Introduction

<< Chapter 19:  Verbal Prefixes

Chapter 21:  The Nominative Case>>

Chapter 20

Gerunds and Participles


    Gerunds and participles are not commonly used in colloquial Belarusian, but they are found in literature.

20.1        Present imperfect gerunds

    These gerunds are formed by conjugating an imperfect infinitive of a verb for the 3rd person plural, removing the final -ць, and appending the ending -чы.  They are often also used as a present active participle, but they do not decline.

Infin.

3rd Pers. Pl.
Gerund
вяртацца
to turn
вяртаюцца
вяртаючыся
гаварыць
to speak
гавораць
гаворачы
пісаць
to write
пішуць
пішучы
хадзіць
to walk
ходзяць
ходзячы
чытаць
to read
чытаюць
чытаючы

Яго вусны заварушыліся, нібы творачы святую малітву.
His lips moved, as though forming a sacred prayer.
Нават будучы параненым, ён не меў права на спакойнае жыццё.
Even being wounded, he didn't have the right to a peaceful life.


20.2        Past perfect gerunds

    These gerunds are formed from perfective verbs by conjugating the verb for the past tense masculine singular and adding the ending -шы.

напісаць
to write
напісаў
напісаўшы
зрабіць
to do
зрабіў
зрабіўшы
вярнуцца
to return
вярнуўся
вярнуўшыся
прынесці
to bring
прынёс
прынёсшы
пабегчы
to run
пабег
пабегшы


Напісаўшы, што трэба было, ён пачаў поркацца ў паперах.
Having written what was necessary, he began to pore over the papers.
Перанёсшы яго, рыбы доўга не вярталіся.
Having carried him over, the fish did not return for a long time.


20.3        Past passive participles

    Participles are adjectives, obeying all the same rules that other adjectives do.  Most of them are formed by attaching –аны, or –ены to the root of the infinitive.  There really isn’t much rhyme or reason to the formation, each participle needs to be memorized.  These participles can be formed from either aspect, but they are formed much more often from the perfective aspect.

Infin.

Past Pass. Part.
пісаць
to write
пісаны
звязаць
to bind (Perfective)
звязаны
купіць
to buy (Perfective)
куплены
зрабіць
to do, to make (Perfective)
зроблены
скласці
to stack (Perfective)
складзены


    Monosyllable infinitives form the past passive participle by removing the suffix -ць and appending -ты.

мыць
to wash
мыты
біць
to hit
біты
шыць
to sew
шыты


У выстаўцы ёсць каран беларускі, пісаны татарскімі літарамі.
In the exhibit there is a Belarusian Koran, written with the Tatar alphabet.
Яна была падобна да зробленай з каменю фігуркі.
She was like a statue wrought from stone.
Давялося-б яму зараз выціраць свой твар ад слядоў, а галаве прышлося-б лазнаёміцца з бітым шклом,
He just happened to peel his face away from the footprints, and his head happened to become aquainted with the smashed glass.



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Chapter 21:  The Nominative Case >>

Introduction


























Copyright (c)  2004  Christian Cardell Marchant.
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