Once a famous philologist was asked how many languages he knows. He pointed to thick dictionaries in Russian and replied that he did not know any, because he could not master his own perfectly. That is why literacy is even more important for native Russian speakers than for a foreigner. A person who does not know foreign languages is ignorant. A person who does not know his own language is a traitor to the Motherland. So, let's look at the participial turnover, the commas associated with it, and the rules for its use.
What is a participle?
This design always consists of two parts:
- participle;
- dependent words.
The participle is an independent part of speech, a verbal form that has the features of an adjective. This part of speech exhibits both the features of a verb and an adjective. The features of the verb include: control, aspect, pledge,time.
The signs of the participle as an adjective are: gender, number, case, form.
It is worth remembering that these signs are constant.
participial phrase: associated commas after the word being defined
If the participial turnover is after the word being defined, then it is separated by commas. Some examples:
A dog running in the yard rushed to the gate.
The defined word in this phrase is "dog". "Running in the yard" - the sacramental phrase itself.
The skyscraper, built in the shortest possible time, towered over the city.
"Skyscraper" is a defined word. “Built in the shortest possible time” is a participle turnover, where “built” is a participle, “in the shortest possible time” are dependent words.
Note that in the first sentence the participle was active, but in the second it was passive.
Participle turnover: commas and usage rules before the defined word
The rule says: "The participial phrase before the word being defined is not separated by commas." For example: A piece of sausage lying on the table attracted the attention of Murzik.
"Lying on the table" - participle turnover. Please note that there is no separation of participial turnover with commas.
The brewed strong coffee stood and cooled, but the girl did not go to the kitchen.
Place of participles in Russian and their proper use
Participles came to the modern language from the Slavicantiquity, but although they have existed here for a long time, they are rarely used in oral communication. Moreover, the comma before and after the participle turnover has been and will be the scourge of all schoolchildren. And all because this construction is not found in everyday speech. Some experts strongly discourage their use. One more recommendation should be followed: do not load the written text with participial phrases - you risk making it difficult to digest. Avoid a lot of participles that have hissing suffixes: melting, croaking, walking, reading, flickering, living, carrying, chewing, etc.
If necessary, the participial turnover can be easily replaced by a subordinate clause. At the same time, the comma after the participial turnover is preserved even during transformation. For example:
The apple washed by me is on the table. - The apple I washed is on the table.
The text I wrote was forgotten in the room. - The text I wrote was forgotten in the room.
Mistakes when using participial phrases
Due to the specific nature of the participles, people make many mistakes when using them and distort the participial turnover, sometimes they don’t even put commas. When using participles and phrases based on them, you should follow a few rules.
- Don't use the "would" particle. The suggestion would be incorrect: The miners did not use special dynamite, which would have provoked the collapse of the entire mine. It is in this case that we canhelp out the subordinate clause. The miners did not use special dynamite, which would have provoked the collapse of the entire mine.
- Unions and allied words cannot be included in participial phrases. Therefore, the bridge that collapsed last week was not rebuilt. In such cases, there is confusion in the structure of the sentence, and it becomes incorrectly composed. This would be a good option: The bridge that collapsed last week was not rebuilt.
- Often in speech the order of location of the turnover and the word being defined is violated. 1) The participial turnover is separated from the main word by others. A mouse rustles in the corner, gnawing a grain. Obviously wrong arrangement of parts of the sentence. They need to be swapped. A mouse chewing on a grain rustles in the corner.
2) Defined word in the middle of a turn. For example: She had a yellowed side from the sun's rays. Grammatically correct sentence: She had a yellowed side from the sun.
Category and time are not just words
In addition, the categories and tenses inherent in participles are important.
1) Present participles emphasize what they mean. I saw a schooner rushing through the waves. We went to a village founded by an old landowner.
2) Sign of constancy. Marina is a good worker who fulfills her duties responsibly.
The cat is a cunning animal, always craving peace.
3) Indicating a permanent feature, sometimesuse past participles. He stared at the apple tree growing in the garden. He stared at the apple tree growing in the garden.
Remember! Active participles denote a sign of who (what) is doing (a sailing boat, a family having dinner, a princess reading), and passive participles are someone with whom (what) they are doing (a folded newspaper, a cut apple, a book read, a written text).
Thus, in the article we have revealed what the participle is, when it is separated by commas and what are the rules and exceptions when using it.
