Duo Russian Grammar

73) Adverbial Participles

An adverbial participle is a special form of the verb used to turn a verb into an adverb, you describe another action with it:

There are two types of adverbial participles in Russian:

  • Imperfective: "while doing"
  • Perfective: "having done"

English generally doesn't have these expressions as a one-word form. In Russian participles and adverbial participles are mostly used in books and when using a more formal style. However, there are a few popular adverbial participles that get used in speech sometimes.

  • Я рисовал горы и леса, думая о доме. = I drew mountains and forests, thinking about home.
  • Войдя в комнату, я включил свет. = Having entered the room, I switched the light on.

Formation

Not every verb has a participle. Still, here are the rules.

Imperfective adverbial participles are formed by adding the suffix -я (or а) to the present stem:

  • входя, слушая, думая, включая, говоря
  • слыша

Perfective adverbial participles are formed by adding one of the suffixes -в, or -вши(obligatory for reflective verbs), -ши (for stems ending in a consonant) to the infinitive stem:

  • сделав, поняв, узнав, съев, выключив
  • вернувшись, побрившись

If the stem ends in т or д, -я is used instead:

  • найти → найдя
  • войти → войдя

Adverbial participles behave like adverbs, i.e. they only have one form.

Set expressions

Some of these words have crystallized into popular expressions:

  • судя по = judging by
  • молча = silently
  • X лет спустя = X years later (bookish)

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