The instrumental has two prepositional jobs. The first is accompaniment — being 'with' someone or something, carried by the preposition з / із / зі. The second is static relative position — being above, under, behind, in front of, or between things, carried by над, під, за, пе́ред, між. Both share a flavour of "alongside / in relation to," which is why they cluster under one case. The page's two load-bearing facts: з is the same word in two cases with two meanings ('with' + instrumental vs 'from' + genitive), so the ending alone tells з дру́гом ('with a friend') from з дру́га ('from a friend'); and the spatial prepositions take the instrumental only for location (де?) — switching to the accusative the moment there is motion-toward (куди?).
з / із / зі — 'with, together with' (accompaniment)
In its instrumental sense, з means 'with' — accompanied by, in the company of, having as an ingredient. You walk з дру́гом (with a friend), drink чай з молоко́м (tea with milk), live з батька́ми (with your parents). The form is chosen for sound — з / із / зі — exactly as on the euphonic variants page; the meaning and case do not change.
Я ходи́в у кіно́ з дру́гом, тому́ й не відповіда́в на дзвінки́.
I went to the cinema with a friend, that's why I wasn't answering calls.
Мені́, будь ла́ска, ка́ву з молоко́м і без цу́кру.
A coffee with milk and no sugar for me, please.
Вона́ ще живе́ з батька́ми, але́ збира́ється переї́хати.
She still lives with her parents, but she's planning to move out.
This 'with' is comitative — it joins two participants. Do not confuse it with the bare instrumental of means, which uses no preposition at all (see below): you write ру́чкою ('with a pen', i.e. using a pen), not з ру́чкою. More on that distinction at instrumental vs з + instrumental.
The з trap: 'with' (instr) vs 'from' (gen)
This is the single most important thing on the page. The preposition з is both:
- з + instrumental = 'with' (accompaniment): з дру́гом ('with a friend');
- з + genitive = 'from / out of' (origin): з дру́га ('from a friend'), з мі́ста ('from the city').
The preposition is identical. Only the case ending disambiguates. з дру́гом and з дру́га differ by a single ending and mean opposite kinds of relation.
Я приї́хав з Ки́єва з дру́гом — він тут упе́рше.
I came from Kyiv with a friend — it's his first time here.
In one breath: з Ки́єва (genitive, 'from Kyiv') and з дру́гом (instrumental, 'with a friend'), the same preposition pulling two different cases for two different meanings. The full picture is on the three meanings of з.
над, під, за, пе́ред — static relative position
Four prepositions place one thing in relation to another, statically. They answer де? ('where?') and take the instrumental:
- над = 'above, over';
- під = 'under, beneath' (located there);
- за = 'behind, beyond / at' (за столо́м = 'at the table');
- пе́ред = 'in front of, before'.
| Preposition | Meaning (static) | Example (instrumental) |
|---|---|---|
| над | above, over | над столо́м (above the table) |
| під | under, beneath | під столо́м (under the table) |
| за | behind / at | за столо́м (at the table) |
| пе́ред | in front of, before | пе́ред буди́нком (in front of the house) |
Над столо́м виси́ть стара́ ла́мпа, яку́ ми привезли́ з Льво́ва.
Above the table hangs an old lamp we brought from Lviv.
Твої́ та́почки під лі́жком, де ж їм ще бу́ти.
Your slippers are under the bed, where else would they be.
Уся́ роди́на вже сиді́ла за столо́м, чека́ли ті́льки на те́бе.
The whole family was already at the table, just waiting for you.
Зустрі́немося пе́ред теа́тром за п’ять хвили́н до поча́тку.
Let's meet in front of the theatre five minutes before it starts.
між / поміж, по́за, поряд з / поруч з
Three more instrumental prepositions round out the set. між (and its variant поміж) = 'between, among'; по́за = 'outside, beyond, off' (по́за мі́стом 'outside the city'); and the compound поряд з / поруч з = 'next to, beside' (which is built on the comitative з and so also takes the instrumental).
Між на́ми ка́жучи, я ду́маю, що він не ма́є ра́ції.
Between you and me, I think he's wrong.
Вони́ живу́ть по́за мі́стом, у невели́кому се́лищі.
They live outside the city, in a small settlement.
Сядь поряд зі мно́ю, я тобі́ все поясню́.
Sit next to me, I'll explain everything to you.
Static instrumental vs motion accusative
The spatial four — над, під, за, пе́ред (and між) — share the alternation you met under the accusative. With the instrumental they mean location (де?, 'resting there'); the moment there is motion-toward (куди?, 'going there'), they switch to the accusative. The preposition is unchanged; the ending flips. See motion vs location.
| Preposition | Location (де?) → instrumental | Motion (куди?) → accusative |
|---|---|---|
| за | сиди́ть за столо́м (sits at the table) | сів за стіл (sat down at the table) |
| під | лежи́ть під столо́м (lies under the table) | закоти́вся під стіл (rolled under the table) |
Сіда́й за стіл — вече́ря вже на столі́, усе́ охоло́не.
Sit down at the table — dinner's already on the table, it'll all get cold.
Here за стіл is accusative (motion, sitting down to the table) while everything else holds still. Compare за столо́м (instrumental) for someone already seated. Read the ending, every time.
A note: means takes NO preposition
A common reflex error from English: the instrumental of means / instrument uses no preposition at all. You travel по́тягом ('by train'), write олівце́м ('with a pencil'), cut bread ноже́м ('with a knife') — the bare instrumental is the 'with/by' here. Adding з would change the meaning to accompaniment.
Ми ї́хали до Льво́ва по́тягом, а наза́д — авто́бусом.
We went to Lviv by train, and came back by bus.
Підпиши́ цей докуме́нт ру́чкою, а не олівце́м.
Sign this document with a pen, not a pencil.
So 'with a friend' (accompaniment) is з дру́гом, but 'with a pen' (instrument) is plain ру́чкою. English uses 'with' for both; Ukrainian distinguishes them by the presence or absence of з.
The whole set at a glance
| Preposition | Instrumental meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| з / із / зі | with, together with | з дру́гом, чай з молоко́м |
| над | above, over | над столо́м |
| під | under (located) | під столо́м |
| за | behind / at | за столо́м |
| пе́ред | in front of, before | пе́ред буди́нком |
| між / поміж | between, among | між на́ми |
| по́за | outside, beyond | по́за мі́стом |
| поряд з / поруч з | next to, beside | поряд зі мно́ю |
Source-language comparison
For an English speaker, the hard part is that English 'with' covers two things Ukrainian keeps apart: accompaniment (a friend) and instrument (a pen). Ukrainian marks accompaniment with з + instrumental but instrument with the bare instrumental, no preposition — so 'I cut it with a knife' is ноже́м, never з ноже́м. Build the habit of asking "is this a companion or a tool?" before reaching for з. The second leap: з alone tells you nothing — з дру́гом vs з дру́га turn on the ending, so you must hear the case.
For a Russian speaker, the instrumental prepositions map closely (с/над/под/за/перед/между), and the comitative-vs-instrument split is the same instinct. Watch the Ukrainian forms and the euphonic з/із/зі (vs Russian с/со), and the standard між for 'between'.
Common Mistakes
❌ з дру́га (genitive for 'with a friend')
Incorrect — 'with' is з + instrumental: з дру́гом. (з дру́га means 'from a friend'.)
✅ з дру́гом
with a friend — з + instrumental.
❌ пишу́ з ру́чкою (з for the instrument 'with a pen')
Incorrect — means takes the bare instrumental, no preposition: пишу́ ру́чкою.
✅ пишу́ ру́чкою
I'm writing with a pen — bare instrumental of means.
❌ сів за столо́м (instrumental for motion 'sat down at the table')
Incorrect for motion — куди? takes the accusative: сів за стіл. (за столо́м = static 'at the table'.)
✅ сів за стіл
he sat down at the table — за + accusative for motion.
❌ під сто́лом (mis-stressed instrumental)
Incorrect stress — the instrumental of стіл is столо́м: під столо́м.
✅ під столо́м
under the table — під + instrumental.
❌ з мно́ю → з мной (Russian-style ending)
Incorrect — the Ukrainian instrumental is мно́ю, with the euphonic зі: зі мно́ю.
✅ зі мно́ю
with me — зі + instrumental мно́ю.
Key Takeaways
- The instrumental governs the prepositions of accompaniment (з 'with') and static relative position (над, під, за, пе́ред, між, по́за).
- з is two words in one: з + instrumental 'with' vs з + genitive 'from' — the ending alone disambiguates (з дру́гом vs з дру́га).
- над/під/за/пе́ред + instrumental = location (де?); they switch to the accusative for motion (куди?). Read the ending.
- The instrumental of means takes NO preposition (по́тягом, ру́чкою) — adding з would make it accompaniment.
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- Prepositions and Case Government: OverviewA2 — The founding principle of the Ukrainian prepositional system: every preposition GOVERNS a case — you cannot use a preposition without putting its noun in the case it demands. Only five of the seven cases are governable (gen/dat/acc/instr/loc); some prepositions take different cases for different meanings (на + acc motion vs на + loc location; з + gen 'from' vs з + instr 'with'); and the relationship lives in the preposition AND the ending together, with euphonic variants (з/із/зі, у/в, від/од) chosen for sound.
- Which Case After Which PrepositionA2 — The master map of preposition–case government: which case each Ukrainian preposition demands. Genitive (без, для, від, до, з, бі́ля, пі́сля, про́ти), dative (завдяки́, всу́переч), accusative for motion/topic (про, че́рез, plus в/на/за/під for direction), instrumental for accompaniment and static position (з 'with', над, під, за, пе́ред, між), and the always-locative у/в, на, при, по, о. Plus the crucial alternating prepositions (в/у, на, за, під, над, пе́ред, між) that flip case to mark motion (куди? → accusative) versus location (де? → locative/instrumental).
- З/Із/Зі: 'from', 'with', and 'off'B1 — З is three prepositions in one word, separated by case: з + GENITIVE = 'from / out of / off / since' (з Ки́єва, зі столу́, з ра́нку, одна́ з книг), з + INSTRUMENTAL = 'with' (з дру́гом, ка́ва з молоко́м), з + ACCUSATIVE = 'about / approximately' (з годи́ну) — and the із/зі shapes are chosen purely by the surrounding sounds.
- Bare Instrumental vs З + InstrumentalB1 — The decision page for English 'with'. The BARE instrumental (no preposition) marks the instrument or means BY which something is done: пишу́ ру́чкою, ї́ду авто́бусом, рі́жу ноже́м. З + instrumental marks accompaniment — being together with a companion or an added ingredient: йду з дру́гом, ка́ва з молоко́м. One question resolves the English 'with': is X the tool you use, or the company you keep?
- Motion vs Location: The Case SwitchA2 — The three-way pivot at the centre of Ukrainian prepositions: куди? (motion toward → accusative: іду в шко́лу, кладу́ на стіл, сів за стіл), де? (location → locative with в/на, instrumental with за/під/над: я в шко́лі, лежи́ть на столі́, сиди́ть за столо́м), and зві́дки? (origin → genitive: зі шко́ли, від ліка́ря). The same preposition keeps its shape; only the case changes — в шко́лу, в шко́лі, зі шко́ли differ by case alone — so mastering the куди/де/зві́дки question is the master key to the whole preposition system.
- Instrumental: Core UsesA2 — What the instrumental does — the bare 'by means of' (писа́ти ру́чкою, ї́хати авто́бусом, говори́ти украї́нською) with no preposition, the predicate noun after past/future/infinitive of бу́ти and after ста́ти/працюва́ти (він був учи́телем, хо́чу ста́ти лі́карем), companionship with з (з дру́гом, чай з цу́кром), route (іти́ лі́сом), and time adverbials (вра́нці, весно́ю).