good teachers.

    Word by Word: They are good teachers.

    Used as a predicate noun phrase after the verb 'być'. The adjective takes '-ymi' and the noun takes '-ami'.

  3. Przyszli z dziećmi i z psem.

    They came with the children and the dog.

    Word by Word: They-came with children and with dog.

    'Dziećmi' is a highly frequent irregular plural form. (Note: 'psem' is in the singular).

  4. Piszę długimi polskimi długopisami.

    I am writing with long Polish pens.

    Word by Word: I-write long Polish pens.

    Adjectives ending in 'k' or 'g' must take '-imi' instead of '-ymi' due to Polish spelling rules.

Common Mistakes

  • Regularizing irregular nouns

    Idę do kina z dzieciami i ludziami.
    Idę do kina z dziećmi i ludźmi.

    Learners often try to apply the standard '-ami' ending to all nouns. However, highly frequent words like 'dzieci' (children) and 'ludzie' (people) take the irregular '-mi' ending.

  • Forgetting the k/g spelling rule for adjectives

    Rozmawiam z polskymi studentami.
    Rozmawiam z polskimi studentami.

    In Polish, the letter 'y' cannot follow 'k' or 'g'. You must change the adjective ending from '-ymi' to '-imi'.

  • Using the instrumental for standalone adjectives after 'być'

    Te jabłka są smacznymi.
    Te jabłka są smaczne.

    When using the verb 'być' (to be), the instrumental case is only used if there is a noun in the predicate. If you are only using an adjective to describe the subject, the adjective must stay in the nominative case.

How It Connects

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Instrumental Plural EndingsLevel 2

Learn This First

Learn Instrumental Case, Three Noun Genders before Instrumental Plural Endings.