The Past Adverbal Participles
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The Form |
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The simplest way of deriving the past adverbal participles is by adding -в(ши) to the stem itself and making the same adjustments that are made with the similar past active adjectival participles on -вший. The major difference is that the last two letters of the suffix is not usually used:
• No changes are necessary for stems ending on vowels, e.g. спроси- : спроси-в(ши) > спросив "having asked".
• If the stem ends on a removable consonant (й в н or м ), the removable consonant is, well, removed: "having done, made".
• If the stem ends on a fixed consonant, the в of the suffix is dropped and the ши is used to mark the past adverbal participle: "having rescued (someone)".
• If the verb has two different stems for the present-future and past tenses, the stem of the past tense is used
приехать : приеду | приехав | having arrived |
взять : возьму | взяв | having taken |
• Verbs of motion form their past adverbs using the present adverb ending on the perfective stem.
приходи- : приходя arriving | прид- : придя having arrived |
приноси-: принося bringing | принес- : принеся having brought |
отводи- : отводя leading off | отвед- : отведя having led off |
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The Function |
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The past adverbal participle modifies the main verb, indicating that the action denoted by the adverbal participle preceded that of the main verb. For this reason the perfective stem is almost always used to form the past adverbal participles. The subject of the adverbal participle, past and present, is always the same as the subject of the main verb.
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Some Examples |
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Notice that the adverbal participle, like all adverbs, does not agree in any way with the verb it modifies or the common subject it shares with the main verb. The same form is used for masculine, feminine, singular, and plural subjects and verbs.
Когда Ваня собрал картофель, он стал готовить обед. |
Собрав картофель, Ваня стал готовить обед. |
Having gathered the potatoes, Vanya began preparing dinner. |
Когда Маша написала письмо, она отнесла его на почту. |
Написав письмо, Маша отнесла его на почту. |
Having written the letter, Masha took it to the post office. |
Когда Варя сказала это, она ушла домой. |
Сказав это, Варя ушла домой. |
Having said that, Varya went home. |
Когда Соня принесла яблока, она раздавала их гостям. |
Принеся яблоки, Соня раздавала их гостям. |
Having brought the apples, Sonya gave them to the guests. |
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Now Try a Few Yourself |
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Type in the correct form of the participle below, then push the button to check your answer. Click here for font information.
© 1996 Robert Beard