Present Active Participle

Level 4Sounds Like aktivnij díêprikmetnik teperíšnʹogo času

The Present Active Participle describes a noun by its current action (e.g., 'shining', 'burning'). While grammatically valid, it is highly restricted in modern Ukrainian, mostly appearing in formal writing, scientific terminology, or lexicalized adjectives.

How It Works

In modern Ukrainian, the Present Active Participle is a restricted category. Standard Ukrainian style usually avoids these forms in favor of more natural constructions.

1. Formation:
They are formed from the stem of the 3rd person plural present tense by replacing the final -ть with the suffix -чий. These forms agree with the noun in gender, number, and case (e.g., -чий, -ча, -че, -чі).

2. Declension:
Unlike soft-stem adjectives, these belong to the mixed group. This means they have hard endings in the Genitive (-ого) and Dative (-ому) cases, despite the sibilant 'ч' in the stem.

3. Replacement Strategies:
Because active participles often sound like Russianisms, they are usually replaced by:

  • Relative clauses with який: людина, яка читає (instead of читаюча людина).
  • Standard Adjectives: Using suffixes like -ний or -увальний. Example: зволожувальний крем (moisturizing cream) instead of зволожуючий.
  • Nouns: завідувач (manager/head) instead of завідуючий.

4. The Reflexive Restriction:
Active participles cannot be formed from verbs with the reflexive suffix -ся. Forms like усміхаючийся are strictly incorrect; one must use який усміхається.

Examples (4)

  1. У статті йдеться про країни, що реформуються.

    The article refers to countries that are reforming.

    Word by Word: In article goes about countries, which reform-themselves.

    Instead of an incorrect reflexive participle, a relative clause with 'що' or 'які' is used.

  2. Виберіть ефективний зволожувальний засіб.

    Choose an effective moisturizing agent.

    Word by Word: Choose effective moisturizing agent.

    The non-standard participle 'зволожуючий' is replaced by a standard adjective with the suffix -увальний.

  3. Це дуже терпляча людина.

    This is a very patient person.

    Word by Word: This [is] very patient person.

    The word 'терпляча' is a lexicalized adjective derived from a participle, describing a permanent quality.

  4. Він написав листа завідувачу відділу.

    He wrote a letter to the head of the department.

    Word by Word: He wrote letter [to] head [of] department.

    The noun 'завідувач' is the correct normative form instead of the participle-based 'завідуючий'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the present active participle instead of a relative clause for ongoing actions.

    Я бачу читаючого хлопця.
    Я бачу хлопця, який читає.

    Using forms like 'читаючий' is considered a stylistic error in modern Ukrainian. You should use a relative clause with 'який' instead.

  • Using participle forms instead of established normative adjectives or nouns.

    Ми купили новий миючий засіб.
    Ми купили новий мийний засіб.

    Standard Ukrainian prefers specific adjectives (like 'мийний' instead of 'миючий', 'чинний' instead of 'діючий') for products and states.

  • Attempting to form active participles from reflexive verbs.

    Сміючийся малюк грався в саду.
    Малюк, що сміявся, грався в саду.

    Ukrainian does not allow active participles to retain the reflexive suffix -ся. A relative clause must be used.

How It Connects

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Present Active ParticipleLevel 4

Learn This First

To understand the present active participle, you must first know how to conjugate verbs in the third-person plural present tense, as the participle suffixes (-учий, -ючий, -ачий, -ячий) are directly related to these verb endings. Additionally, since these participles function as adjectives, you need to be familiar with adjective gender agreement and the concept of imperfective aspect for ongoing actions.