быть + Short Passive Participle

The passive voice in Russian is the primary method for forming the perfective (resultative) passive using the short passive participle. This specific construction emphasizes a completed result and is formed almost exclusively from transitive verbs. For imperfective passive actions (ongoing or repeated), Russian typically uses the reflexive passive with -ся, though present passive participles (like уважаем or любим) are highly formal or bookish. In everyday speech, active constructions (e.g., Его все уважают) are the standard way to express ongoing passive states.

1. Structure and Usage:

• Present: The auxiliary verb 'быть' is omitted (zero copula). Example: Дверь закрыта (The door is closed).
• Past: The auxiliary verb быть conjugates for gender and number (e.g., был, была, было, были). Example: Я был обманут (I was deceived).
• Future: The auxiliary verb быть conjugates for all persons (e.g., я буду, ты будешь, он будет, они будут). Example: Я буду приглашён (I will be invited).
• Predicative Use Only: Short participles function only as predicates. They do not decline by case, inflecting only for gender and number. They cannot modify nouns directly.
• Impersonal Constructions: The neuter singular form (-о) is frequently used in impersonal constructions without a subject. Example: Об этом уже сказано (This has already been mentioned).

2. Agreement and Formation:
The short participle must agree with the subject in gender and number. Short passive participles are derived from their corresponding long forms (e.g., прочитанный → прочитан). Importantly, short passive participles that use the H-type suffix are always spelled with a single -н-, unlike the double -нн- found in their long-form counterparts. They are formed using specific suffixes depending on the verb class:

• -н-: Used for verbs ending in -ать/-ять. Example from сделать: сделан, сделана, сделано, сделаны.
• -ен-/-ён-: Used for verbs ending in -ить or -еть, as well as consonant-stem verbs ending in -ти or -чь. This often triggers consonant mutations in the stem (e.g., купить → куплен, встретить → встречен, спросить → спрошен).
• -т: Used for a large class of verbs, including those ending in -нуть, -оть, -ереть, and monosyllabic verbs and their prefixed derivatives (e.g., мыть, взять, закрыть). Example from закрыть: закрыт, закрыта, закрыто, закрыты.

3. Stress Shifts:
Be aware of common stress shifts, particularly in feminine forms where the stress often shifts to the final syllable (e.g., создан, создана, создано, созданы).

4. The Agent:
If you want to mention who performed the action, use the instrumental case without a preposition. Example: Книга написана автором (The book was written by the author).

5. Usage Note:
This construction is very common in formal writing, news, and signs (e.g., 'Закрыто', 'Запрещено'), but it is also used in daily life to describe the status of things (e.g., 'Счёт оплачен').