s/sa: With, Off, From | Croatian Grammar

The preposition s/sa is one of the great traps of Croatian, because the same little word governs two different cases with nearly opposite meanings. With the instrumental it means „with / together with" — accompaniment. With the genitive it means „off / down from" — separation. The case you choose is the meaning. And there is a third twist that catches every English speaker: when you say „with" in the sense of by means of an instrument, Croatian uses no preposition at all — just the bare instrumental. This page untangles all three: company (s + instrumental), means (bare instrumental, no s), and off/from (s + genitive).

s + instrumental = „with / together with" (company)

When s/sa expresses accompaniment — being together with a person or thing — it governs the instrumental.

Idem na kavu s prijateljem.

I'm going for coffee with a friend. — 's' + instrumental 'prijateljem' = accompaniment.

Volim kavu s mlijekom.

I like coffee with milk. — 's' + instrumental 'mlijekom' = with, as an addition.

Došla je na zabavu sa sestrom.

She came to the party with her sister. — 'sa' + instrumental 'sestrom' (note the support vowel before s-).

Razgovarao sam s direktorom cijelo jutro.

I talked with the director all morning. — 's' + instrumental 'direktorom'.

s + genitive = „off / down from" (separation)

When s/sa expresses separation — coming off, down from, or away from a surface or place — it governs the genitive. Think of it as the opposite of na („onto"): if something went onto a surface (na stol), it comes off that surface as sa stola.

Knjiga je pala sa stola.

The book fell off the table. — 'sa' + genitive 'stola' = off a surface (note 'sa' before st-).

Mačka je skočila s krova.

The cat jumped off the roof. — 's' + genitive 'krova' = down from.

Vraćam se s posla oko šest.

I come back from work around six. — 's' + genitive 'posla' = from (a 'na' place you leave).

Skini čašu sa stola, molim te.

Take the glass off the table, please. — 'sa' + genitive 'stola' = removing from a surface.

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There is a neat symmetry worth noticing. Places that you go to with na (na posao, na otok, na stol), you come from with s/sa + genitive (s posla, s otoka, sa stola). Places you go to with u (u grad, u školu), you come from with iz + genitive (iz grada, iz škole). So the „from" word mirrors the „to" word: na ↔ s/sa, u ↔ iz.

The crucial contrast: company vs means

This is the single most important distinction on the page. English uses one word, „with," for two completely different relationships, and Croatian splits them:

Company („with" = together with someone/something) → s + instrumental: idem s prijateljem („I'm going with a friend").
Means („with" = by means of, using a tool) → bare instrumental, no preposition: pišem olovkom („I write with a pen").

If you can replace „with" by „using" or „by means of," it is means — drop the s entirely and use the bare instrumental. If you cannot — if „with" means „accompanied by" — keep the s.

Relationship	Construction	Example
Company (accompanied by)	s + instrumental	idem s bratom (I go with my brother)
Means (using a tool)	bare instrumental — NO s	pišem olovkom (I write with a pen)
Off / from (separation)	s + genitive	pao je s krova (he fell off the roof)

Pišem olovkom, ne kemijskom.

I'm writing with a pencil, not a pen. — means: bare instrumental 'olovkom', no 's'.

Režem kruh nožem.

I'm cutting the bread with a knife. — means: bare instrumental 'nožem', no 's'.

Putujem vlakom u Split.

I'm travelling to Split by train. — means/transport: bare instrumental 'vlakom', no 's'.

Šetam gradom s djecom.

I'm strolling through the city with the kids. — bare instrumental 'gradom' (route/means) but 's djecom' (company).

Notice that last example: the same sentence can carry both — gradom is a bare instrumental (the route you move through), while s djecom is company and keeps the s. The fuller treatment of these instrumental roles is on the instrumental of means and accompaniment.

When does s become sa?

The longer form sa is purely a pronunciation aid — it carries no extra meaning. Use sa before words that begin with s, z, š, ž, before the pronoun mnom, and before other clusters that would be unpronounceable with a bare s. This applies in both the „with" and the „off/from" senses.

Form	Used before	Example
s	most words	s prijateljem, s krova, s mlijekom
sa	s, z, š, ž + 'mnom' + hard clusters	sa sestrom, sa zidom, sa šećerom, sa ženom, sa mnom, sa pšenicom

Hoćeš li poći sa mnom?

Will you come with me? — 'sa mnom', never 's mnom', for pronounceability.

Kruh se peče sa pšenicom i raži.

The bread is baked with wheat and rye. — 'sa' before the cluster 'pš-' (pšenicom).

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The s-vs-sa rule is about your mouth, not the grammar. Read the phrase aloud: if bare s collides with a following s/z/š/ž (or the word mnom), switch to sa. sa sestrom rolls; s sestrom is a knot. The meaning is identical either way — only the case (instrumental vs genitive) decides whether it's „with" or „off/from".

How this differs from English

English overloads a single word, „with," to cover both accompaniment („coffee with a friend") and instrument („cut it with a knife"). Croatian draws a hard line: accompaniment keeps the preposition (s prijateljem), but instrument drops it and uses the bare instrumental (nožem). The reflexive English-speaker error is to translate every „with" as s and say s nožem or s olovkom — which a Croatian hears as „accompanied by a knife / a pencil," as if the knife were your companion. Separately, English „from" splits in Croatian between s/sa + genitive (off a na-surface: s posla, sa stola) and iz + genitive (out of a u-container: iz grada, iz kuće) — so even „from" is not a single word here.

Common Mistakes

❌ Pišem s olovkom.

Incorrect — a tool is 'means', not company; use the bare instrumental: 'pišem olovkom'.

✅ Pišem olovkom.

I write with a pen. — bare instrumental, no preposition.

❌ Putujem s vlakom.

Incorrect — transport is 'means', so the bare instrumental: 'putujem vlakom'.

✅ Putujem vlakom.

I travel by train. — bare instrumental, no 's'.

❌ Idem na kavu sa prijatelj.

Incorrect — 's/sa' meaning 'with' takes the instrumental: 's prijateljem' (and 's', not 'sa', before 'pr-').

✅ Idem na kavu s prijateljem.

I'm going for coffee with a friend. — 's' + instrumental.

❌ Pao je s krovom.

Incorrect — 'off the roof' is separation, so the genitive: 's krova'. 'S krovom' = instrumental = 'with the roof'.

✅ Pao je s krova.

He fell off the roof. — 's' + genitive 'krova'.

❌ Dolazi s mnom.

Incorrect — before 'mnom' the support vowel is obligatory: 'sa mnom'.

✅ Dolazi sa mnom.

He's coming with me. — 'sa mnom' for euphony.

Key Takeaways

s + instrumental = „with / together with" (company): s prijateljem, s mlijekom, sa sestrom.
s + genitive = „off / down from" (separation): sa stola, s krova, s posla.
Means takes NO preposition — just the bare instrumental: pišem olovkom, režem nožem, putujem vlakom. Saying s olovkom sounds like the pen is your companion.
Test for „with": if you can say „using / by means of," it's means → drop the s. If it means „accompanied by," keep the s.
sa (not s) appears before s, z, š, ž, before mnom, and before hard clusters — purely for pronunciation, with no change in meaning.
The „from" word mirrors the „to" word: na ↔ s/sa (off a surface), u ↔ iz (out of a container).

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