Participles in Polish (Imiesłowy)
imiesłowy
Non-finite verb forms acting as adjectives or adverbs, categorised into active, passive, and adverbial types.
Participles in Polish (imiesłowy) are non-finite verb forms that combine the features of verbs with adjectives or adverbs. They are divided into two main classes: adjectival participles (which decline like adjectives) and adverbial participles (which do not decline and describe simultaneous or prior actions).
Adjectival participles include the active participle ending in -ący (e.g., czytający - reading) and the passive participle ending in -ny / -ty (e.g., przeczytany - read). Adverbial participles include the contemporary participle ending in -ąc (e.g., czytając - while reading) and the anterior participle ending in -wszy / -łszy (e.g., przeczytawszy - having read). Adjectival participles must agree with the modified noun in gender, number, and case.
A common mistake for learners is using the contemporary adverbial participle -ąc when the subjects of the two clauses are different (e.g., Idąc do domu, padał deszcz - this grammatically means the rain was walking home; correct is Gdy szedłem do domu, padał deszcz). Another error is confusing the active ending -ący with the contemporary adverbial ending -ąc.
Examples
Czytający chłopak siedział w parku.
The reading boy was sitting in the park.
Idąc do pracy, spotkałem starego przyjaciela.
While walking to work, I met an old friend.
Wypisawszy list, włożył go do koperty.
Having written the letter, he put it in an envelope.
Ten samochód, kupiony rok temu, ciągle się psuje.
This car, bought a year ago, keeps breaking down.
Nie powinno się jeść, leżąc в łóżku.
One should not eat while lying in bed.
Related terms
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