Passive participle with instrumental agent
The passive participle with instrumental agent is used in formal Ukrainian to describe an object by naming the person or entity that acted upon it. For example: книга, написана автором (a book written by the author).
How It Works
In formal, legal, and academic Ukrainian, this construction allows the speaker to keep the focus on the object while still identifying who performed the action.
1. Structure:
The construction consists of:
- A noun (the patient/object).
- A passive participle or -тий participle that agrees with the noun in gender, number, and case.
- An agent in the bare instrumental case (answering the question ким? - by whom).
2. Register and Style Tip:
While common in technical writing, modern Ukrainian grammarians often view the passive with an instrumental agent as a calque (influence) from Russian. To become proficient in contemporary standard Ukrainian, it is stylistically superior to use the active voice (SVO order) or a relative clause.
- Formal: Закон, прийнятий Радою... (The law adopted by the Rada...)
- Preferred: Закон, який прийняла Рада... (The law that the Rada adopted...)
3. Word Order:
When used as an attribute to describe a noun, the participle and its agent typically follow the noun (e.g., Лист, написаний директором...).
4. Aspect:
It most commonly uses the perfective aspect to show a completed result (e.g., ухвалений - adopted), though some technical terms use the imperfective (e.g., керований - managed/controlled).
5. Distinction from Means:
Be careful not to confuse the agent (the person doing the work) with the means (the tool used). Both use the instrumental case, but the context differs:
- Лист, написаний директором (Agent: by the director).
- Лист, написаний ручкою (Means: with a pen).
Examples (4)
- Закон, ухвалений парламентом, набуде чинності завтра.
The law adopted by parliament will take effect tomorrow.
Word by Word: Law, adopted [by] parliament, will-acquire validity tomorrow.
Here, 'ухвалений' (adopted) agrees with 'закон' (law), and 'парламентом' is the agent in the instrumental case.
- Це була теорія, запропонована молодими науковцями.
It was a theory proposed by young scientists.
Word by Word: It was theory, proposed [by] young scientists.
The agent 'науковцями' (scientists) is in the instrumental plural, identifying who proposed the theory.
- Перед вами картина, намальована невідомим художником.
Before you is a painting painted by an unknown artist.
Word by Word: Before you [is] painting, painted [by] unknown artist.
The participle 'намальована' is feminine to match 'картина', and 'художником' is the instrumental agent.
- Проєкт, розроблений нашою командою, отримав грант.
The project developed by our team received a grant.
Word by Word: Project, developed [by] our team, received grant.
In this formal context, 'командою' (team) acts as the collective agent in the instrumental case.
Common Mistakes
Using a preposition like 'від' or 'через' to express 'by' the agent.
книга, написана від авторакнига, написана авторомIn Ukrainian, the agent of a passive participle must be in the bare instrumental case without any prepositions. Using 'від' (from) is a common translation error from English or other languages.
Adding an agent to the impersonal -no/-to construction.
Закон ухвалено парламентом.Закон, ухвалений парламентом... / Парламент ухвалив закон.Modern Ukrainian standards discourage naming an agent with the -no/-to form. If you must name the doer, use the agreeing participle (-ний/-тий) or the active voice.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To learn the passive participle with an instrumental agent, a learner needs to be comfortable forming passive participles (usually ending in -ний or -тий) and understand the Instrumental case, which here marks the person or entity performing the action. Additionally, since these participles modify nouns, knowledge of adjectival agreement is essential.
- -нийPassive Participle in -ний
The learner must first know how to form and use the basic passive participle in -ний, which is the core component of this construction.
Level 4 - Participle Agreement
Since the passive participle functions as an adjective, the learner needs to know how to agree it in gender, number, and case with the noun it modifies.
Level 4
Related Patterns
- -но/-то (безособовий пасив)Impersonal Passive in -но/-то
The agentless alternative to this pattern, used when the doer is unknown or irrelevant.
Level 6 - Instrumental Means
Uses the same case (instrumental) but describes the tool used rather than the person performing the action.
Level 2 - Participial Phrase
This pattern often functions as a participial phrase, requiring specific comma placement in sentences.
Level 4 - Perfective Aspect for Completed Results
Most passive participles in this construction are formed from perfective verbs to show a completed state.
Level 3
Practice Passive participle with instrumental agent in Bubblegum
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