A1 · Section 13

The Instrumental and the Vocative

The last two cases, and with them the whole declension. The instrumental says with what a thing is done, in whose company, and at what recurring time; the vocative does nothing but call a person by name.

The Instrumental Singular

71.The instrumental answers kuo? (with what? by what means?). Its singular endings are given below. Two of them deserve warning: the feminine -a declension has an instrumental spelled exactly like its nominative — knyga is both — and the masculine -us declension takes the long ending -umi, not the short -u of the other masculines.

Rašau pieštuku.: I am writing with a pencil.
Važiuoju autobusu.: I am going by bus.
Valgau šaukštu.: I am eating with a spoon.

Nominative → instrumental singular
	nominative	instrumental	example
masc. -as	-as	-u	namas → namu
masc. -is	-is	-iu	brolis → broliu
masc. -ys	-ys	-iu	obuolys → obuoliu
masc. -us	-us	-umi	sūnus → sūnumi
fem. -a	-a	-a	knyga → knyga
fem. -ė	-ė	-e	katė → kate
fem. -is	-is	-imi	moteris → moterimi

The feminine knyga → knyga is a genuine homograph, distinguished in speech by tone and in writing by nothing at all; the sentence must settle it, and it always does, because a nominative and an instrumental never do the same work.

The Dative and Instrumental Plural

72.The two cases are best learnt together in the plural, because their endings run in parallel: where the dative has -ms, the instrumental has -is or -mis. With these the declension is complete — every one of the seven cases has now been given in both numbers.

Rašau draugams.: I am writing to my friends.
Važiuojame traukiniais.: We travel by train. — plural where English keeps the singular, because more than one journey is meant

Dative and instrumental plural
	nominative sg.	dative pl.	instrumental pl.
masc. -as	namas	namams	namais
masc. -is	brolis	broliams	broliais
masc. -us	sūnus	sūnums	sūnumis
fem. -a	knyga	knygoms	knygomis
fem. -ė	katė	katėms	katėmis
fem. -is	moteris	moterims	moterimis

Adjectives take the same endings and agree as always: geriems draugams, to good friends; gerais žodžiais, with good words.

The Instrumental of Means

73.The commonest use of the case, and the one that names it: the thing by which an action is performed stands in the instrumental, with no preposition. English needs with or by; Lithuanian needs only the ending, and adding a preposition where none belongs is the error to guard against.

Rašau ranka.: I am writing by hand.
Į darbą važiuoju dviračiu.: I go to work by bicycle.
Ji valgo šaukštu, o ne peiliu.: She eats with a spoon, not with a knife.

[1] Do not say su pieštuku for "with a pencil": su is for company, not for tools (¶74).

Company: Su and the Instrumental

74.Su governs the instrumental and means together with — in somebody's company, or with something added to something else. It is the difference between the tool and the companion: one writes pieštuku, with a pencil, but goes su draugu, with a friend. Coffee su pienu is coffee with milk added, and the same preposition serves.

Ji gyvena su mama.: She lives with her mother.
Su kuo tu kalbi?: Whom are you talking to? — literally: with whom
Arbata su citrina.: Tea with lemon.

Tool against company
	Lithuanian	English	why
means	Rašau pieštuku.	I write with a pencil.	bare instrumental
company	Einu su draugu.	I go with a friend.	su + instrumental
addition	Kava su pienu.	Coffee with milk.	su + instrumental

Po with the Instrumental, and Po with the Genitive

75.Po is two prepositions wearing one spelling, and the case tells them apart. With the instrumental it is under, of place; with the genitive it is after, of time (¶33). Nothing but the ending distinguishes them, which is why a preposition must always be learnt together with the case it governs.

Knyga po stalu.: The book is under the table. — instrumental: place
Po pietų dirbu.: After lunch I work. — genitive: time
Katė miega po lova.: The cat is sleeping under the bed.

The Instrumental of Recurring Time and of Route

76.Two further uses, both idiomatic and both frequent. A plural instrumental of a time-word means on such days as a rule — not one Monday but Mondays in general. And the surface along which motion happens stands in the instrumental too, where English says along or down.

Savaitgaliais mes nedirbame.: At weekends we do not work.
Vakarais skaitau knygas.: In the evenings I read books.
Eikite tiesiai Universiteto gatve.: Go straight along Universiteto Street. — route, not means

Recurring time
	Lithuanian	English
days	pirmadieniais	on Mondays
weekends	savaitgaliais	at weekends
parts of the day	vakarais	in the evenings
seasons	vasaromis	in summers

A single occasion is not put here but in the accusative — pirmadienį, on Monday — which ¶83 will give with the rest of the ways of saying when.

Verbs Governing the Instrumental

77.A few verbs take the instrumental as their only object, and one of them is needed the first time a learner falls ill. Sirgti, to be ill, asks kuo? — one is ill with an illness, never an illness. Kvėpuoti, to breathe, does the same.

Aš sergu gripu.: I have flu. — not *sergu gripą*
Kuo tu sergi?: What is wrong with you? — literally: with what are you ill
Vaikas serga angina.: The child has a throat infection.

The Vocative

78.The vocative is the case of address: it names the person spoken to and takes no part in the grammar of the sentence, which is why it is set off by a comma. It has no plural of its own — the nominative plural serves — and its singular endings are these. A few common exceptions must simply be known: names in -as take -ai, agent nouns in -ėjas, -ojas take -au, and familiar words in -ukas drop the ending altogether.

Labas, Egle!: Hello, Eglė!
Ačiū, mokytojau.: Thank you, teacher.
Kaip gyveni, Vytautai?: How are you, Vytautas?
Labas rytas, pone direktoriau.: Good morning, director. — *ponas* → *pone*, and the title follows into the vocative

Nominative → vocative singular
	nominative	vocative	example
masc. -as	-as	-e	draugas → drauge
masc. -as, personal name	-as	-ai	Vytautas → Vytautai
masc. -ėjas / -ojas	-jas	-jau	mokytojas → mokytojau
masc. -ukas	-ukas	—	berniukas → berniuk
masc. -is	-is	-i	brolis → broli
masc. -us	-us	-au	sūnus → sūnau
fem. -a	-a	-a	mama → mama
fem. -ė	-ė	-e	Eglė → Egle

The feminine -a words are unchanged, so mama is both nominative and vocative — as knyga was both nominative and instrumental in ¶71. Lithuanian tolerates such coincidences because the sentence never leaves both readings open.

Vocabulary

su: with, in the company of (+ instr.) · preposition
pieštukas: pencil · noun; pieštuko, pieštuką, m.
šaukštas: spoon · noun; šaukšto, šaukštą, m.
peilis: knife · noun; peilio, peilį, m.
traukinys: train · noun; traukinio, traukinį, m.
dviratis: bicycle · noun; dviračio, dviratį, m.
ranka: hand, arm · noun; rankos, ranką, f.
lova: bed · noun; lovos, lovą, f.
vakaras: evening · noun; vakaro, vakarą, m.
rytas: morning · noun; ryto, rytą, m.
savaitgalis: weekend · noun; savaitgalio, savaitgalį, m.
pirmadienis: Monday · noun; pirmadienio, pirmadienį, m.
sirgti: to be ill (+ instr.) · verb; serga, sirgo, I; The illness stands in the instrumental: sergu gripu.
gripas: flu · noun; gripo, gripą, m.
ponas: gentleman, Mr (in address) · noun; pono, poną, m.
citrina: lemon · noun; citrinos, citriną, f.
tiesiai: straight ahead · adverb

Drill this section Next: Checkpoint: The Plural, Place, the Dative, and the Instrumental