Participial Phrase

Level 4Sounds Like díêprikmetnikovij zvorot

The дієприкметниковий зворот is a sophisticated way to describe a noun using an action. It acts like a long adjective (e.g., 'the book written by him').

How It Works

In Ukrainian, the participial phrase is a hallmark of formal and literary styles. It allows you to condense a relative clause into a more compact structure.

1. Structure and Agreement:
The phrase consists of a participle (either passive or an active past participle) and its modifiers. The participle must match the noun it describes (the означуване слово) in:

  • Gender: (masculine, feminine, or neuter)
  • Number: (singular or plural)
  • Case: (Nominative, Genitive, etc.)

2. Punctuation Rules:
Punctuation generally depends on the phrase's position relative to the noun, with a few important exceptions:

  • After the noun: Always set off by commas. (Книга, написана відомим письменником, цікава.)
  • Before the noun: Usually no commas. (Написана відомим письменником книга цікава.)
  • Mandatory Commas: Commas are required even before the noun if the phrase modifies a personal pronoun (Стомлені, ми заснули), carries a causal nuance (Наляканий, кінь побіг), or is separated from the noun by other words.
  • Homogeneous phrases: If two phrases are connected by і or й, no comma is placed between them.

3. The "No-Splitting" Rule:
A participial phrase must remain intact. It cannot be split by the noun it modifies. You cannot say Написана книга вчителем; the noun must come either entirely before or entirely after the phrase.

4. Predicate vs. Attribute:
It is important to distinguish between a participial phrase (an attribute) and a participle acting as a predicate. If the participle follows a form of 'to be' (e.g., Двері були зачинені — The doors were closed), it is not a participial phrase and does not take commas. Furthermore, do not confuse participles with impersonal forms in -но/-то (e.g., Двері зачинено). While they share the same root, the -но/-то forms are indeclinable predicates and never function as adjectives.

5. Usage Nuance:
While common in writing, Ukrainians often prefer який-clauses in speech. Modern Ukrainian has a strict limit on present active participles, preferring the participial phrase for completed actions. When forming active past participles, standard Ukrainian strictly uses the suffix -л- (e.g., пожовклий) and avoids Russian-style -вш- suffixes.

Examples (6)

  1. Лист, написаний учора, уже прийшов.

    The letter written yesterday has already arrived.

    Word by Word: Letter, written yesterday, already arrived.

    The phrase 'написаний учора' follows the noun 'лист', so it is enclosed in commas. The participle 'написаний' is masculine singular nominative to match 'лист'.

  2. Стомлені дорогою, ми лягли спати.

    Tired by the journey, we went to bed.

    Word by Word: Tired [by] road, we lay [to] sleep.

    Even though the phrase comes before the subject, a comma is required because it modifies a personal pronoun ('ми').

  3. Наляканий громом, кінь побіг у поле.

    Frightened by the thunder, the horse ran into the field.

    Word by Word: Frightened [by] thunder, horse ran into field.

    A comma is used here because the phrase carries a causal nuance (the horse ran because it was frightened).

  4. Ми милуємося горами, укритими густим лісом.

    We admire the mountains covered by dense forest.

    Word by Word: We admire mountains, covered [by] thick forest.

    Here, 'укритими' is in the instrumental plural to agree with 'горами'. The phrase follows the noun, requiring a comma.

  5. Я прочитав статтю, опубліковану в газеті.

    I read the article published in the newspaper.

    Word by Word: I read article, published in newspaper.

    The participle 'опубліковану' is feminine singular accusative, matching the direct object 'статтю'.

  6. Написана вчителем книга лежить на столі.

    The book written by the teacher lies on the table.

    Word by Word: Written [by] teacher book lies on table.

    No comma is used because the phrase comes before the noun and lacks a causal nuance or pronoun subject.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting to agree the participle with the noun's case.

    Я бачу хлопця, одягнений у форму.
    Я бачу хлопця, одягненого у форму.

    The noun 'хлопця' is in the accusative case, so the participle 'одягненого' must also be in the accusative, not the nominative 'одягнений'.

  • Using commas when the phrase precedes the noun.

    Написаний, автором лист лежить тут.
    Написаний автором лист лежить тут.

    In standard Ukrainian, if the participial phrase comes before the noun it modifies, you do not use a comma.

  • Confusing the participial phrase with the adverbial participial phrase.

    Студент, читаючи книгу, заснув.
    Студент, який читав книгу, заснув.

    A participial phrase modifies a noun (What kind of student?). 'Читаючи' is an adverbial participle (While doing what?). To describe the student, use a relative clause or a proper participle.

How It Connects

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Participial PhraseLevel 4

Learn This First

To learn the participial phrase (дієприкметниковий зворот), a learner must first understand how participles function as adjectives by agreeing with nouns. They also need to know how participles retain verbal properties by taking dependent objects or adverbs. Finally, understanding how these phrases replace relative clauses helps in recognizing their syntactic role.

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