Active Participles in -ўшы
Active Participles in -ўшы (Recognition)
прыехаўшыя госці = госці, якія прыехалі: the guests who arrived. Recognise the first; say the second.
How It Works
Some texts, especially official documents, older writing and translations from Russian, use past active participles in -ўшы or -шы. They describe a noun by an action it has done:
- прыехаўшыя госці the guests who arrived
- наведаўшыя выставу школьнікі the schoolchildren who visited the exhibition
How they are formed. Take the infinitive stem and add -ўш- after a vowel (прыеха-ць → прыехаўш-) or -ш- after a consonant (прынес-ці → прынёсш-). Then add adjective endings: -ы, -ая, -ае, -ыя, and so on through the cases.
Why they are rare. Belarusian has a much smaller set of participles than Russian. Among past active participles, the -лы type is the one that is really alive: пажоўклае лісце, загарэлы твар. The -ўшы forms sound heavy and bureaucratic, like officialese. Good style replaces them with a relative clause with які:
- Прыехаўшыя госці сабраліся ў зале. → Госці, якія прыехалі, сабраліся ў зале.
Do not confuse it with the adverbial participle. The masculine form прыехаўшы looks exactly like the perfective adverbial participle прыехаўшы (having arrived). The difference is grammar. The participle agrees with a noun and changes its ending: прыехаўшыя госці. The adverbial participle never changes and is usually set off with a comma: Прыехаўшы, госці селі за стол.
Meaning. These forms describe a completed action, so прыехаўшыя means who have arrived, not who are arriving.
Examples (5)
- Прыехаўшыя госці сабраліся ў зале.
The guests who had arrived gathered in the hall.
Word by Word: Having-arrived guests gathered in hall.
Formal or bureaucratic style; recognise it, but do not imitate it.
- Госці, якія прыехалі, сабраліся ў зале.
The guests who had arrived gathered in the hall.
Word by Word: Guests, who arrived, gathered in hall.
The same meaning in normal standard style.
- Наведаўшыя выставу школьнікі пакінулі водгукі.
The schoolchildren who visited the exhibition left feedback.
Word by Word: Having-visited exhibition schoolchildren left reviews.
- Школьнікі, якія наведалі выставу, пакінулі водгукі.
The schoolchildren who visited the exhibition left feedback.
Word by Word: Schoolchildren, who visited exhibition, left reviews.
- Прыехаўшы, госці адразу селі за стол.
Having arrived, the guests sat down at the table right away.
Word by Word: Having-arrived, guests immediately sat at table.
This is the adverbial participle: it does not change and is set off with a comma.
Common Mistakes
Using the unchanging adverbial form in place of the agreeing participle.
Прыехаўшы госці сабраліся ў зале.Прыехаўшыя госці сабраліся ў зале.If the word describes the noun госці, it must agree with it: прыехаўшыя. Better still, use a relative clause: Госці, якія прыехалі, сабраліся ў зале.
Reading the participle as a present action.
Прыехаўшыя госці сядаюць за стол (meaning the guests who are arriving now).Госці, якія прыязджаюць, сядаюць за стол.The intended meaning is the guests who are arriving now. Прыехаўшыя describes a completed action, so it means who have already arrived. For an ongoing action, use a present-tense relative clause.
How It Connects
Learn This First
-ўшы participles follow adverbial and -лы participles.
Related Patterns
- які in Relative ClausesRelative Clauses with Які
The standard way to say who did something: госці, якія прыехалі.
Level 3 - Present Active Participles
Present active participles are also limited, and a relative clause is preferred.
Level 4 - Officialese
Participles in -ўшы are a typical feature of officialese.
Level 6 - Participial Phrases
How a participle carries its own phrase and when to set it off with commas.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice Active Participles in -ўшы in Bubblegum
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