Perfective Adverbial Participles
Прачытаўшы ліст, яна заплакала. (Having read the letter, she cried.) The form in -ўшы or -шы shows that one action was finished first.
How It Works
A perfective adverbial participle names an action that was completed before the main action, by the same person: Прыйшоўшы дадому, я павячэраў. (After coming home, I had dinner.)
How it is built. Start from the masculine past tense of a perfective verb (see the masculine past in -ў):
- Past in -ў (after a vowel) → -ўшы: прачытаў → прачытаўшы, зрабіў → зрабіўшы, сказаў → сказаўшы, прыйшоў → прыйшоўшы.
- Past in a consonant → -шы: прынёс → прынёсшы, высах → высахшы, прывык → прывыкшы.
- -ся verbs → -шыся: вярнуўся → вярнуўшыся, сустрэўся → сустрэўшыся.
Spelling. Belarusian writes ў here, never в: прачытаўшы.
With не. Не + this participle often means without doing: Ён выйшаў, не сказаўшы ні слова. (He left without saying a word.)
Only perfective verbs. Forms like гуляўшы from imperfective verbs are not part of the standard language. For an action at the same time, use the imperfective adverbial participle: гуляючы.
The phrase is set off by commas and needs the same subject as the main verb. See adverbial participial phrases. A clause with пасля таго як says the same thing and works even when the subjects differ.
Examples (6)
- Прачытаўшы ліст, яна заплакала.
Having read the letter, she cried.
Word by Word: Having-read letter, she began-to-cry.
- Прыйшоўшы дадому, я павячэраў.
After coming home, I had dinner.
Word by Word: Having-come home, I had-dinner.
Said by a man. A woman says: я павячэрала.
- Зрабіўшы ўрокі, дзеці пайшлі гуляць.
After finishing their homework, the children went out to play.
Word by Word: Having-done lessons, children went to-play.
- Прынёсшы кветкі, ён паставіў іх у ваду.
Having brought the flowers, he put them in water.
Word by Word: Having-brought flowers, he stood them in water.
Прынёс ends in a consonant, so the suffix is -шы.
- Вярнуўшыся з адпачынку, мы доўга разглядалі здымкі.
After we got back from vacation, we spent a long time looking at the photos.
Word by Word: Having-returned from vacation, we long examined photos.
- Ён выйшаў з дому, не сказаўшы ні слова.
He left the house without saying a word.
Word by Word: He went-out from home, not having-said not-a word.
Common Mistakes
Writing в instead of ў.
Прачытавшы ліст, яна заплакала.Прачытаўшы ліст, яна заплакала.The suffix after a vowel is -ўшы with ў, not the Russian -вши.
Building -ўшы from an imperfective verb.
Гуляўшы ў парку, мы сустрэлі настаўніцу.Гуляючы ў парку, мы сустрэлі настаўніцу.Гуляць is imperfective, and forms like гуляўшы are not standard. For an action at the same time, use гуляючы.
Using the imperfective form for an action that finished first.
Адпачываючы ўсё лета, мы вярнуліся ў горад.Адпачыўшы ўлетку, мы вярнуліся ў горад.The rest was over before the return. Адпачываючы would mean both happened at the same time, so use perfective адпачыўшы.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Perfective adverbial participles follow imperfective ones.
Related Patterns
- Adverbial Participial Phrases
Sets out the commas and the same-subject rule.
Level 4 - Masculine Past Tense in -ў
The participle is built from this past-tense form.
Level 2 - пасля таго якAfter with Пасля Таго Як
A clause that says the same thing and allows a different subject.
Level 4 - Active Participles in -ўшыActive Participles in -ўшы (Recognition)
The same suffix with adjective endings: a rare, bookish participle.
Level 6
Practice Perfective Adverbial Participles in Bubblegum
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