Passive past participles
Describing what has undergone the action (result): прочитанная кни́га (the book that has been read), short form кни́га прочитана (the book is read).
⚡Key points
What is a passive past participle?
The passive past participle describes the noun that has undergone the action, with a completed result: прочитанная кни́га = the book that has been read; постро́енный дом = the house that has been built. It answers како́й? and agrees like an adjective.
It is formed mostly from perfective transitive verbs (СВ that take a direct object). It is the most useful participle in Russian: its short form is used to build the passive (Кни́га прочитана).
Formation: three suffixes
Start from the perfective infinitive:
• verbs in -ать/-ять → -нн-: прочита-ть → прочитанный.
• verbs in -ить/-еть and consonant stems → -енн-/-ённ-: постро-ить → построенный, реш-ить → решённый.
• verbs in -ыть/-оть/-ереть, -нуть, short roots → -т-: откры-ть → открытый.
From verb to participle (long form)
| прочитать (-ать) | прочитанный | which has been read |
| написать (-ать) | написанный | which has been written |
| построить (-ить) | постро́енный | which has been built |
| решить (-ить) | решённый | which has been solved |
| открыть (-ыть) | откры́тый | which has been opened |
| принести (consonant) | принесённый | which has been brought |
💡⚠️ Perfective transitive verbs
The short form (прочитан, постро́ен)
The short form serves as a predicate (with the present-tense “to be” implied) and expresses the passive: Кни́га прочитана = the book is read / has been read. It agrees only in gender and number (never in case) and drops one -н: прочитанный → прочитан.
Short form of прочитанный
| Masculine | прочитан | текст прочитан — the text is read |
| Feminine | прочитана | кни́га прочитана — the book is read |
| Neuter | прочитано | письмо́ прочитано — the letter is read |
| Plural | прочитаны | те́ксты прочитаны — the texts are read |
Using the short form
Passive construction (present result)
Кни́га уже прочитана. (The book is already read.)
Магази́н закры́т. (The shop is closed.)
Past / future with был / будет
Дом был постро́ен в 1990 году. (The house was built in 1990.)
Рабо́та будет закончена завтра. (The work will be finished tomorrow.)
The agent goes in the instrumental
Письмо́ написано Аней. (The letter was written by Ania.)
Agreement of the long form
Agreement of прочитанный
| Masculine | прочитанный рома́н | the novel that was read |
| Feminine | прочитанная кни́га | the book that was read |
| Neuter | прочитанное письмо́ | the letter that was read |
| Plural | прочитанные кни́ги | the books that were read |
Passive past participle ↔ кото́рый
Turning кото́рый (past object) → participle
кни́га, кото́рую прочита́ли
→ прочитанная кни́га (the book that was read)
дом, кото́рый постро́или
→ постро́енный дом (the house that was built)
зада́ча, кото́рую реши́ли
→ решённая зада́ча (the problem that was solved)
💡⚠️ Two н (long) vs one н (short)
Dialogue: moving house
Katia: Is everything ready? Are the boxes packed? — Igor: Yes, the things are packed, the furniture taken apart. — Katia: And is the contract signed? — Igor: Signed yesterday. The keys have already been handed over to the owner.