You already know that past and future forms of the verb to be take the Instrumental case in Russian, such as saying someone was a doctor. In this deck, you will learn how other key verbs also govern the Instrumental case to describe transformations, roles, and impressions. We will focus on verbs for becoming, seeming, working, and formal identity.

The perfective verb 'стать' means to become. In the past tense, it has the forms 'стал' for a masculine subject, 'стала' for feminine, and 'стали' for plural. When describing a new role or profession, the noun and its adjective must be in the Instrumental case. For example, 'После университета Антон стал опытным юристом' means 'After university Anton became an experienced lawyer.'

You can also use 'стать' to describe changes in conditions, places, or the weather. In these sentences, the adjective describing the new state takes the Instrumental case. For example, 'Погода стала тёплой' means 'The weather became warm.'