Passive Voice in Ukrainian (Predicatives in -но/-то vs. -ся)
Passive Voice Constructions (Пасивний стан)
Ukrainian strongly prefers active syntax or impersonal predicatives on -но/-то (закон ухвалено) over clumsy reflexive passives with an instrumental agent, which sound foreign.
A fundamental stylistic and syntactic feature of authentic Ukrainian is its avoidance of passive constructions with an instrumental agent (орудний відмінок діяча), which are frequent in Russian but perceived as unnatural syntactic calques in Ukrainian.
1. Authentic Resultative Passive: Predicative forms in -но / -то: - When emphasizing the completed outcome of an action without naming the agent, Ukrainian standardly uses invariable forms in -но / -то governing the direct object in the Accusative Case: Проєкт успішно завершено (The project has been successfully completed). Книгу надруковано (The book has been printed).
2. Active Preference when an Agent is Present: - If the agent is known, Ukrainian turns the sentence into the Active Voice: Unnatural passive: «Закон ухвалюється парламентом» (Literal calque from Russian). Authentic Ukrainian: Парламент ухвалює закон (The parliament adopts the law).
3. Reflexive -ся for Inherent Inanimate Processes: - Verbs with -ся express natural, ongoing, or spontaneous processes: Двері відчиняються автоматично (The doors open automatically), Будинок будується швидкими темпами (The building is being constructed at a fast pace).
Mastering active phrasing and -но/-то resultatives is crucial for natural Ukrainian writing.
Examples
Усі необхідні будівельні роботи було повністю завершено вчасно.
All necessary construction work was completely finished on time.
Парламент ухвалив новий прогресивний закон про захист довкілля.
The parliament adopted a new progressive law on environmental protection.
Двері цієї сучасної станції метро відчиняються автоматично.
The doors of this modern metro station open automatically.
Цю цікаву наукову статтю було опубліковано у провідному журналі.
This interesting scientific article was published in a leading journal.
Related terms
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