You may recall that adjectives in Russian may have short forms:
| Long form | Short form |
| краси́вый краси́вая краси́вое краси́вые | краси́в краси́ва краси́во краси́вы |
Such adjectives can be used predicatively, and the neuter can be used adverbially as well:
| Костюм был краси́в. | The suit was handsome. |
| Рубашка была краси́ва. | The shirt was pretty. |
| Платье было краси́во. | The dress was pretty |
| Джинсы были краси́вы. | The jeans were pretty. |
| Иван очень красиво льстил Ольге. | John flattered Olga in a pretty fashion. |
Since participles are adjectives derived from verbs, they too can have short forms.
The short form of the past passive participle is the most common of all the participles. It is commonly enountered in conversational speech, unlike the rest of the participles. If a long form participle is formed with -нн-, then in the short form it is written with a single -н-:
| Long form masc. nom. sg. | зака́занный | закры́тый |
| Short forms | зака́зан зака́зана зака́зано зака́заны | закры́т закры́та закры́то закры́ты |
| Meaning | ordered | closed |
Examples:
|
Билет уже заказан. Книга уже заказана. Место уже заказано. Билеты уже заказаны. Магазин закрыт. Библиотека закрыта. Посольство закрыто. Магазины закрыты. |
The ticket has already been ordered. The book has already been ordered. The seat has already been ordered/reserved. The tickets have already been ordered. The store is closed. The library is closed. The embassy is closed. The stores are closed. |
These sentences can be put into the past and future by using the corresponding forms of быть:
|
Я удивлён. Я был удивлён. Я буду удивлён. |
I am surprised. I was surprised. I will be surprised. |
|
Я удивлeнa. Я былa удивлeнa. Я буду удивлeнa. |
I am surprised. I was surprised. I will be surprised. |
If an agent is included in the sentence, it appears in the instrumental case:
| Машина была куплена немцем. | The car was purchased by a German man. |
| Корейский самолёт был уничтожен русской ракетой. | The Korean airplane was destroyed by a Russian rocket. |
The short form of the present passive participle is much less common than the PPP. Since it is formed from the мы form of the verb, the masculine singular form can easily be confused with the мы form of the verb, although occasionally the stress is different:
| Long form masc. nom. sg. | люби́мый | изуча́емый |
| Short forms | люби́м люби́ма люби́мо люби́мы | изуча́ем изуча́ема изуча́емо изуча́емы |
| Meaning | loved | studied |
Just as with the PPP, if an agent is expressed, it occurs in the instrumental case:
| Этот актёр люби́м все́ми Москвича́ми. | This actor is loved by all Muscovites. |
| Эта актри́са о́чень люби́ма в Москве́. | This actress is loved very much in Moscow. |
| Английский язык теперь изучаем во всех универстетах России. | English is now studied in all the universities of Russia. |
| Денисова пещера изучаема российскими антропологами. | The Denisov Cave is being studied by Russian anthropologists. |
| Эти вопросы теперь изучаемы в западных странах. | These issues are now being studied in western countries. |
Theoretically the neuter singular form of all the participles potentially could be used as adverbs. The PPP is the most commonly used, but occasionally I have seen the present active as well:
| Она понимающе посмотрела на меня. | She looked at me in an understanding fashion. (lit. “understandingly”) |
| Она удивлённо посмотрела на меня. | She looked at me with surprise. (lit. “surprisedly”) |
| Он сердито отказался. | He angrily refused. (lit. “angeredly”) |
Notice the double -н- in «удивлённо» where we would expect a single -н-. This suggests that some of these words may already be transitioning away from their connection to the verbs from which they were originally formed and are becoming adverbs in their own right.
Rev. 6:42 AM 8/3/2011