InstrumentalForm

InstrumentalForm is a term used in linguistics to denote the instrumental form, a grammatical category that marks the instrument or means by which an action is performed. In languages with an explicit instrumental case, nouns or pronouns change form to express this function, often via suffixes, inflections, or dedicated prepositions.

In these languages, the instrumental form can also express manner or accompaniment and may appear with verbs that describe actions performed by means of an object. It is not identical across languages; some tongues use a distinct instrumental case, while others rely on periphrastic constructions with prepositions.

Examples show the range. Russian uses an instrumental case with endings like ruchkoy in Я пишу ручкой. Polish uses the instrumental case in Piszę długopisem. Czech uses tužkou, Ukrainian uses ruchkoyu. English lacks a dedicated instrumental case and typically expresses means with prepositional phrases such as 'with' or 'by'.

In musicology and related fields, instrumental form can refer more broadly to music composed or performed for instruments rather than voices. Common instrumental forms include the concerto, sonata, suite, serenade, and etude. The term is used descriptively to contrast instrumental repertoire with vocal or choral genres.

In standard linguistic literature, the category is usually called the instrumental form or instrumental case rather than the camel-cased term InstrumentalForm.