Imperfective Adverbial Participles
Ідучы дадому, я сустрэў сябра. (Walking home, I met a friend.) The form in -учы, -ючы, -ачы, -ячы shows a simultaneous action.
How It Works
An imperfective adverbial participle adds a second action to a sentence. Both actions happen at the same time, and the same person does both: Чытаючы, ён усміхаўся. (While reading, he smiled.)
How it is built. Start from the яны form in the present tense (see present tense with яны):
- -уць, -юць → -учы, -ючы: ідуць → ідучы, кажуць → кажучы, чытаюць → чытаючы, размаўляюць → размаўляючы.
- -аць, -яць → -ачы, -ячы: робяць → робячы, гавораць → гаворачы, сядзяць → седзячы.
- A few second-conjugation verbs take -учы: крычаць → крычучы, спаць → сплючы.
- -ся verbs add -ся: усміхаюцца → усміхаючыся, спяшаюцца → спяшаючыся.
Only imperfective verbs have these forms. For an action that finished before the main one, use the perfective adverbial participle in -ўшы.
It never changes. The same form works for any person, gender or tense: Ідучы дадому, я сустрэў сябра. Ідучы дадому, яна спявала. A form with adjective endings, like бягучы год, is a different word: a present participle.
The participle and its words are set off by commas. See adverbial participial phrases for the comma rules and for why the subject must be the same.
Examples (6)
- Чытаючы, ён усміхаўся.
While reading, he smiled.
Word by Word: Reading, he was-smiling.
- Ідучы дадому, я сустрэў сябра.
Walking home, I met a friend.
Word by Word: Going home, I met friend.
Said by a man. A woman says: я сустрэла.
- Яна слухае музыку, робячы ўрокі.
She listens to music while doing her homework.
Word by Word: She listens music, doing lessons.
- Седзячы ля акна, бабуля вязала шкарпэткі.
Sitting by the window, Grandma was knitting socks.
Word by Word: Sitting by window, grandma knitted socks.
- Не спяшаючыся, мы прайшлі праз увесь парк.
Taking our time, we walked through the whole park.
Word by Word: Not hurrying, we passed through whole park.
- Размаўляючы па тэлефоне, ён забыўся пра суп.
While talking on the phone, he forgot about the soup.
Word by Word: Talking on phone, he forgot about soup.
Common Mistakes
Using the Russian ending -я or -а.
Чытая кнігу, ён усміхаўся.Чытаючы кнігу, ён усміхаўся.Belarusian adverbial participles end in -учы, -ючы, -ачы or -ячы: чытаючы.
Adding -ючы to a perfective verb.
Прачытаючы ліст, яна плакала.Чытаючы ліст, яна плакала.Прачытаць is perfective and has no -ючы form. Use imperfective чытаючы for an action at the same time, or прачытаўшы for an action that was already finished.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Imperfective adverbial participles need the imperfective and present.
Related Patterns
- Perfective Adverbial Participles
The perfective partner, for an action completed before the main one.
Level 4 - Adverbial Participial Phrases
Sets out the commas and the same-subject rule.
Level 4 - Present Active Participles
Uses the same suffixes but adds adjective endings and describes a noun.
Level 4 - будучы Meaning Being
Будучы is the adverbial participle of быць: while being.
Level 5
Practice Imperfective Adverbial Participles in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Belarusian lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
