Participle Phrases
A participle phrase after the noun says what a kiu clause says.
How It Works
| With kiu | With a participle |
|---|---|
| la viro, kiu legas gazeton | la viro leganta gazeton (the man reading a newspaper) |
| la letero, kiu estas skribita de Ana | la letero skribita de Ana (the letter written by Ana) |
| la domo, kiu estas konstruita el ligno | la domo konstruita el ligno (the house built of wood) |
A participle phrase is a short way to describe a noun. When the participle brings words of its own, such as an object or a phrase with de or el, it normally comes after the noun. A long phrase belongs after the noun for the sake of clarity.
The participle agrees with the noun: la viron legantan gazeton, la domojn konstruitajn el ligno. Its time is the time of the main verb. In Mi vidis la viron legantan gazeton, the man was reading when I saw him.
Examples (5)
- La viro leganta gazeton estas la patro de Ana.
The man reading a newspaper is Ana's father.
Leganta gazeton replaces kiu legas gazeton.
- Mi konas la knabinon kantantan en la ĥoro.
I know the girl singing in the choir.
Kantantan agrees with knabinon, so it has -n.
- Ni ŝatas la leteron skribitan de Ana.
We like the letter written by Ana.
Skribitan agrees with leteron, and de Ana names the writer.
- La libroj aĉetitaj de Kenji estas en la ŝranko.
The books bought by Kenji are in the cupboard.
Aĉetitaj agrees with libroj, so it has -j.
- La domo konstruita el ligno estas tre malnova.
The house built of wood is very old.
Konstruita el ligno replaces kiu estas konstruita el ligno.
Common Mistakes
Leaving out the agreement of the participle.
Ni ŝatas la leteron skribita de Ana.Ni ŝatas la leteron skribitan de Ana.A participle is an adjective, so it agrees with leteron and takes -n.
Using sia inside a participle phrase for the subject of the main verb.
Kenji legis leteron skribitan de sia amiko.Kenji legis leteron skribitan de lia amiko.Inside a participle phrase, sia points back to the noun that the participle describes, here the letter. For the friend of Kenji, use lia.
How It Connects
Learn This First
A participle phrase can replace a clause with kiu.
- kiu: Relative ClausesKiu: Who and Which in Clauses
Know kiu in a clause, since the participle replaces it: la viro leganta gazeton.
Level 3 - -anta-anta: Doing Now
Know -anta, because the participle in this example is -anta.
Level 4 - -ita-ita: Done to
Know -ita, because the other kind of participle is -ita: la skribita letero.
Level 4
Related Patterns
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice Participle Phrases in Bubblegum
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