Present Active Participles in Russian

An intermediate tutorial on an alternative to который constructions. You probably won't encounter these in an elementary textbook, but as you progress you'll find them essential for reading Russian and understanding spoken Russian in formal contexts.
For over 200 videos like this one, and over 400 embedded comprehension checks, exercises, quizzes, and example sentences, visit my Russian Grammar Library Project at www.tips4russian.com.
For free sample lessons on verbs of motion, start at www.tips4russian.com/courses/...
Free sample lessons on participles: www.tips4russian.com/courses/...

[@user-wu7ye1pf9j]

thank you so much for your continual efforts in make these video. i love the format. It makes learning complex structures digestible and also very entertaining.

[@dorafragkouli2321]

Спасибо большое! Я уже год изучаю русский, и это первый раз что я понимаю так хорошо грамматику!

[@kemchobhenchod]

Wish I had found this earlier.. very clear thought process.

[@uuco.6037]

Я люблю русский язык! Although it's though to learn, it has so many nice features like this that you wouldn't find in English! I really appreciate your videos! Спасибо!

[@brycebray9149]

Thanks for the videos and your recommendations on sites for case exercises. I've been killing them!

[@russiangrammar]

+Bryce Bray Здорово! Keep practicing, whether it's through exercises or conversations with Russians (or, ideally, both), and with time you won't need to think about endings consciously any more - you'll just know what sounds right. :)

[@HeyItsTom26]

Спасибо большое! Очень полезно!

[@katenka_ana3997]

Tried to read a piece of fanfiction today and figured out that participles existed, which triggered me. Thanks for this video!! It's so good tbh

[@russiangrammar]

Спасибо! Getting comfortable with participles will be a huge help, whether you're reading newspaper articles or fan fiction, or filling out a form, reading instructions or a novel. :)

[@BakhitMohamed-mq3vy]

thanx alot

[@peterlonter9053]

very educational thanks for the efforts, I personally recommend to subscribe, its very good

[@ismailgundogdu6401]

Отлично объяснило!

[@jakethesnake95]

The lyrics to the song "webgirl" by Zemfira are full of participles, but the very first line contains a present active participle: "Девочка, *_живущая_* в сети..."

[@russiangrammar]

Yes, and хранящие and таящие... and plenty of past active participles and verbal adverbs too. :)

[@juliangonzalezfernandez6222]

Great lesson. Very clear

[@russiangrammar]

Спасибо!

[@jorgeluis5960]

thanks! you just make it so easy... фили is not fully working these days, by the way, haha.

[@ElizaberthUndEugen]

Excellent video. Might you consider doing a video for the remaining three participles as well?

[@russiangrammar]

Thanks! I do plan to do post more on the other participles, most likely after the end of this fall semester when there's a little more time.

[@breadpitt4920]

The key is щ - щий; the "shee" sounds like the ocean, a visual mnemonic of a gerund.

[@russiangrammar]

Interesting image! By the way, your other comments are being deleted, but not by me. Не знаю, в чём дело.

[@creo4033]

Hello! Something off-topic: я такого никогда не видел is a sentence that I saw somewhere and I wonder why Takoj is in the genitive case and not ackusative? Great videos by the way

[@russiangrammar]

Хороший вопрос! You may already know that the genitive can express absence or non-existence: Сони нет дома. - Sonya’s not home. В деревне нет музея. - There’s no museum in the village. У нас такого не бывает. - That sort of thing doesn’t happen here. This can extend to negated direct objects too, especially when there’s strong negation or an implication that something doesn’t exist. Я не вижу никакого смысла в этом. - I don’t see any sense in it. So genitive makes sense with the strong negation of “я такого никогда не видел” too.

[@charleshberman]

Очень полезны урок! Благоарю вас!

[@russiangrammar]

Спасибо, Charles! Кстати: не забудьте -й: полезный урок. Есть форма -ы, но это краткая форма, множественного числа. By the way, don't forget the -й in the nom. masc. sing. adjective ending -ый; -ы is found, but it's for short-form adjectives in the plural, as in: Уроки полезны для меня. The lessons are useful for me.

[@ghen3x]

All your examples are from imperfective verbs, which makes sense since they talk about an ongoing (present) action. Is this always the case, or are there situations where active participles can be derived from perfective verbs as well?

[@russiangrammar]

Yes, present participles (whether active or passive) are from imperfective verbs only, since they describe repeated or ongoing actions. Past active participles (like написавший) are often from perfective verbs; past passive participles (like написанный) are normally from perfectives (in fact, Wade's 'Comprehensive Russian Grammar' just calls them "perfective passive participles").

[@joaomissamo2145]

Sorry, i want to know how to use past partciple in russian, may u post a lesson related to that lesson, because, i really want to know it...Note: If u do not mind..I'll be waitin'

[@misaelgalindo2402]

Please, there are four participles in Russian, so where can we find a video on "Present Passive Participle"??? Большое спасибо!

[@russiangrammar]

I haven't yet made one on present passives (they're used less often than the other types), but I've put it on the list as the next video. In the meantime: to form a present passive, just add an adjective ending to the мы form of an imperfective verb: читаем > читаемый, повторяем > повторяемый (but verbs in -авать don't lose the -ва- in the participle: задавать, мы задаём but задаваемый). Examples: самые читаемые книги = the most read books, часто задаваемые вопросы = frequently asked questions.

[@betos-08]

Can you explain the difference between думая and думающий? Both would be translated as "thinking" but I don't understand the difference. Спасибо за ваши видео, они мне очень помогли

[@russiangrammar]

Good question, as the multiple meanings of English "-ing" are confusing. Думая is an imperfective verbal *adverb*, expressing an action simultaneous with the verb in the main clause; it often translates as "(while) X-ing" - Думая, что это букет, она подняла его = Thinking it was a bouquet, she picked it up. Since it's an adverb, it never changes form. Participles like думающий are verbal *adjectives*, describing someone who is doing something: Думающие люди читают наш журнал. = Thinking people (or 'people who think') read our magazine. Since they're a kind of adjective, their endings will change for case etc. like other adjectives. Если будут ещё вопросы, не стесняйтесь! 🙂

[@DownFlex]

Is there any possibility that I can use this sentence? Вот в общежитии живущие студенты. Because it is way closer to my native language.

[@russiangrammar]

+DownFlex What you wrote is grammatically correct; in a quick google search I found similar examples like 'Живущие в Германии русские и украинские деятели культуры...' and 'Многие живущие за рубежом россияне...' though these forms are more common in written Russian, or a formal context such as a lecture or a radio interview. For everyday conversation, just pointing out some students, I'd recommend который: Вот студенты, которые живут... It's possible that the participles are closer to your language (I'm curious, which?) in structure, but not necessarily in tone - so listen carefully & be aware of that nuance. :)

[@polyanagula]

+DownFlex, Hi! Everyone will understand you, but it sounds like a line from some poem, because you placed "в общежитии" before "живущие". sentences like "вот живущие в общежитии студенты" or "вот студенты, живущие в общежитии" would sound more natural. In the examples of Russian Grammar you also see that "живущие" stands before "в Германии" and "за рубежом". I think the reason why participle is less used in everyday conversation is that people are lazy, so everyone uses pattern which requires less thinking process :).

[@DownFlex]

+Russian grammar I see. Yeah I usually use который in daily speech. But I will remember using this from here in letters or when I want to be formal. :) My native tongue is German and the sentence would be "Die im Wohnheim lebenden Studenten...." Насколько я знаю, мы только используем этот форм, который тоже не изменяется. Но мне кажется, что это ещё намного легче на немецком. :'D Спасибо большое за ответ!

[@DownFlex]

+Polina G True. It also sounds veeery formal in German, when you use participles. Most people already forgot about them! xD

[@e.e.1555]

My native language is Turkish and in Turkish we express the relative clauses in this Russian form like ''Вот в общежитии живущие студенты'' (Yurtlarda yaşayan öğrenciler burada) and this is how we normally say it. In this aspect, this way of saying the things is exactly the same in Turkish. We have a similar form of expressing the same sentence using которые (Öğrenciler, ki onlar yurtlarda yaşıyor, burada) but this sounds quite artificial and unnatural. It is really interesting to see these different usages and how they are used differently in other languages. After learning German, I was tempted to say like ''Die im Wohnheim lebenden Studenten'' instead of saying like ''Die Studenten, die im Wohnheim leben''. :D

[@lucasorlebeke2130]

At 1:30, why is the participle in the prepositional? I assume prepositional because I am quite certain it is not accusative or genitive.

[@russiangrammar]

We use the genitive москвичей after фотография to express who the picture is "of" (фотография кого?); and the participle will agree with the noun it refers to, even if it's in another clause: so actually читающих is genitive here, to match the case of москвичей. :)

[@lucasorlebeke2130]

@@russiangrammar oh ok. Thank you very much. I bet I didn't sound smart when I said "I am quite certain it is not genitive." Also when I asked my question I hadn't watched the whole video.

[@mouseyman]

Do you have any written exercises for practicing this?

[@russiangrammar]

Привет Olivia - I'm working on an online course on participles that includes videos with embedded comprehension questions, more examples, and online exercises. The course isn't yet complete but you're welcome to try out the first two sections (present active and past active). For this spring, registration is FREE and I'd love to get comments and feedback. :) ...click 'login to enroll' at www.tips4russian.com/courses/master-russian-participles/ If you prefer a traditional printed book, Khavronina's 'Russian Language in Exercises' (Русский язык в упражнениях) has a very good section on participles.

[@mouseyman]

@@russiangrammar Привет! Спасибо за ответ. I'll enroll in your online course. Thanks for the book recommendation. Edit: I've just registered for the course you designed. It's absolutely what I was looking for. I majored in Russian and have lived here for nearly 10 years. I still make grammar mistakes and it drives me crazy. Your explanations and examples are some of the most realistic I've ever come across. Thank you for your hard work!

[@ghen3x]

Is будущий then some sort of "future" active participle of быть / будут? :) (like бывший is its past participle)

[@russiangrammar]

I'm hesitant to call it a "future participle," but that is where we get the form, and it does indeed have that sense of something that "will be" - будущий муж 'future husband,' будущий год 'next year,' в будущем 'in the future' ... :)

[@tingleblade4274]

In the "living" Russian language there is a "way" for the formation of future participles, but this is not included in the official grammar, but it is not perceived as something colloquial or low (on the contrary, as something superliterary). "Будущего времени у причастий нет, как это отмечается в учебных пособиях и научных грамматиках. Однако в современном русском языке наблюдается тенденция к образованию причастий с суффиксами -ущ, -ющ, -ащ, -ящ, -ем, -им от глаголов совершенного вида: откроющийся (открыться), потребующийся (потребоваться), взволнующий (взволновать). Как отмечают исследователи, число таких употреблений растёт: Я мог бы привести сотни отрывков из книг Грина, *взволнующих* каждого, не потерявшего способности волноваться перед зрелищем прекрасного… (К. Паустовский); Валентин поставил ногу так, чтобы она вошла в щель *откроющейся* двери (В. Франюк). В подобных случаях следует характеризовать абсолютное время как будущее..."

[@russiangrammar]

Though they're still marginal, it is interesting to think about whether such forms might become more common in the future, or whether they'll remain a way for some speakers to 'play' and be creative with language. )) @@tingleblade4274

[@lucasorlebeke2130]

At 5:26 and a little before that as well, I don't understand why you said "she is in the accusative." I see the pronoun "they." Am I missing something?

[@russiangrammar]

Привет Lucas, the "she" is referring to the interpreter (переводчица), who is the direct object in the first clause: they (the subject) are listening to the interpreter (direct object, so accusative). Then the participle говорящую also has the accusative ending, to match переводчицу. :)

[@Sbayo9]

Do you really think that it is easy to understand when you speak so fast and use nonsense words? :/ Like I have no idea what participle means.

[@russiangrammar]

+Sbayo9 They're also called verbal adjectives, because they're adjectives derived from verbs - they describe someone/something who does something. So if читать is 'to read,' читающий is 'who reads/is reading;' from сидеть you can get сидящий 'who sits/is sitting,' etc.

[@russiangrammar]

+Sbayo9 I don't know what stage you're at in Russian, but in case you're just starting out - keep in mind that you probably won't need to worry about participles for a while. They'e usually considered an intermediate/advanced topic, and are not really needed for basic or conversational usage.

[@Sbayo9]

Russian grammar But I had exam on them today :/ and I am still begginer

[@russiangrammar]

Wow, I'm really surprised! In the programs where I taught, participles are not introduced until late in 2nd year. And the exam really wasn't just asking for the present tense of verbs (я читаю, ты читаешь, etc.)?

[@Sbayo9]

Russian grammar I mean I am learning russian "3 years" which in fact means like 10 months because I do only one semester... Last year was easy, no I wonder if I have passed.

[@ismailgundogdu6401]

Отлично объяснило!