The instrumental is the case of with what and by what means, but a tight group of prepositions also governs it — and they happen to describe the space around you: with something, in front of, behind, above, below, between. Master this handful and you can place almost anything in a room. The catch is that five of them lead a double life: they take the instrumental for a static position but switch to the accusative when something moves into that position. This page sorts that out. The instrumental answers kým? čím? (with whom? with what?).
The six instrumental prepositions
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| s / se | with (accompaniment) | s bratrem (with my brother) |
| před | in front of; before / ago | před domem (in front of the house) |
| za | behind | za domem (behind the house) |
| nad | above, over | nad stolem (above the table) |
| pod | under, below | pod stolem (under the table) |
| mezi | between, among | mezi stromy (among the trees) |
Bydlím tady s bratrem a se sestrou.
I live here with my brother and sister. (s/se + instrumental)
Auto stojí přímo před domem.
The car is parked right in front of the house. (dům → domem)
Kočka se schovala pod postelí.
The cat hid under the bed. (postel → postelí)
Nad stolem visí stará lampa.
An old lamp hangs above the table. (stůl → stolem)
The instrumental endings
The endings you attach after these prepositions are the instrumental singular forms — worth a quick recap, because they look nothing like the dictionary word:
| Type | Ending | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| masculine / neuter | -em | dům → domem, roh → rohem, okno → oknem |
| feminine -a | -ou | hlava → hlavou, škola → školou |
| feminine soft | -í | postel → postelí, kost → kostí |
Sejdeme se před školou v osm.
Let's meet in front of the school at eight. (škola → školou)
Zahrada je hned za rohem.
The garden is just around the corner. (roh → rohem)
The preposition s vocalises to se before words starting with s, z, š, ž or an awkward cluster, and always before mnou: se sestrou, se psem, se mnou. Likewise před, nad, pod gain an -e before mnou: přede mnou, nade mnou, pode mnou.
Posaď se vedle mě, ne přede mnou.
Sit next to me, not in front of me. (přede mnou)
The two-case trap: location vs motion
Here is the rule that decides everything. Nad, pod, před, za and mezi are two-case prepositions. With the instrumental they answer kde? (where?) — a fixed, static position. With the accusative they answer kam? (where to?) — motion arriving at that position. Same preposition, two cases, two meanings.
| Static (where? — instrumental) | Motion (where to? — accusative) |
|---|---|
| pod stromem (under the tree) | pod strom (to under the tree) |
| za domem (behind the house) | za dům (to behind the house) |
| před školou (in front of the school) | před školu (to in front of the school) |
Pes leží pod stromem ve stínu.
The dog is lying under the tree in the shade. (static — instrumental, pod stromem)
Pes zalezl pod strom před deštěm.
The dog crawled under the tree out of the rain. (motion — accusative, pod strom)
In the first sentence the dog is already there, not going anywhere: pod stromem, instrumental. In the second the dog moves to that spot: pod strom, accusative. English uses under the tree for both and leaves you to guess from the verb; Czech makes the difference visible in the ending. The verb is your clue — verbs of position (ležet, sedět, stát, být) point to the instrumental, verbs of motion (jít, dát, schovat se, zalézt) to the accusative.
před for time: "ago" and "before"
The preposition před does double duty in time as well as space. With the instrumental it means ago — measuring back from now — and before an event. This is one of the most frequent uses of the instrumental in the whole language.
Viděli jsme se naposledy před rokem.
We last saw each other a year ago. (rok → rokem)
Volal ti před chvílí nějaký Petr.
Some Petr called you a moment ago. (chvíle → chvílí)
Přijeď prosím před obědem.
Please come before lunch. (oběd → obědem)
So před rokem = "a year ago", před týdnem = "a week ago", před chvílí = "a moment ago" — always instrumental, never accusative, because no motion is involved.
Common Mistakes
❌ Bydlím tady s bratra.
Incorrect — 's' (with) takes the instrumental, not the genitive.
✅ Bydlím tady s bratrem.
I live here with my brother. (s + instrumental)
❌ Mluvil jsem z ředitelem.
Incorrect — that's 'z' (from); 'with' is 's' + instrumental.
✅ Mluvil jsem s ředitelem.
I spoke with the director. (s ředitelem)
❌ Kočka spí pod postel.
Incorrect — the cat is resting in place, so this static location needs the instrumental.
✅ Kočka spí pod postelí.
The cat sleeps under the bed. (static — pod postelí)
❌ Viděli jsme se před týden.
Incorrect — 'a week ago' is před + instrumental.
✅ Viděli jsme se před týdnem.
We saw each other a week ago. (týden → týdnem)
❌ Nad stůl visí lampa.
Incorrect — the lamp hangs in a fixed spot, so this is static: instrumental.
✅ Nad stolem visí lampa.
A lamp hangs above the table. (static — nad stolem)
Key Takeaways
- The instrumental prepositions are s/se, před, za, nad, pod, mezi — the toolkit for placing things in space.
- Endings: masculine/neuter -em (domem, oknem), feminine -ou (školou), feminine soft -í (postelí); s → se before s/z/š/ž clusters and mnou.
- Nad, pod, před, za, mezi are two-case: instrumental for a static position (kde? — pod stromem), accusative for motion to it (kam? — pod strom).
- Před
- instrumental also means ago / before in time: před rokem, před chvílí.
- Don't confuse s (with + instrumental) with z (from + genitive) — they sound similar but pull different cases and meanings.
Now practice Czech
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Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- Prepositions with the Instrumental: s, před, za, nad, pod, meziA2 — Instrumental-governing prepositions for accompaniment and static position.
- Two-Case Prepositions: nad, pod, před, za, mezi with Accusative vs InstrumentalB2 — Spatial prepositions that take accusative for motion and instrumental for position.
- Accompaniment with S plus InstrumentalA1 — How s/se + the instrumental expresses 'with' in the sense of togetherness — and why the bare instrumental, without 's', means 'by means of'.
- The Instrumental of MeansA2 — Using the instrumental to express the tool or means by which something is done.
- Prepositions That Take Two CasesB2 — How na, v, o, za, nad, pod, před, mezi change case to switch between location and motion.