Instrumental case

Instrumentalis or instrumental designated in linguistics in the case (case ) expressing the agent, by means of which an action is carried out.

Use

The instrumental case is one of the nine cases of the noun, which knew the Indo-European and Indo-European languages ​​have some today. Using the instrumental case is expressed that an action of an agent possible by the use of the so- called object or has been promoted.

In most modern Indo-European languages ​​the instrumental case has been replaced by a prepositional addition ( with a hammer [ dt ], avec un marteau [ French ] ).

Remains in the German

In German, merged the business case, which was still present in Old High German - although here also only rudimentary -, due to increasing Gleichlautung his accomplishments with the dative, which then also took over the functions of the instrumental case. In a word, however, this case lives in our language to this day continues: The question word "how" ( OHG ( h) wiu ) actually represents the instrumental to "what" is ( OHG ( h) waz ) and also takes over today yet its function.

In "today" and "this year" also puts a pronoun of the case: Both adverbs that hiutu in Old High German or hiuru denominated, are compositions of the phrases in the instrumental hiu tagu ( " on that day " ) and hiu Jaru ( "in this years "). DC formed is the " today " significant temporal adverb " heunt ", which occurs as a dialect ' heint ' still in the Bavarian - Austrian: hînaht ( hiu nahtu, this night ') it was on Old High German.

In other languages

Most Slavic languages ​​, however, have retained the instrumental case as a special case of the supplement nevertheless requires in most cases by a preposition. He has here often also receive a variety of other functions.

A secondary meaning of the instrumental case in Lithuanian and in some Slavic languages, the local importance, eg czech jit lesem ( walk through the forest ), Lithuanian eiti mišku ( dass ). He is ' with ' is used for example in Russian instead of the preposition, where this expresses the agent.

Also of the predicative instrumental is typical of the Slavic languages, eg on Polakiem jest ( he is Polish ), but its use varies in today's idioms. Part of it has been replaced by the nominative. In Lithuanian the opposition nominative / instrumental is semantically distinctive, inherent characteristics usually require the nominative, temporary instrumental.

Especially in the Latvian instrumental case is very common.

In the Latin language of the instrumental case is absorbed into the ablative.

The instrumental has the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian the following functions:

• That means: pisem rukom. - I write by hand / by hand. ( real Instrumental)
• Local: setam gradom. - I walk ( criss-cross ) through the city.
• Time: Dolazi vikendom. He / she comes on weekends. ( repeated every week )

Radnim Danima - on working days.

• State ( often with nominative interchangeable): Bio depending director tvrtke / firme. - He was a director of the company. In the sense of " he was a Director ." In other contexts, the nominative is used.
• With the preposition " s ( a) " - with: The meaning of " together with ", " in addition; " Means ", " by" is expressed without a preposition: Isao sam s prijateljem. - I went with my boyfriend.
• In other prepositions: za ( for - for something aspire etc. ), pod (below ), nad (above ), przed (before ) ...

• Grammatical case