To form the present active participle, begin with the они form of a present tense verb. You then remove the last letter and replace it with -щ- followed by a standard adjectival ending (bearing in mind the spelling rule, of course).
| infinitive | они form | stem | present active participle | meaning |
| чита́ть | чита́ют | чита- | чита́ющий | who/which/that is reading who/which/that reads |
| смотре́ть | смо́трят | смотр- | смо́трящий | who/which/that is looking/watching who/which/that looks/watches |
| идти́ | иду́т | ид- | иду́щий | who/which/that is going who/which/that goes |
| спеши́ть | спеша́т | спеш- | спеша́щий | who/which/that is hurrying who/which/that hurries |
To form the present active participle of a reflexive verb, remove the last three letters of the они form, add -щ-, the adjective ending, and then the reflexive ending. For particples you only use the reflexive ending -ся, never the ending -сь:
| infinitive | они form | stem | present active participle | meaning |
| улыба́ться | улыба́ются | улыбаю- | улыба́ющийся | who/which/that is smiling who/which/that smiles |
| серди́ться | се́рдятся | сердя- | сердя́щийся | who/which/that is getting angry who/which/that is angry |
Rev. 7:29 PM 3/23/2010