What is a verbal adjective? What is the difference between this part of speech and participles formed, it would seem, in the same way? What does the origin of an adjective mean for the spelling of its suffix?
In order to answer these questions, it is necessary to define the terms and what they mean.
An adjective is usually called a part of speech that denotes an independent attribute of an object. The words of this morphological group are either non-derivative (their origin is not motivated by other lexical units), or are formed from the name of a noun (nouns).
Participles simultaneously combine the properties of adjectives and verbs. Their role in the language is the designation of a sign due to action.
A verbal adjective is a special word that can, under certain conditions, become a participle or express an independent attribute of an object. How is this possible?
To understand this phenomenon, it should be remembered that passive participles are formed exclusively from perfective verbs. The action to which a certain object was subjected is completed, and now the result of this process is expressed by the participle:
- overcooked fish - overcook (ov.v.);
- painted fence - paint (owl.v.).
A verbal adjective resembling a passive participle comes from an imperfective verb. The action on which the attribute of the item is based is not completed. Therefore, sending a specific characteristic to the process that happened to the object loses its meaning:
- knitted sweater - knit (inconsistent);
- wicker basket - weave (incomplete).
Such a sign breaks the connection with the form from which the verbal adjective is derived, and now the word indicates the final state of the object, regardless of its origin: "chiseled pencil", "torn shoe", "pickle".
The spelling of verbal adjectives is a stumbling block in Russian spelling. The problem is to distinguish between homonymous parts of speech.
Students don't understand why both "n" and "nn" can be written in the same word:
- ruble fresh meat;
- ruble nn ax meat.
It's actually very simple. By default, the suffixes of verbal adjectives, except for the exceptions to “ovanny” and “ovanny”, are written with one letter “n”. But atthe appearance of dependent words or prefixes, this part of speech becomes passive participles, in the full form of which “n” is doubled according to the rule.
Compare:
- Worn a new dress (from the verb "to wear" an inconsistent form, there are no dependent words and prefixes);
- Wear nn oh (by whom?) Grandfather's coat (there is a dependent word);
- Worn trousers (from the verb "to bring" in an owl. species, there is a prefix).
Of course, as in any rule of the Russian language, this algorithm has its own peculiarities. For example, the word “wounded”, formed from a non-prefixed perfective verb, does not fit this rule.
Based on the rule governing the spelling of two similar parts of speech, spelling errors in the suffixes of these words can be completely eliminated.
