интересоваться + Instrumental

Instrumental with Интересоваться

Level 3Sounds Like interesovatʹsâ + tvoritelʹnyj

The verb интересоваться (to be interested in) always takes the Instrumental case (кем? чем?) and never uses a preposition like 'in'.

How It Works

1. Conjugation and Stem Change
This is an -оваться verb. In the present tense, the suffix -ова- changes to -у-. Additionally, the reflexive suffix changes based on the preceding sound:

  • Я интересуюсь (I am interested)
  • Ты интересуешься (You are interested)
  • Он/она интересуется (He/she is interested)

2. Case Government
The most important rule is that интересоваться attaches directly to the Instrumental case. Do not use the preposition 'в'.

  • Интересоваться музыкой (To be interested in music)
  • Интересоваться спортом (To be interested in sports)

3. Perfective Partners
There are two common perfective forms:

  • Заинтересоваться: To become interested in something (the start of an interest).
  • Поинтересоваться: To inquire or ask about something. This is very common in both social and professional settings when you want to find out information politely.

4. Connecting to Clauses
To say you are interested in how or what someone is doing, you must use the demonstrative pronoun тем as a bridge: интересоваться тем, что...

Examples (4)

  1. Я интересуюсь русской историей.

    I am interested in Russian history.

    Word by Word: I interest-myself Russian history-with.

    Notice the Instrumental endings -ой and -ей. No preposition is used.

  2. Мой брат интересуется футболом.

    My brother is interested in football.

    Word by Word: My brother interests-himself football-with.

    The verb ends in -ся because it follows a consonant (т).

  3. Клиент интересовался ценой товара.

    The client was inquiring about the price of the product.

    Word by Word: Client was-inquiring price-with of-product.

    Here, the verb means 'to inquire' rather than just having a general hobby.

  4. Мы интересуемся тем, когда начнётся собрание.

    We are interested in when the meeting will start.

    Word by Word: We interest-ourselves that-with, when will-start meeting.

    The word 'тем' (Instrumental of 'то') is required to link the verb to the 'when' clause.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the preposition 'в' (calquing from English).

    Я интересуюсь в музыке.
    Я интересуюсь музыкой.

    Russian does not use a preposition with this verb. The Instrumental case alone carries the meaning.

  • Forgetting the stem change from -ова- to -у-.

    Я интересоваюсь искусством.
    Я интересуюсь искусством.

    Verbs ending in -овать must change to -у- in the present tense.

  • Confusing 'интересоваться' with 'интересовать'.

    Музыка интересуется мной.
    Музыка интересует меня.

    Without -ся, the verb means 'to interest [someone]'. Use the non-reflexive form if the hobby is the subject.

How It Connects

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

интересоваться + InstrumentalLevel 3Instrumental with Интересоваться

Learn This First

To use 'интересоваться' correctly, you need to understand how reflexive verbs are formed and conjugated, as well as how to decline nouns and adjectives in the instrumental case, which functions here as the object of interest.

Words in This Pattern

интересоваться