-я/-а
Imperfective Gerunds in -я/-а
The imperfective gerund (деепричастие) acts like the English '-ing' form (e.g., 'while reading'). It describes a background action performed by the same person doing the main action.
How It Works
The imperfective gerund is a hybrid of a verb and an adverb. It is primarily used in written and formal Russian to add detail about the circumstances of an action, though some forms are common in everyday speech.
1. Formation:
Take the 3rd person plural present form, remove the ending (-ут, -ют, -ат, or -ят), and add -я.
- читать → читают → читая (reading)
- говорить → говорят → говоря (speaking)
- идти → идут → идя (walking)
If the stem ends in a sibilant (ж, ч, ш, щ), use -а due to spelling rules:
- лежать → лежат → лёжа (lying)
- слышать → слышат → слыша (hearing)
2. Reflexive Verbs:
For reflexive verbs, because imperfective gerunds always end in a vowel (-я or -а), they always take the -сь suffix:
- улыбаться → улыбаясь (smiling)
3. Stress:
The stress in the imperfective gerund typically falls on the same syllable as in the first-person singular present tense form (e.g., читаю → читая, говорю → говоря). However, there are highly frequent exceptions where the stress shifts to the stem: сижу → си́дя, лежу → лёжа, стою → сто́я, молчу → мо́лча, гляжу → гля́дя.
4. Punctuation:
Gerunds and gerund phrases must almost always be set off by commas in Russian. The main exceptions are lexicalized adverbs of manner like молча (silently), сидя (sitting), and лёжа (lying down), which do not require commas.
5. Key Constraints and Usage:
- Simultaneity: It describes an action happening at the same time as the main verb.
- Same Subject: The person doing the gerund action must be the same person doing the main action.
- Lexicalized Forms: Some gerunds have become fixed expressions in daily speech, such as the adverb молча (silently), the conjunction хотя (although), and the compound preposition судя по (judging by).
- Exceptions and Gaps: Verbs ending in -авать, -ставать, and -знавать (like давать, вставать, узнавать) use the infinitive stem: давая, вставая, узнавая. The verb быть becomes будучи. Many verbs do not form this gerund, including those with no vowels in the present stem (e.g., ждут), verbs ending in -чь (e.g., мочь, печь), verbs in -нуть, and many verbs with sibilant stem changes (e.g., пишут).
Examples (4)
- Гуляя по парку, мы обсуждали наши планы.
While walking through the park, we discussed our plans.
Word by Word: Walking along park, we discussed our plans.
The gerund 'гуляя' shows that the walking and the discussing happened at the same time.
- Он сидел в кресле, читая газету.
He sat in the armchair, reading a newspaper.
Word by Word: He sat in armchair, reading newspaper.
Here, 'читая' describes the background activity while he was sitting.
- Не зная ответа, ученик промолчал.
Not knowing the answer, the student remained silent.
Word by Word: Not knowing answer, student remained-silent.
The gerund can also express a cause (Because he didn't know...).
- Она шла по улице, весело улыбаясь.
She was walking down the street, smiling cheerfully.
Word by Word: She walked along street, cheerfully smiling.
Note the reflexive ending -сь in 'улыбаясь'.
Common Mistakes
The 'Dangling' Gerund (Different Subjects)
Подъезжая к городу, у меня заболела голова.Когда я подъезжал к городу, у меня заболела голова.In the incorrect version, the subject of the main verb is 'head' (голова), but the head isn't the one 'approaching' the city. The subject of the gerund and the main verb must be the same.
Using -ся instead of -сь for reflexive gerunds.
Он ушёл, не прощаяся.Он ушёл, не прощаясь.Because imperfective gerunds always end in a vowel (-я or -а), they always take the short reflexive suffix -сь.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn imperfective gerunds, you first need to be comfortable with present tense verb conjugations (specifically the third-person plural) to correctly identify the stem. You also need a solid grasp of the imperfective aspect, as these gerunds are used to describe secondary actions that happen simultaneously with the main verb.
- они + -ют/-ут/-ят/-атPresent Third-person Plural Verb
Imperfective gerunds are formed from the present tense stem, which is most clearly visible in the third-person plural form.
Level 1 - Imperfective process
Understanding the imperfective aspect is essential because this gerund describes an ongoing or simultaneous action.
Level 3 - Imperfective background
The primary function of the imperfective gerund is to provide the background action for a main verb, a concept rooted in imperfective backgrounding.
Level 3
Related Patterns
- -вPerfective Gerunds in -в
The perfective counterpart used for sequential actions (having done) rather than simultaneous ones.
Level 4 - будучиGerund Будучи
The irregular imperfective gerund of the verb 'быть'.
Level 4 - не + GerundNegative Gerunds
Explains how to negate gerunds, which are almost always written as two separate words.
Level 4 - Same-subject constraint for gerunds
Detailed rules regarding the requirement that the gerund and main verb share the same subject.
Level 4 - -ся/-сьReflexive Suffix -ся/-сь
The fundamental rule for reflexive endings which changes to -сь in gerund forms.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice -я/-а in Bubblegum
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