- Define and explain Gerunds and Complex Sentences in your own words
- Use key terms such as причастие (prichástiye) — participle accurately
- Apply what you have learned to new examples and questions
- Avoid the common mistakes learners make with this topic
This lesson focuses on Gerunds and Complex Sentences: use деепричастия (deyeprichástiya — gerunds) like читая (chitáya — while reading) to link ideas elegantly.
Use деепричастия (deyeprichástiya — gerunds) like читая (chitáya — while reading) to link ideas elegantly.
Key ideas
Participles and gerunds
Active present participles add -ущ- or -ащ- to the stem: читающий (chitáyushchiy — reading, who is reading). Past passive participles like прочитанный (prochítannyy — having been read) compress a whole clause: прочитанная книга (prochítannaya kníga — the book that has been read). Gerunds (деепричастия (deyeprichástiya)) describe a secondary action: читая (chitáya — while reading), прочитав (prochitáv — having read) — Читая газету, он пил чай (chitáya gazétu, on pil chay — while reading the newspaper, he drank tea).
Choosing aspect
Use the imperfective for processes, habits and repeated actions: Я читал книгу вчера (ya chitál knígu vcherá — I was reading the book yesterday). Use the perfective for single completed results: Я прочитал книгу (ya prochitál knígu — I have finished the book). After уже (uzhé — already) the perfective is almost always right: Я уже сделал домашнее задание (ya uzhé sdélal domáshneye zadániye — I have already done my homework).
Key term — причастие (prichástiye) — participle: A verb form acting as an adjective: читающий (chitáyushchiy — reading, who is reading), прочитанный (prochítannyy — read, that has been read).
Translate 'While reading, she drank tea' using a gerund.
Читая, она пила чай (chitáya, oná pilá chay — while reading, she drank tea).
Answer: Читая, она пила чай (chitáya, oná pilá chay — while reading, she drank tea).
- Using the imperfective after уже Уже (uzhé — already) signals completion: Я уже прочитал (ya uzhé prochitál — I have already read), not Я уже читал (which suggests 'I used to read').
- Using идти for a habit Я иду в школу каждый день is wrong — a repeated trip needs ходить: Я хожу в школу каждый день (ya khozhú f shkólu kázhdyy den' — I go to school every day).
Practice
Читающий (chitáyushchiy — reading, who is reading).
Я прочитал книгу вчера вечером (ya prochitál knígu vcherá vécherom — I finished reading the book yesterday evening).
Я иду в школу сейчас (ya idú f shkólu seychás — I am going to school right now).
Они ездят в Москву на поезде каждое лето (oní yézdyat f Moskvú na póyezde kázhdoye léto — they go to Moscow by train every summer).
Quick check
Which of these best defines "причастие (prichástiye) — participle"?
Give the prefixed verb for 'to arrive by car'.
- Gerunds and Complex Sentences: use деепричастия (deyeprichástiya — gerunds) like читая (chitáya — while reading) to link ideas elegantly.
- Participles and gerunds: Active present participles add -ущ- or -ащ- to the stem: читающий (chitáyushchiy — reading, who is reading).
- вид (vid) — aspect: Every Russian verb is imperfective (несовершенный вид — ongoing or repeated action) or perfective (совершенный вид — completed action): делать (délat' — to do, imperfective) versus сделать (sdélat' — to do, perfective).
- Watch out for: using the imperfective after уже