Orodnik: the “with what” case and why it always carries z or s
The instrumental (orodnik) is the sixth and last case in Slovenian, and until this wave you barely met it. The time has come: without it you cannot say 'measured with a ruler', 'covered in dust', 'with room to spare', 'with the last of my strength'. For example: “Kruh je narezal z ostrim nožem” — He cut the bread with a sharp knife. A rule from the Slovenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The instrumental (orodnik) is the sixth and last case in Slovenian, and until this wave you barely met it. The time has come: without it you cannot say 'measured with a ruler', 'covered in dust', 'with room to spare', 'with the last of my strength'.
The main thing relative to English. English builds the instrument with 'with' — 'I cut it with a knife'. Slovenian also uses a preposition, z or s: režem z nožem, merim z metrom, pišem s svinčnikom. Here English is the good anchor: the preposition is obligatory in both languages.
s stands before the voiceless consonants (s, š, k, p, t, č, f, h), z before everything else and before vowels. It is the same rule as the familiar iz / s pair: s prijateljem, but z bratom.
The endings. Masculine and neuter: -om (z nožem, z avtom, s prahom), -em after a soft consonant (s ključem). Feminine: -o (z roko, z vodo, s sestro). Plural for all: -i (z noži, z rokami, s prijatelji) — more precisely, feminine -ami, masculine and neuter -i. Dual: -oma (z rokama, z bratoma) — and this is the case where the dual is heard especially clearly.
Where else it is needed. After the prepositions z/s (with whom, with what), pred (in front of), za (behind, about place), nad (above), pod (under), med (between): pred hišo, nad mizo, med sosedoma. And after verbs like ukvarjati se z, postati (postal je zdravnik — nominative there, but postal je z leti bolj miren — instrumental of time).
Feminine nouns on a consonant (moč, laž, plast) take -jo in the instrumental: z močjo, z lažjo, s plastjo. From here z zadnjimi močmi — with the last of one's strength: the plural is močmi.
Table
| gender and number | ending | example | the English |
|---|---|---|---|
| m. sg. | -om / -em | z nožem | with a knife |
| f. sg. | -o | z vodo | with water |
| f. on a consonant | -jo | z močjo | with force |
| n. sg. | -om | z oknom | with a window |
| dual | -oma / -ama | z rokama | with two hands |
| pl. m. | -i | z noži | with knives |
| pl. f. | -ami | z rokami | with hands |
| preposition before voiceless | s | s prijateljem | with a friend |
By example
- Kruh je narezal z ostrim nožemHe cut the bread with a sharp knife
- Miza je bila pokrita s plastjo prahuThe table was covered with a layer of dust
- Z bratoma sva se pogovorila pred hišoI talked with the two brothers in front of the house
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Orodnik: how does it work in Slovenian?
The instrumental (orodnik) is the sixth and last case in Slovenian, and until this wave you barely met it. The time has come: without it you cannot say 'measured with a ruler', 'covered in dust', 'with room to spare', 'with the last of my strength'.
What does it look like in an example sentence Slovenian?
“Kruh je narezal z ostrim nožem” — He cut the bread with a sharp knife. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.