{"id":1458,"date":"2010-09-21T18:17:33","date_gmt":"2010-09-21T18:17:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=1458"},"modified":"2010-09-21T18:23:02","modified_gmt":"2010-09-21T18:23:02","slug":"participles-ryan-guest-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/participles-ryan-guest-post\/","title":{"rendered":"Fear not, it’s only Participles! Or: Ryan\u2019s Guest Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is truly an honor for me \u2013 your \u2018wonderful hostess\u2019 (I do love compliments like that!) <\/em>\u2013 to introduce this month\u2019s guest blogger: Ryan Perkins! Ryan is a student starting his third year of college level Russian at University of Oregon. He got into Russian in high school when his choir was practicing the hymn \u00ab\u0425\u0432\u0430\u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435 \u0413\u043e<\/span>\u0441\u043f\u043e\u0434\u0430 \u0441 \u041d\u0435\u0431\u0435<\/span>\u0441\u00bb<\/strong> [\u201cPraise the Lord from the Heavens\u201d] for a state choir championship at the same time as he was learning about the Russian revolution and USSR under Stalin in history courses. He has yet to travel to Russia, having lived out all but a few weeks of his life in the state of Oregon. When Ryan\u2019s not studying Russian, he likes to hang out with friends, or sleep \u2013 although he\u2019s been known to forgo sleep for the joy of Russian homework\u2026 Being as he is that<\/em> devoted, it is no big surprise that he\u2019s the one to debut the fascinating topic \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e <\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u0438\u0447\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f\u0445 <\/strong>\u0432 <\/strong>\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u043e\u043c <\/strong>\u044f\u0437\u044b\u043a\u0435<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [about participles in Russian language] here on the blog!<\/span><\/p>\n

Our wonderful hostess \u00ab<\/strong>\u0414\u0436\u043e\u0437\u0435\u0444\u0438<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Josefina] has graced us with numerous and wonderful posts about Russian grammar, including a wonderful sequence \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e <\/strong>\u0448\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0438<\/span> <\/strong>\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435\u0436\u0435<\/span>\u0439 <\/strong>\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0433\u043e <\/strong>\u044f\u0437\u044b\u043a\u0430<\/span>\u00bb<\/strong> [about the six cases of the Russian language], a post \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e <\/strong>\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u0433\u0440\u0430\u043c\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u0438\u043a\u0435 <\/strong>\u043f\u043e-<\/strong>\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u00bb <\/strong>[about Russian grammar, in Russian]<\/a>, and most recently, a post \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e <\/strong>\u043d\u0435\u043d\u0430\u0441\u0442\u043e\u044f<\/span>\u0449\u0438\u0445 <\/strong>\u0434\u0440\u0443\u0437\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u0445\u00bb <\/strong>[about false friends]<\/a>. I hope to continue today in her fine tradition of grammatical exposition, and I turn my sights on something many Russian language learners I know are unnecessarily frightened of: \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u0438\u0447\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u0438\u044f<\/a>\u00bb<\/strong> [participles<\/a>]!<\/p>\n

So, what exactly are participles? They answer the question \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u0430\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0439?\u00bb <\/strong>[what kind?\/which one?], and decline just like adjectives, but they are not just any kind of adjectives. Participles are adjectives formed from verbs, and there are two major differences between a participle and a \u201cnormal\u201d<\/em> verb (besides how you form them)<\/em>. The first difference: a participle can have a \u201csubject\u201d<\/em> not in the nominative case. Indeed, the subject of a participle can be in any case. The trick is that the participle, as an adjective, has to match its subject in gender, number, and case. The second difference: A participle cannot be the only verb in the sentence.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll be starting our tour through participles with one of those two participles Russian shares with English, the present active participle.<\/p>\n

So what are these used for? Well, for one, you can describe actions by things that might not be the subject of your sentence. Participles allow us (among a host of other things)<\/em> in Russian language to take the clumsy two-sentence statement \u201cI saw people at the beach. They were swimming and talking,\u201d and make it into something like \u201cI saw people at the beach swimming and talking.\u201d This is just one of the many uses of participles in Russian, but we\u2019ll use it to explain the general idea.<\/p>\n

First, we have to first find an imperfective verb. Just like perfective verbs don\u2019t have present meanings when conjugated normally, they can\u2019t have present participles. So, let\u2019s take the verbs \u043f\u043b\u0430\u0432\u0430\u0442\u044c and \u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u0438\u0442\u044c to start with, and use our English sentences from above. The best way to make a present active participle is to start with the 3rd<\/sup> person plural form of a verb, the ending with \u00ab-<\/strong>\u0443\u0442\u00bb<\/strong>\/\u00ab-<\/strong>\u044e\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> for 2nd<\/sup> conjugation verbs, or \u00ab-<\/strong>\u0430\u0442\u00bb<\/strong>\/\u00ab-<\/strong>\u044f\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> for 1st<\/sup> conjugation verbs.<\/p>\n

Using a verb of each type, we can make a statement like \u00ab<\/strong>\u042f <\/strong>\u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0436\u0443 <\/strong>\u043b\u044e\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0439 <\/strong>\u043d\u0430 <\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u044f<\/span>\u0436\u0435. <\/strong>\u041e\u043d\u0438<\/span> <\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u044e\u0442 <\/strong>\u0438 <\/strong>\u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u00bb<\/strong> [I see people on the beach. They are swimming and talking]. Now, we take off the final \u00ab\u2013<\/strong>\u0442\u00bb<\/strong>, leaving us with the stems \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u044e-\u00bb<\/strong> \u0438 \u00ab<\/strong>\u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u044f<\/span>-\u00bb<\/strong>. Next, add \u00ab\u2013<\/strong>\u0449\u00bb<\/strong> and to those, and attach the ending you need for the participle to agree in case, number, and gender with its subject. In this case, the subject of the participle is \u00ab<\/strong>\u043b\u044e\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> so we need accusative plural endings: \u00ab<\/strong>\u042f <\/strong>\u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u043b <\/strong>\u043b\u044e\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u0439 <\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u0430\u044e\u0449\u0438\u0445 <\/strong>\u0438 <\/strong>\u0433\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0440\u044f<\/span>\u0449\u0438\u0445 <\/strong>\u043d\u0430 <\/strong>\u043f\u043b\u044f<\/span>\u0436\u0435\u00bb<\/strong> [I saw people swimming and talking at the beach].<\/p>\n

And even though the name of the participle has the word \u201cpresent\u201d<\/em> in it, it\u2019s crucial to understand that it is not necessarily describing a present action. Here they describe action contemporary<\/em> with the verb \u00ab<\/strong>\u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u0435\u043b\u00bb<\/strong> [saw]. The people were swimming and talking when you saw them, and while they might still be swimming and talking at the present moment, you\u2019re just saying what they were doing when you saw them. Since participles don\u2019t have a tense independent of the sentence\u2019s main verb, you need a verb to have a participle.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u0438\u043c\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u044b <\/strong>\u0438\u0437 <\/strong>\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u043e\u0439 <\/strong>\u043b\u0438\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0430\u0442\u0443<\/span>\u0440\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> [examples from Russian literature]<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0418\u0437 \u00ab<\/strong>\u041c\u0430<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0430 <\/strong>\u0438 <\/strong>\u041c\u0430\u0440\u0433\u0430\u0440\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u044b\u00bb <\/strong>\u0411\u0443\u043b\u0433\u0430<\/span>\u043a\u043e\u0432\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [From Bulgakov\u2019s \u201cThe Master and Margarita\u201d]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u2026<\/strong>\u0430 <\/strong>\u043c\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u043e<\/span>\u0439 <\/strong>\u0441\u043f\u0443<\/span>\u0442\u043d\u0438\u043a <\/strong>\u0435\u0433\u043e<\/span> \u2013 <\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u044d<\/span>\u0442 <\/strong>\u0418\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u043d <\/strong>\u041d\u0438\u043a\u043e\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0432\u0438\u0447 <\/strong>\u041f\u043e\u043d\u044b\u0440\u0435<\/span>\u0432, <\/strong>\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0448\u0443\u0449\u0438\u0439<\/em> <\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u0434 <\/strong>\u043f\u0441\u0435\u0432\u0434\u043e\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u043e\u043c <\/strong>\u0411\u0435\u0437\u0434\u043e<\/span>\u043c\u043d\u044b\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [And his young companion was the poet Ivan Nikolaevich Ponyrev, writing<\/em> under the pseudonym Homeless].<\/p>\n

Participle: \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0448\u0443\u0449\u0438\u0439\u00bb<\/strong>, from \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong>, the third person plural form of which is \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0448\u0443\u0442\u00bb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Here we have the participle \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0448\u0443\u0449\u0438\u0439\u00bb<\/strong>, in the nominative masculine singular, to agree with the poet, whom it describes. Note also that participles can have more than just a subject associated with them. Ivan Nikolaevich is not just writing, but he is writing \u00ab<\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u0434 <\/strong>\u043f\u0441\u0435\u0432\u0434\u043e\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u043e\u043c\u00bb<\/strong>. Adverbs like this work just like they would if the phrase were \u00ab<\/strong>\u0418\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u043d <\/strong>\u041d\u0438\u043a\u043e\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0432\u0438\u0447 <\/strong>\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0448\u0435\u0442 <\/strong>\u043f\u043e\u0434 <\/strong>\u043f\u0441\u0435\u0432\u0434\u043e\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043c\u043e\u043c\u00bb <\/strong>[Ivan Nikolaevich writes under a pseudonym].<\/p>\n

\u00ab<\/strong>\u0422\u0443\u0442\u00a0 <\/strong>\u043f\u0440\u0438\u043a\u043b\u044e\u0447\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0430\u0441\u044c\u00a0 <\/strong>\u0432\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u044f\u00a0 <\/strong>\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u044c, <\/strong>\u043a\u0430\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u044e\u0449\u0430\u044f\u0441\u044f <\/strong>\u043e\u0434\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e<\/span> <\/strong>\u0411\u0435\u0440\u043b\u0438\u043e<\/span>\u0437\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> [Here was the second oddity, which touched only Berlioz].<\/p>\n

Participles: \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u0430\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u044e\u0449\u0430\u044f\u0441\u044f\u00bb<\/strong>, from \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u0430\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f\u00bb<\/strong>, the third person plural form of which is \u00ab<\/strong>\u043a\u0430\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u044e\u0442\u0441\u044f\u00bb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Here we see a reflexive participle. It\u2019s nominative feminine singular, agreeing with \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong>. Russian participles are often better translated into English with a relative clause using which or that. Again, the participle can more than just an adjective; here it takes a direct object.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u041e\u043d \u043e\u0441\u0442\u0430\u043d\u043e\u0432\u0438<\/span>\u043b \u0441\u0432\u043e\u0439 \u0432\u0437\u043e\u0440 \u043d\u0430 \u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0445\u043d\u0438\u0445 \u044d\u0442\u0430\u0436\u0430<\/span>\u0445, \u043e\u0441\u043b\u0435\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044c\u043d\u043e \u043e\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0430<\/span>\u044e\u0449\u0438\u0445 \u0432 \u0441\u0442\u0451<\/span>\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0445\u00a0 \u0438\u0437\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u043c\u0430\u043d\u043d\u043e\u0435 \u0438 \u043d\u0430\u0432\u0441\u0435\u0433\u0434\u0430<\/span> \u0443\u0445\u043e\u0434\u044f<\/span>\u0449\u0435\u0435 \u043e\u0442 \u041c\u0438\u0445\u0430\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0430 \u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0434\u0440\u043e\u0432\u0438\u0447\u0430 \u0441\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043d\u0446\u0435. . .\u00bb<\/strong> [He let his gaze rest on the upper floors, where the glass was dazzlingly reflecting the broken sun forever setting on Mikhail Aleksandrovich\u2026].<\/p>\n

Participles: \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0430<\/span>\u044e\u0449\u0438\u0445\u00bb<\/strong>, from \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong>, the third person plural form of which is \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0430<\/span>\u044e\u0442\u00bb<\/strong>, and \u00ab<\/strong>\u0443\u0445\u043e\u0434\u044f<\/span>\u0449\u0435\u0435\u00bb<\/strong>, from \u00ab<\/strong>\u0443\u0445\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u0438\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong>, the third person plural form of which is \u00ab<\/strong>\u0443\u0445\u043e<\/span>\u0434\u044f\u0442\u00bb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This sentence has two participles, with two subjects. The first, \u00ab<\/strong>\u043e\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0436\u0430<\/span>\u044e\u0449\u0438\u0445\u00bb<\/strong>, is in prepositional neuter plural, agreeing with \u00ab<\/strong>\u0441\u0442\u0451<\/span>\u043a\u043b\u0430\u0445\u00bb<\/strong>. The second, \u00ab\u0443\u0445\u043e\u0434\u044f<\/span>\u0449\u0435\u0435\u00bb<\/strong>, agrees with \u00ab\u0441\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043d\u0446\u0435\u00bb<\/strong>. This second participle does something bizarre to native English speakers. It comes before the noun it modifies, which is perfectly normal, but it also has an extra phrase stuck in there: \u201cthe setting-on-Mikhail-Aleksandrovich sun.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A sentence \u00ab\u0418\u0437 \u00ab\u0414\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u044b \u0441 \u0441\u043e\u0431\u0430<\/span>\u0447\u043a\u043e\u0439<\/a>\u00bb \u0410. \u041f. \u0427\u0435<\/span>\u0445\u043e\u0432\u0430<\/a>\u00bb<\/strong> [from \u201cThe Lady with the (Little) Dog\u201d<\/a> by Anton Chekhov<\/a>]:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u041d\u0430 \u043f\u0440\u0438<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u0430\u043d\u0438 \u0431\u044b<\/span>\u043b\u043e \u043c\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0433\u043e \u0433\u0443\u043b\u044f<\/span>\u044e\u0449\u0438\u0445. . .\u00bb<\/strong> [There were many people strolling on the pier\u2026]<\/p>\n

Participle: \u00ab<\/strong>\u0433\u0443\u043b\u044f<\/span>\u044e\u0449\u0438\u0445\u00bb<\/strong>, from \u00ab<\/strong>\u0433\u0443\u043b\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u044c\u00bb<\/strong>, the third person plural form of which is \u00ab<\/strong>\u0433\u0443\u043b\u044f<\/span>\u044e\u0442\u00bb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Here we see the participle without a noun. \u201cAn adjective without it\u2019s noun?! Preposterous!\u201d<\/em> you might say. But Russian does it all the time, \u00ab<\/strong>\u041e\u043d \u2013 <\/strong>\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> [He\u2019s Russian] being a very common example.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

It is truly an honor for me \u2013 your \u2018wonderful hostess\u2019 (I do love compliments like that!) \u2013 to introduce this month\u2019s guest blogger: Ryan Perkins! Ryan is a student starting his third year of college level Russian at University of Oregon. He got into Russian in high school when his choir was practicing the…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":1460,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[8,7828],"tags":[1237,1248,11475,11473,11472,11474,11470,11471,1674,1696],"class_list":["post-1458","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-language","category-russian-for-beginners","tag-russian-grammar","tag-russian-language","tag-russian-participles","tag-11473","tag-11472","tag-11474","tag-11470","tag-11471","tag-1674","tag-1696"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1458"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1470,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1458\/revisions\/1470"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}