Instrumental plural -y/-i/-ami/-emi and irregular lidmi/dětmi; the colloquial -ama register note
I can express accompaniment and means in the plural and recognize the colloquial -ama register.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
V pátek večer sedíme s kamarády u piva.
On Friday evenings we sit over a beer with friends.
Cestujeme s dětmi vlakem, mezi kufry a batohy.
We travel with the children by train, among suitcases and backpacks.
Před svátky šetříme penězi i silami.
Before the holidays we save both money and energy.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
The instrumental answers s kým? čím? (with whom? with what?). In the plural you need it after s (with), after the place words mezi, před, za, nad, pod, and for the tool you do something with.
| Type | Ending | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Hard masculines and neuters | -y | s kamarády, mezi domy, před okny |
| Soft masculines (incl. -tel) | -i | s muži, s učiteli, se stroji |
| Feminines in -a | -ami | se ženami, s babičkami |
| Feminines in -e, -eň | -emi | s růžemi, s písněmi |
| Feminines like kost, věc | -mi | s kostmi, s věcmi |
Irregular and frequent: s lidmi, s dětmi, s přáteli, s penězi. Adjectives end in -ými/-ími: s novými přáteli, s cizími lidmi. "With them" is s nimi.
Four body parts keep an old dual ending, -ama/-ima, and it is fully standard: rukama, nohama, očima, ušima. Viděl jsem to vlastníma očima (with my own eyes), stál tam s rukama v kapsách.
Spend an evening in a Prague pub and you will hear s kamarádama, se ženama, s holkama, s lidma, s dětma. This is obecná čeština, the common spoken Czech of Bohemia, where every instrumental plural ends in -ma. It is normal in conversation and in a chat message to a friend. In an email to a colleague, an essay or an exam, write the standard forms: s kamarády, se ženami, s lidmi.
English "with" covers two ideas. Company takes s: Jezdím na hory s přáteli. A tool takes the bare instrumental, no preposition: Jíme sushi hůlkami. Platím kartou. Adding s to a tool is a typical English-speaker slip.
Place prepositions use the same case: Chata stojí mezi Krkonošemi a Jizerskými horami. Před Vánoci jsou obchody plné lidí: Vánoce is plural, so "before Christmas" is před Vánoci.
Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises
Practice ExercisesWrong instrumental plural ending
Hard M/N -y, soft M -i, F -ami/-emi
Colloquial -ama in writing
-ama is spoken only; write -y/-ami
V pátek večer sedíme s kamarády u piva.
On Friday evenings we sit over a beer with friends.
s kamarády: hard masculine -y (spoken: s kamarádama).
Cestujeme s dětmi vlakem, mezi kufry a batohy.
We travel with the children by train, among suitcases and backpacks.
dětmi irregular; mezi + instrumental plural kufry/batohy.
Před svátky šetříme penězi i silami.
Before the holidays we save both money and energy.
šetřit čím: irregular penězi + silami.
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Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises