Passive present participles
Describing what undergoes the action right now: изучаемый язы́к (the language being studied), люби́мый арти́ст (the beloved artist).
⚡Key points
What is a passive present participle?
The passive present participle describes the noun that undergoes the action, right now (the object of the action): язы́к, изучаемый студе́нтами = the language being studied by the students; люби́мый арти́ст = the beloved artist. It answers како́й? and agrees like an adjective.
It is formed from imperfective transitive verbs (НСВ that take a direct object in the accusative). The agent — the one doing the action — goes in the instrumental: кни́га, читаемая студе́нтом (the book read by the student).
Formation: start from “мы”
Take the 1st person plural (мы) of the present and add the adjectival ending.
1st conjugation (мы …-ем) → suffix -ем-: изуча-ем → изучаемый.
2nd conjugation (мы …-им) → suffix -им-: люб-им → любимый.
From verb to participle
| чита́ть — мы чита-ем | читаемый | which is read / read |
| изучать — мы изуча-ем | изучаемый | which is studied |
| люби́ть — мы люб-им | люби́мый | loved / favourite |
| уважать — мы уважа-ем | уважа́емый | respected |
| видеть — мы вид-им | видимый | visible (which is seen) |
| использовать — мы использу-ем | испо́льзуемый | which is used |
💡⚠️ Transitive imperfective verbs only
Agreement of the participle
The participle agrees like an adjective in gender, number and case with the noun it modifies (hard-adjective endings, type но́вый).
Agreement of изучаемый
| Masculine | изучаемый предме́т | the subject being studied |
| Feminine | изучаемая те́ма | the topic being studied |
| Neuter | изучаемое сло́во | the word being studied |
| Plural | изучаемые языки́ | the languages being studied |
When and how to use it
Describe what undergoes the action now
Кни́га, читаемая всеми, — бестсе́ллер. (The book read by everyone is a bestseller.)
Э́то язы́к, изучаемый во многих стра́нах. (This is a language studied in many countries.)
The agent goes in the instrumental
Рабо́та, выполняемая студе́нтами, важна́. (The work done by the students is important.)
Written and formal register (press, scientific texts)
In speech, the кото́рый clause is preferred.
Passive participle ↔ кото́рый (object)
The passive present participle is equivalent to a clause where кото́рый is the direct object (in the present). The verb is then often in the impersonal “они́” form, and the agent, if expressed, goes in the instrumental:
Turning кото́рый (object) → passive participle
кни́га, кото́рую чита́ют
→ кни́га, читаемая (the book that is read)
язы́к, кото́рый изуча́ют
→ язы́к, изучаемый (the language that is studied)
зада́чи, кото́рые реша́ют
→ зада́чи, решаемые (the problems that are solved)
💡⚠️ Active vs passive: who does, who undergoes
Dialogue: at the university
Lena: Which language studied here is the hardest? — Dima: Chinese, probably. But Russian, loved by many, is not simple either. — Lena: And the books recommended by the professor? — Dima: They are in the library, in the section used for linguistics.