-тый
Past Passive Participles in -тый
The suffix -тый is the 'alternative' past passive participle ending. While most verbs use -нный, specific groups of verbs (like 'to open', 'to take', or 'to wash') must use -тый to describe a completed action done to an object.
How It Works
Unlike the more common -нный suffix, the -тый suffix is used for specific verb categories:
- Monosyllabic roots ending in vowels (except -а/-я): мыть (to wash) → мытый, бить (to hit/break) → битый, петь (to sing) → петый.
- Verbs in -нуть: тронуть (to touch) → тронутый, вернуть (to return) → вернутый.
- Verbs in -оть: колоть (to chop) → колотый.
- Verbs in -ереть: тереть (to rub/grate) → тёртый.
- Nasal roots: These are verbs where the root vowel (like -я-) alternates with a nasal consonant (н or м) in other forms (e.g., понять/пойму → понятый, взять/возьму → взятый, жать/жну → жатый).
These participles often appear in their short form (e.g., открыто, занято). In full forms and most short forms (masculine, neuter, plural), the stress stays on the root or prefix. However, in the feminine singular short form, the stress frequently shifts to the ending: взята, занята, принята.
Examples (4)
- Вход в здание был заперт на ключ.
The entrance to the building was locked with a key.
Word by Word: Entrance into building was locked on key.
Uses the short form 'заперт' (from запереть) to show a completed state.
- Я нашёл забытый пароль в старом блокноте.
I found the forgotten password in an old notebook.
Word by Word: I found forgotten password in old notebook.
The participle 'забытый' (from забыть) acts as an adjective modifying 'пароль'.
- Разбитое окно пришлось заменить немедленно.
The broken window had to be replaced immediately.
Word by Word: Broken window it-was-necessary to-replace immediately.
'Разбитое' is the neuter form of 'разбитый' (from разбить), agreeing with 'окно'.
- Все места в зале уже заняты.
All seats in the hall are already occupied.
Word by Word: All places in hall already occupied.
The short plural form 'заняты' (from занять) describes the current state of the seats.
Common Mistakes
Overgeneralizing the -нный suffix to verbs that require -тый.
Это окно было открынное.Это окно было открытое.Learners often try to use the more common -нный ending, but verbs like открыть must use -тый.
Putting the stress on the stem in the feminine short form.
Книга была вза́та.Книга была взята́.While the stress in full forms and most short forms stays on the root or prefix, in the feminine singular short form, the stress often shifts to the final vowel -а (e.g., взята, занята).
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn past passive participles ending in -тый, learners need to understand how participles function as adjectives (agreement), the perfective aspect (as these participles describe completed results), and the basic infinitive forms from which these participles are derived.
- Agreement of participles with nouns
Past passive participles function as adjectives and require knowledge of how to agree with the nouns they modify in gender, number, and case.
Level 4 - Perfective result
Past passive participles are typically formed from perfective verbs to indicate a completed action that resulted in a state.
Level 3
Related Patterns
- -нный/-енныйPast Passive Participles in -нный/-енный
This is the primary suffix for past passive participles; -тый is the specific alternative for certain verb stems.
Level 4 - Short passive participles
Participles in -тый are very frequently used in their short form (e.g., открыт, занято) to function as predicates.
Level 4 - Adjective agreement in oblique cases
Full participles follow the same case, gender, and number agreement rules as adjectives.
Level 2
Practice -тый in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Russian lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
