Passive participles — past and present

'The book that was read', 'the door that was opened' — and the short forms used as predicates.

Passive participles describe what's been done TO something. The past passive (the most common) is used both as a long-form adjective and a short-form predicate — that's how Russian builds passive sentences.

Past passive: -нный / -тый

Built from PERFECTIVE transitive verbs. The most common ending is -нный: - прочитать → прочитанный = (the one) read [through] - написать → написанный = written - сделать → сделанный = done / made - открыть → открытый = opened (uses -тый) The long form declines like an adjective: прочитанная книга = a book that has been read.

Short form = passive sentence

The short form (-н, -на, -но, -ны / -т, -та, -то, -ты) acts as a predicate: - Книга прочитана. = The book has been read. - Дверь открыта. = The door is open / has been opened. - Письмо написано Анной. = The letter was written by Anna. The agent (who did it) appears in the instrumental (Анной).

Present passive — rare in speech

Formed from imperfective verbs with -мый: уважаемый (respected), любимый (beloved). These mostly survive as adjectives in their own right rather than productive participles.

Why it matters

Russian uses these short-form passives in headlines, news, and any time the doer doesn't matter: - Магазин закрыт. = The store is closed. - Концерт отменён. = The concert is cancelled. - Билеты проданы. = Tickets are sold (sold out). This is everyday Russian — even though the long-form participles are more 'literary'.

Examples

Магазин закрыт.

The store is closed.

Short-form passive.

Книга прочитана.

The book has been read.

Письмо написано Анной.

The letter was written by Anna.

Agent in instrumental.

Это сделано хорошо.

This was done well.

Neuter short form.

Билеты проданы.

The tickets are sold (out).

Plural short form.

Прочитанная книга на столе.

The read (finished) book is on the table.

Long form — adjective use.