Participle Phrases
B1Sentence building 5 min
A participle phrase describes a noun, лист, напи́саний олівце́м; an adverbial participle names another action of the subject, поверну́вшись додо́му. A comma sets off the phrase, two commas inside the sentence; the subject of the sentence does the action of the adverbial participle: Поверну́вшись з екску́рсії, ми пообі́дали в рестора́ні.
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No information at the current level. This view starts at B1: choose B1 or a higher level.
CheatsheetB1
| Point | Rule | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ний / -тий | a participle: which? changes like an adjective | Лист, напи́саний олівце́м, лежи́ть на столі́. | The letter, written in pencil, is lying on the table. |
| -ючи / -учи | an adverbial participle: at the same time | Чита́ючи текст, вона́ випи́сувала нові́ слова́. | Reading the text, she wrote out the new words. |
| -вши / -ши | an adverbial participle: done before | Прочита́вши лист, ма́ма всміхну́лася. | Having read the letter, Mum smiled. |
| Meaning | the phrase = a clause with яки́й / коли́ | лист, напи́саний олівце́м = лист, яки́й написа́ли олівце́м | the letter written in pencil = the letter that was written in pencil |
| Trap | the subject does the action of the adverbial participle | Поверну́вшись додо́му, ми повече́ряли. | Having come home, we had dinner. |
| Trap | for someone doing something, a clause with яки́й | Я ба́чу студе́нта, яки́й чита́є кни́жку. | I can see a student reading a book. |
OverviewB1
- These phrases appear mostly in written texts; at this level you recognise and understand them.
- A participle phrase follows the noun it describes; at the end of the sentence one comma sets it off, inside the sentence two. Ми поверну́лися з екску́рсії, організо́ваної для уча́сників конфере́нції. — We came back from the trip organised for the conference participants.
- An adverbial participle phrase names another action of the subject; it too takes one comma, or two inside the sentence. Поверну́вшись з екску́рсії, ми сма́чно пообі́дали в рестора́ні. — Having come back from the trip, we had a good lunch in a restaurant.
Form: how to recognise themB1
| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| a participle in -ний / -тий: like an adjective | написа́ти → напи́саний / відкри́ти → відкри́тий |
| an adverbial participle in -ючи / -учи: imperfective | чита́ти → чита́ючи / іти́ → ідучи́ |
| an adverbial participle in -вши / -ши: perfective | прочита́ти → прочита́вши / поверну́тися → поверну́вшись |
- A participle agrees with its noun in gender, number and case, like an adjective. вікно́, відкри́те вра́нці / две́рі, відкри́ті на ніч — the window opened in the morning / the door left open for the night
- An adverbial participle never changes; the imperfective means at the same time, the perfective means done before.
Meaning: the phrase as a clauseB1
| Phrase | The same as a clause | English |
|---|---|---|
| Лист, напи́саний олівце́м, лежи́ть на столі́. — The letter written in pencil is on the table. | Лист, яки́й написа́ли олівце́м, лежи́ть на столі́. | The letter that was written in pencil is on the table. |
| Чита́ючи текст, вона́ випи́сувала нові́ слова́. — Reading the text, she wrote out the new words. | Коли́ вона́ чита́ла текст, вона́ випи́сувала нові́ слова́. | While she was reading the text, she wrote out the new words. |
| Поверну́вшись додо́му, ми повече́ряли. — Having come home, we had dinner. | Коли́ ми поверну́лися додо́му, ми повече́ряли. | When we came home, we had dinner. |
- For a person doing something, Ukrainian uses a clause with яки́й: студе́нт, яки́й чита́є.
Typical errorsB1
| ✗ | ✓ | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Я ба́чу студе́нта, чита́ючого кни́жку. | Я ба́чу студе́нта, яки́й чита́є кни́жку. | participles in -ючий are a calque from Russian; use яки́й |
| Поверну́вшись додо́му, поча́вся дощ. | Коли́ ми поверну́лися додо́му, поча́вся дощ. | the subject does the participle's action, and the rain did not come home |
| Поверну́вшись з екску́рсії ми пообі́дали. | Поверну́вшись з екску́рсії, ми пообі́дали. | a phrase at the start of the sentence ends with a comma |