Participles are forms of a verbNo definition set for verbLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. that are used and treated like adjectivesNo definition set for adjectivesLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.. A passive participle, in Russian, is a type of participle that describes something that undergoes an action.
молотый кофе
moLOMnyi kofe
→ someone ground the coffee (it underwent grinding)
писанный слова
PEEsanye SLOva
→ someone wrote the words (they underwent writing)
In Russian, passive participles come in two main tenses: past or present. However, because they are adjectives, they follow all the same grammar rules that regular adjectives do. They can be long or short, they have comparative and superlative forms, and agree with nouns in genderNo definition set for genderLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., numberNo definition set for numberLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., and caseNo definition set for caseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum..
In this post we will look at how to form and use passive participles in Russian, both the past and the present versions. Let’s have a look!
Russian passive participle: Present vs. past
In Russian, there are two types of passive participles: present and past. Though both are used to describe a noun that undergoes an action, they are used in slightly different contexts:
Present passive participles give a characteristic that is either permanent or exists at a given moment.
present passive participle
Все продаваемые в магазине товары сертифицированы.
fsye pradaVAimyie v magaZEEnye taVAry sirtsifiTSEEravany.
All products (being) sold in the store are certified.
→ The products are currently and/or permanently being sold.
Past passive participles describe something as completed in the past.
past passive participle
К июню количество проданных в мире экземпляров перевалило за миллион.
k iYUnyu kaLEEchistva PROdanykh v MEErya egzympLYAraf pirivaLEEla za miliON.
By June, the number of copies (already) sold worldwide exceeded one million.
→ The copies were sold already, in the past.
Notice that different kinds of participles may be translated into English in the same way!
What are present passive participles in Russian?
Present passive participles in Russian describe a noun that generally or repeatedly undergoes an action or a noun that is undergoing the action at the same time as the main event.
There is no direct equivalent to this type of participle in English, therefore, it might be hard to know when you need one. For example, all the bolded words in the phrases below could be translated into Russian with present passive participles:
an unforgettable experience
the most frequently visited museum
In the sections below, we’ll go over how to form present passive participles and talk more about when you’ll want to use one in Russian. Let’s take a closer look.
How to form present passive participles?
The form of a present passive participle is the same as the present tense “we” form, with adjective endings added to it. This means that to form present passive participles, add the suffixes -ем/-ом/-им to the base of the verb.
present “we” form of a verb
-ем/-ом/-им
For example:
| поддерживаем paDYERzhivayem | поддерживаемый paDYERzhivayemyi |
| | |
| | |
| | |
Present passive participles in Russian are mostly formed from imperfective verbs (those meaning ongoing or habitual actions), although perfectiveNo definition set for perfectiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. verbs, especially with the negative prefix не[nye](not), can also serve as their base.
Though most present passive participles come from imperfective verbs, not all transitiveNo definition set for transitiveLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. imperfective verbs can be used to form present passive participles. There is no rule, unfortunately, but the trend is that short, one-syllable verbs with concrete rather than abstract meaning cannot form present passive participles.
Here are some examples of imperfective transitive verbs in Russian that do not have present passive participle equivalents:
строить[STROit](to build)
When to use present passive participles in Russian?
In Russian, we use present passive participles to describe something or someone through an activity being done to them, either repeatedly/habitually or at the same time as the main action. Here are some examples:
present passive participle
Эрмитаж - самый посещаемый музей в России.
ermiTASH SAmyi pasiSHCHAimyi mooZYEY v raSEEi.
The Hermitage is the most frequently visited museum in Russia.
→ This is a repeated or habitual action.
Мы осмотрели сдаваемый в аренду дом.
my asmaTRYEli zdaVAimyi v aRYENdoo dom.
We looked at the house for rent.
lit. given for rent
→ This is activity going on at the same time as the main one (“we looked”).
Note that present passive participles can be used not only with the present tense, but also with future and past so long as the activity is either repeated or happening at the same time as other events in the sentence.
While most present passive participles are found in writing, usually in formal or scientific contexts, rather than in everyday speech, some of them, on the contrary, are so frequently used that they are often considered adjectives rather than participles. Russian speakers don't usually think of these as verb-related at all, but we can still tell from their forms that they originally came from verbs. For example:
любимый[lyuBEEmyi](favorite; beloved)
невыносимый[nyevynaSEEmyi](unbearable)
непромокаемый[nizabyVAimyi](unforgettable)
необходимый[niaplhaDEEmyi](necessary)
невидимый[niVEEdimyi](invisible)
независимый[nizaVEEsimyi](independent)
необитаемый[niabiTAimyi](uninhabited)
так называемый[tak nazyVAimyi](so-called)
уязвимый[ooizVEEmyi](vulnerable)
уважаемый[oovaZHAimyi](respected; dear) → used at the beginning of letters and emails
What are past passive participles in Russian?
Russian past passive participles are very similar to the English past participles (e.g. “done,” “eaten,” “visited”) in both meaning and use. Past passive participles, especially their short forms, are also commonly used in everyday speech in Russian, which is not the case with other kinds of participles. However, out of all Russian participles, past passive participles are the hardest to form. Let’s break it down!
How to form past passive participles?
Past passive participles are formed by adding adding the suffixes -нн-, -енн- /-ённ-, or -т- to the infinitive base of a perfective verb (verbs for complete actions). Note that the “infinitive base” is the infinitive without its infinitive ending (-ть or -ти).
How do you know which suffix to choose? Follow these general guidelines:
| *Note that the final -и- disappears from the infinitive base. | | |
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| просмотренный praSMOtrinyi |
-ы-, -ну-, -о-, or one-syllable infinitives | | | |
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One way to remember the suffixes -енн-, -ённ-, and -нн- to form Russian past passive participles is to associate them with “-en” in some past participles in English, e.g. “written,” “broken,” “taken,” “forgotten.”
In addition to choosing the right suffix, you also need to keep in mind possible (and frequent!) consonant alterations before the suffixes, such as:
т → щ:
→
защищённый
zashchiSHCHOnyi
би → бл:
→
употреблённый
oopatribLYOnyi
Like other Russian adjectives, past passive participles have a long form (illustrated above) and a short form that can only be used in some restricted contexts. (Read more in our post on long and short adjectives in Russian!)
However, when forming a past passive participle, it is important to know that if the full form of a past passive participle has -нн-, the short form will just have -н-.
For example, compare:
Long form: купленный[KOOPlinyi](bought)
Short form: куплен[KOOPlin](bought)
When to use past passive participles in Russian?
Past passive participles in Russian are used to describe a noun that has undergone a completed action. They are derived from perfective verbs, which emphasize the completion of an action, hence their association with the past. Thus, there is a focus on the features of a noun that come as a result of some previous activity done to it.
The perfective passive
Short past passive participles are very often used in a structure called the “perfective passive.” This is formed by combining the verb быть[byt](to be) with the past passive participle.
short past passive participle
Don’t forget that the double -нн- of long past passive participles becomes a single -н- in the short form!
As is true elsewhere in Russian, the verb быть is generally omitted in the present tense, or in the context of certain adverbs like уже (ooZHE, “already”) or ещё (yiSHCHO, “yet”), So you will often see the short past passive participle used on its own, as illustrated below:
short past passive participleбыть
Билеты куплены, а отель ещё не забронирован.
biLYEty KOOPliny a aTEL yiSHCHO nye zabraNEEravan.
The tickets have been bought, but the hotel hasn’t been booked yet.
Кафе было открыто, но все столики уже заняты.
kaFE BYla atKRYta no fsye STOliki ooZHE ZAnity.
The cafe was open(ed) but all tables were already occupied.
Check out our post to learn more about the passive voice in Russian!
Past passive participles and relative clauses
In everyday speech, relative clauses with который[kaTOryi](who/which) are often used instead of long participles:
long past passive participle
Музыканты отправили гонорар, полученный за концерт, на благотворительность.
moozyKANty atPRAvili ganaRAR paLOOchinyi za kanTSERT na blagatvaREEtilnast.
The musicians sent the fee received from the concert to charity.
relative clause
Музыканты отправили гонорар, который получили за концерт, на благотворительность.
moozyKANty atPRAvili ganaRAR kaTOryi palooCHEEli za kanTSERT na blagatvaREEtilnast.
The musicians sent the fee which they received from the concert to charity.
Past passive participle phrases
Past passive participles are often used along with some dependent words to form a participle phrase. This is just like you might say either “the broken clock” or “the clock broken by a child” in English.
Just like in English, in Russian, a one-word past passive participle will always come before the noun, but a participle with extra phrases describing it will come after the noun. For example:
past passive participlenoun
Обманутые покупатели подали жалобу.
abMAnootyie pakooPAtili paDAli ZHAlaboo.
Deceived customers filed a complaint.
Она до сих пор пользуется телефоном, подаренным ей отцом на день рождения десять лет назад.
aNA da seekh por POLzooitsa tiliFOnam paDArinym yey aTSOM na dyen razhDYEniya DYEsit lyet naZAT.
She still uses the phone given to her by her father for her birthday 10 years ago.
If a past passive participle has dependent words it is generally separated from the rest of a sentence using commas. For example:
past passive participle phrase
Ребёнок, уже умытый и переодетый после прогулки, обедал на кухне.
riBYOnak oozhe ooMYtyi i pyeriaDYEtyi POSlye praGOOLki aBYEdal na KOOKHnye.
The child, already washed and changed after the walk, was having lunch in the kitchen.
If you want to name the doer of the action the participle refers to, you need the instrumental case, as in any other passive structure in Russian.
instrumental
Дуб, посаженный отцом 30 лет назад, уже выше дома.
doop paSAzhynyi aTSOM TREEtsat lyet naZAT ooZHEVYshe DOma.
The oak planted by my father 30 years ago is already taller than the house.
Conclusion
In this post, we have looked at how to form and use passive participles in Russian.
Present passive participles are:
formed with suffixes -ем / -ом / -им
used to characterize a noun through an action repeatedly or currently done to it
Some present passive participles are frequently used and close in use to adjectives.
Past passive participles are:
formed with suffixes -нн- / -енн- (-ённ-) / -т-
used to characterize a noun through an action previously done to it
Their short forms are commonly used in colloquial speech.
Try out forming and using Russian passive participles on your own by downloading the exercises below. Happy learning!
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