Szczepanska Kathryn. Russian: A Self-Teaching Guide
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VOCABULARY PRACTICE 2
Label the parts of the bunny’s head. Use appropriate adjectives.
CONVERSATION PRACTICE
У врачá в поликлñнике
В
РАч: На что вы ж áлуетесь? Что у вас болñт?
ПАциÉнт: Я уж давнó болéю ларингñтом. У менû стрáшно болñтгóрло.
Бóльно дышáть и глотáть.
В: Во-пéрвых, давáйте измéрим вам температÿру. Трñдцать семь. У
вас есть температÿра. Сейчáс давáйте посмóтрим гóрло. Говорñте
«А-а-а».
П:«А-а-а».
В: Гмм. А вы принимáете лекáрство от ангñны?
П: Да, я принимáю аспирñ
н. По две таблéтки, три рáза в день.
В: Кáшель у вас есть?
П: Нет, кáшля нет.
В: Явπпишу вам рецéпт на антибиóтики. У вас нет аллергиñ к
пенициллñну?
П: Нет.
В: Ачтó ещё у вас болñт?
П: Ну, чéстно говорû, всё болñт. Игóрло, и головá, и желÿдок, и—как
у человéка из подпóлья Достоéвского—пéчень.
274 RUSSIAN: A Self-Teaching Guide
В: Навéрное, вы страдáете стрéссом. Ивыслñшком мнóго читáете!
П: Да. Во сне я скрежещÿ зубáми и днём грыз ÿ нóгти.
В: Да, явñжу, что вы и сейчáстóпаете ногáми. По-мóему, вам бы
лÿчше занимáться спóртом, чем принимáть снотвóрное ñли
успокоñтельные срéдства.
П: Я совсéм соглáсен с вáми. Ядÿмаю бéгать на свéжем вóздухе.
В: Прекр
áсно! Но éсли гóрло и головá и жел ÿдок не перестáнут
болéть, тогдá приходñте к нам немéдленно.
П: Обязáтельно придÿ.
В: И не забÿдьте принимáть антибиóтики, четπре рáза в день, по две
таблéтки.
П: Я не забÿду. Скажñте, пожáлуйста, где аптéка?
В: Аптéка за углóм, спрáва.
П: Спасñбо, дóктор.
В: Выздорáвливайте!
П
: До свидáния.
At the Doctor’s Office in the Clinic
D
OCTOR: What are your chief complaints? What hurts you?
PATIENT: I have had laryngitis for a long time. I have a bad sore throat. It hurts
to breathe and to swallow.
D: First of all, let’s take your temperature. Thirty-seven. You have a
fever.
3
Let’s take a look at your throat. Say “ah.”
P: “Aaaahhh.”
D: Hmm. Are you taking any medicine for your sore throat?
P: Yes, I’m taking aspirin. Two tablets, three times a day.
D: Do you have a cough?
P: No, I don’t.
D: I’ll write you a prescription for antibiotics. You’re not allergic to peni-
cillin, are you?
P: No.
D: What else hurts?
P: Well, to be honest, everything hurts. My throat and my head and my
stomach and—like Dostoevsky’s Underground Man—my liver.
D: You’re probably suffering from stress. And you read too much!
The Prepositonal, Dative, and Instrumental Plural 275
3
Russian body temperature is, interestingly, lower than what Americans consider to be
average normal temperature by one degree centigrade.
P: Yes. I grind my teeth in my sleep, and during the day I chew my nails.
D: Yes, I see that even now you’re tapping your feet. I think it would be
better if you took up sports than take sleeping pills or tranquilizers.
P: I completely agree with you. I’m thinking of taking up jogging in the
fresh air.
D: Wonderful! But if your throat and head and stomach don’t stop hurt-
ing, come back immediately.
P: Of course, I will.
D: And don’t forget to take the antibiotics, two tablets four times a day.
P: I won’t forget. Could you tell me where the pharmacy is?
D: The pharmacy is around the corner on the right.
P: Thank you, doctor.
D: Get better!
P: Good-bye.
Idioms
На чтó вы жáлуетесь?
Жáловаться (на что?) means to complain of or about something. A doctor will
ask you this to learn your principal complaints or symptoms.You may also use this
verb for complaining in general, plus the preposition на plus accusative case:
Он всегдá жáлуется на всё. He always complains about everything.
Онñ жáлуются на погóду. They are complaining about the weather.
Чтó у Вас болñт?
The English expressions My head hurts or I have a headache are rendered into
Russian by a more passive construction.The part of the body that hurts you is the
subject of the sentence and governs the choice of singular or plural verb.The per-
son who experiences the pain follows the preposition у and takes the genitive case.
У менû болñт ÿхо. My ear hurts./I have an earache.
Убáбушки болûтнóги. Grandmother’s feet hurt.
Усπна болñт живóт. My son has a stomachache.
Умÿжа болñт спинá. My husband’s back hurts.
Удéдушки бол ñт зуб. Grandfather has a toothache.
У неё болûт лёгкие. Her lungs hurt.
276 RUSSIAN: A Self-Teaching Guide
Note that Мне бóльно дышáть и глотáть (It hurts me to breathe and swal-
low) is an impersonal expression, with the person in pain being in the dative case.
Prepositional, Dative, and Instrumental Plural
The plurals of the prepositional, dative, and instrumental cases are extraordi-
narily easy to commit to memory. One has only to adjust endings for soft stems
and keep in mind fewer than a handful of exceptions in the instrumental case only.
You will remember that there is no distinction for gender in the plural of these
cases, so there is only one set of endings for all nouns and adjectives.
The endings are as follows:
Adjectives Nouns
Prepositional -ых/-их -ах/-ях
Dative -ым/-им -ам/-ям
Instrumental -ыми/-ими -ами/-ями
The alternate endings for adjectives allow for both soft adjectives and adjec-
tives where the seven-letter spelling rule applies. Noun endings are adjusted for
softness only, since there is no spelling rule for the vowel а.
Remember that in order to form the correct plural of these cases you must
start with the nominative plural form of the word if there has been any change
from the singular. Words such as брáтья, сосéди, and англичáне have stems that
are different from the singular, and these are the stems that appear throughout
the plural declension.
The five nouns that are exceptions in the instrumental plural are людьмñ
(people), детьмñ (children), дочерьмñ (daughters), дверьмñ (doors), and
лошадьмñ (horses).
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TEST FOR MASTERY
Now is a good time to review verb conjugations as well. Change all the elements,
including the verbs, of the following sentences from the singular to the plural:
1. Онá гордñтся своñмсπном.
2. Я всегдá дÿмаю о моём стáром дрÿге.
The Prepositonal, Dative, and Instrumental Plural 277
4
The forms дочерûми, дверûми, and лошадûми are also occasionally seen.
3. Кáждую суббóту я пишÿ моéй сестрé.
4. Он чáсто хóдит в кинó со своñм зкакóмым.
5. Онá живёт в œтом дóме со своñмбрáтом.
6. Лÿчше жить в большóмгóроде, чемвмáленьком гóроде.
7. Он завéдует комитéтом по проблéме совремéнной жñзни.
8. В понедéльник я éду в дерéвню.(In this sentence you must change the first
preposition в to по and then use the dative plural.)
9. Онáóчень довóльна своéйдóчерью.
10. Инжен éр éдет на завóд на тролл
éйбусе.
11. Наш сосéдчáсто разговáривает с моñмсπном.
12. Кáждое воскресéнье я хожÿ кдрÿгу.(See comment to sentence 8.)
13. Чт ó ты дÿмаешь об œтом журнáле?
14. Œтому мáльчику нáдо мыть посÿду.
ANSWER KEY
Vocabulary Practice 1
1. зÿбы 8. бокÿ
2. аспир ñн 9. воспалéние лёгких
3. не хóчется 10. на головé
4. аппендиц ñт 11. язπк
5. ûзва 12. корь
6. бронх ñт 13. высóкое давлéние
7. в вискé 14. реснñцы
Test for Mastery
1. Он ñ гордûтся своñми сыновьûми.
2. Мы всегдá дÿмаем о нáших стáрых друзьûх.
278 RUSSIAN: A Self-Teaching Guide
3. По суббóтам мы пñшем нáшим сёстрам.
4. Он ñ чáсто хóдят в кинó со своñми знакóмыми.
5. Он ñ живÿтвœтих домáхсосвоñми брáтьями.
6. Лÿчше жить в большñх городáх, чемвмáленьких городáх.
7. Онñ завéдуют комитéтами по проблéмам совремéнной жñзни.
8. По понедéльникам мы éздим в дерéвню.
9. Онñóчень довóльны своñми дочерьмñ.
10. Инжен éры éдут на завóды на троллéйбусах.
11. Н
áши сосéди чáсто разговáривают с моñми сыновьûми.
12. По воскресéньям мы хóдим к друзьûм.
13. Чт ó вы дÿмаете об œтих журнáлах?
14. Œтим мáльчикам нáдо мыть посÿду.
The Prepositonal, Dative, and Instrumental Plural 279
17
Participles
Причaстия
280
At long last, having acquired a reasonable command of the case system and
Russian verbs, students are faced with arguably the most difficult—though not
impossible—aspect of Russian grammar: participles. It is for this reason that par-
ticiples and their cousins, gerunds, are usually left to the last lessons of a textbook.
So much of a good understanding of participles depends on the confidence
acquired during a review of declension that, if you are shaky in this aspect of Rus-
sian, it is better to review the case endings before enmeshing yourself in participles.
They are complex, sometimes Byzantine, many times frustrating constructions. In
the final analysis, however, participles lend an air of elegance and linguistic sophis-
tication to the written Russian text. It is not possible to read most newspapers, nov-
els, articles, instructions, and more without at least a working knowledge of
participles.
With this in mind, and with the awareness of the fact that participles can be fun,
especially if you have a particularly analytical mind, let’s get down to business.
What Is a Participle?
A participle—also called a verbal adjective—is derived from a verb but behaves
like an adjective, modifying or describing an antecedent. There is no comparing
Russian and English usage of participles. Whereas English makes use of only
present and past participles (writing, written), Russian has four kinds (is writing,
was writing, is being written, was written), not to mention the two gerundive forms
(while writing and having written). Participles express both voice (active and pas-
sive) and tense (past and present—but not future).
Active Participles
A participle replaces котóрый plus the verb in a dependent clause. For active par-
ticiples, котóрый must be in the nominative case. Thus, it is not possible to make
an active participle out of the following sentence: Мы съéли все ûблоки,
котóрые Óля купñла сегóдня ÿтром. Despite the fact that at first glance it may
look nominative, the котóрый in this sentence is in the accusative case, the direct
object of the verb купñла.
1
Be sure not to confuse the two!
The verb that is governed by ко тóрый may be present or past tense, but not
future.A present-tense verb will form a present active participle, and a past-tense
verb, a past active participle.
Present
In order to form a present active participle, ко тóрый must be in the nominative
case and the verb must be present tense. These two criteria lead to numerous
exclusions: clauses in which котóрый stands in any other than the nominative
case, and verbs that are perfective future (the conjugated form of a perfective
verb). As previously mentioned, students may easily mistake the accusative form
of котóрый for nominative and may also misperceive the perfective future as the
present tense. Care should be taken to avoid these mistakes.
Summary
1. Котóрый must be in the nominative case, that is, the subject of its own
(dependent) clause.
2. The verb must be in the present tense; therefore, only imperfective verbs can
form present active participles.
Participles 281
1
It is possible, however, to form a past passive participle here. More on that topic later.
3. If they follow the antecedent (the noun that is being described), participial
phrases are bordered by commas; if they precede the antecedent, there are no
commas.
4. Participial phrases of one word generally precede the object they modify.
Formation
1. Take the third-person plural form of the verb, drop the last letter, and add the
consonant щ plus the appropriate adjective ending.
2. Stress is the same as in the third-person plural form.
3. The particle -ся does not contract with participles.
4. Since a participle behaves like a normal adjective, make sure it agrees with its
antecedent in gender, case, and number.
It is important to remember that there are two types of agreement. As previ-
ously mentioned, котóрый can be only in the nominative case, so the only forms
that can be replaced by participles are котóрый, котóрая, котóрое, and
котóрые. Participles, however, will agree completely with their antecedents in
every way and therefore may represent all cases, all genders, and both numbers.
Word Order and Punctuation
If a participial phrase follows its antecedent, it will be set off by commas. If the
phrase precedes the antecedent, there are no commas. Participial phrases of one
word usually stand immediately before the antecedent.This flexibility in the word
order of participles allows Russian a wide range of possibilities that are not easily
rendered in English. A word-by-word translation of the third set of sentences
below will illustrate this fact.The following are examples of pairs of sentences, the
first of which uses a participial construction, and the second of which replaces that
participial phrase with a котóрый clause. Participles will be boldface to make
them easier to identify.
Фильм, демонстрñрующийся в этом зáле, сóздан по ромáну
Тургéнева.
Фильм, кот
óрый демонстрñруется в œтом зáле, сóздан по ромáну
Тургéнева.
282 RUSSIAN: A Self-Teaching Guide
The movie that is being shown in this hall is based on a novel by
Turgenev.
Электрñческие проводá изготовлûются из хорошó проводûщих
ток метáллов.
(Электрñческие проводá изготовлûются из метáллов, хорошó
проводûщих ток.)
Электрñческие проводá изготовлûются из метáллов, кот
óрые
хорошó провóдят ток.
Electrical wires are made from metals that conduct current well (or
that are good conductors of current).
Блестûщие предмéты отражáют пáдающие на них лучñ свéта.
Предмéты, котóрые блестûт, отражáют лучñ свéта, котóрые
пáдают на них.
Objects that shine reflect the rays of light that fall on them or Shin-
ing (shiny) objects reflect the rays of light falling on them.
In the first set of examples, the participial phrase follows the antecedent (фильм)
and is enclosed by commas. In the second set, the participial phrase precedes the
antecedent (метáллов), and the commas are therefore omitted.The two participles
in the third set both precede their antecedents (пре дмéты and лучñ), and commas
are not used. Note that single-word participial phrases, such as блестûщие, are so
commonly used that most native speakers do not recognize them as participles and
perceive them primarily (and correctly) as the adjectives they have become. Recall
that participles are also known as verbal adjectives.
TEST FOR MASTERY 1
This exercise is a warm-up to the ones that follow. Below you will see phrases or
short sentences that contain present active participles. Translate these into
English. Remember that the participle precedes its antecedent if there are no
commas. Also keep in mind that the word modified by the participle is the per-
former of the action of the verb from which the participle is formed.
1. говорûщая лóшадь 4. семьû, снимáющая œтот нóвый дом
2. рÿсско-говорûщие студéнты 5. моû сестрá, живÿщая в Петербÿрге
3. карандашñ, лежáщие на столé 6. мáльчик, игрáющий на балалáйке
Participles 283