| nom. | gen. | dat. | acc. | inst. | prep. |
Forming the instrumental plural, just like the dative and prepositional plurals, is extremely easy! These 3 plurals are all formed in a similar way. Instead of worrying about gender, we only have to worry about soft and hard endings. This means that only two endings are possible: –ами and –ями.
| Purpose |
To learn the purpose of this case, click here.
| Formation |
Forming this case is a piece of cake! Only two endings are possible.
Hard Endings (-ами)
| а, о or consonant | книга (book) стол (table) окно (window) | книгами – столами – окнами – |
So, as you can see, if the word ends in a hard vowel such as: а or о, or a consonant, the ending will be ами.
Soft Endings (-ями)
| e, й, or a soft sign | здание (building) музей (museum) постель (bed) | зданиями – музеями – постелями – |
So, as you can see, if the word ends in a soft vowel such as e, я, the soft consonant й, or a soft sign, the ending will be ями.
Please keep the spelling rules in mind!
| вещь (thing) | вещами – |
| солнце (sun) | солнцами – |
If a noun has an irregular plural in the nominative case, it maintains it in other plural forms.
| N.S. | N.P. | I.P. |
|---|---|---|
| дом [house] лес [forest] | дома [houses] леса [forests] | домами – лесами – |
| друг [friend] брат [brother] | друзья [friends] братья [brothers] | друзьями – братьями – |
| время [time] имя [name] | времена [times] имена [names] | временами – именами – |
| дочь [daughter] мать [mother] | дочери [daughters] матери [mothers] | дочерями – матерями – |
| человек [person] ребёнок [child] | люди [people] дети [children] | людьми – детьми – |
And there you have it! Another case-related post has been published.
I think all we have left is the accusative plural.
Hope you enjoyed the lesson. See you soon!