Verbal Adverbs (Gerunds) in Russian

Overview

Verbal adverbs (деепричастия) are hybrid forms that combine verb meaning with adverb function, describing an action that accompanies the main verb. At the B1 level, understanding verbal adverbs is important for reading comprehension, as they are very common in written Russian, though less frequent in everyday speech.

Russian has two types: imperfective verbal adverbs (describing a simultaneous action) and perfective verbal adverbs (describing a prior completed action). A crucial rule is that the subject of the verbal adverb must be the same as the subject of the main clause -- violating this rule is a classic grammatical error in Russian.

Verbal adverbs are essentially a concise alternative to subordinate clauses with когда (when), пока (while), or после того как (after). They make writing more compact and are a hallmark of literary and formal Russian style.

How It Works

Imperfective Verbal Adverbs (Simultaneous Action)

Formation: present tense stem + -я (or -а after ш, ж, ч, щ)

Verb	Verbal Adverb	Meaning
читать (читают)	читая	while reading
сидеть (сидят)	сидя	while sitting
говорить (говорят)	говоря	while speaking
держать (держат)	держа	while holding

Perfective Verbal Adverbs (Prior Completed Action)

Formation: past tense stem + -в (or -вши after reflexive -ся → -вшись)

Verb	Verbal Adverb	Meaning
прочитать	прочитав	having read
написать	написав	having written
узнать	узнав	having found out
вернуться	вернувшись	having returned

Same-Subject Rule

The subject of the verbal adverb MUST be the same as the subject of the main verb:

• Correct: Читая книгу, он заснул. (While reading a book, he fell asleep.) -- same subject
• Incorrect: Читая книгу, ему стало скучно. -- different subjects (formally ungrammatical)

Examples in Context

Russian	English	Note
Читая книгу, он заснул.	While reading a book, he fell asleep.	Simultaneous
Сидя дома, я смотрел телевизор.	Sitting at home, I watched TV.	Simultaneous
Прочитав книгу, он закрыл её.	Having read the book, he closed it.	Prior action
Узнав новость, она обрадовалась.	Having learned the news, she was happy.	Prior action
Говоря по телефону, она шла по улице.	While talking on the phone, she walked down the street.	Simultaneous
Вернувшись домой, я приготовил ужин.	Having returned home, I made dinner.	Prior action
Не зная ответа, он молчал.	Not knowing the answer, he was silent.	Negative, simultaneous
Услышав шум, он вышел.	Having heard a noise, he went out.	Prior action
Улыбаясь, она ответила.	Smiling, she answered.	Simultaneous
Закончив работу, мы пошли домой.	Having finished work, we went home.	Prior action

Common Mistakes

Different subjects for verbal adverb and main verb

• Wrong: Придя домой, мне стало плохо. (subject changes: я → мне)
• Right: Когда я пришёл домой, мне стало плохо. (use a clause instead)
• Why: The same-subject rule is strict. If subjects differ, use a full subordinate clause.

Using perfective form for simultaneous actions

• Wrong: Прочитав книгу, он пил чай. (if meaning simultaneously)
• Right: Читая книгу, он пил чай. (while reading, he drank tea)
• Why: Perfective verbal adverbs indicate prior action, not simultaneous.

Overusing verbal adverbs in speech

• Wrong: Peppering casual conversation with verbal adverbs
• Right: Use them in writing; in speech, use когда/пока clauses
• Why: Verbal adverbs are a written language feature and sound unnatural in casual speech.

Practice Tips

• When reading, identify verbal adverbs and convert them to когда/пока clauses to check comprehension.
• Practice forming verbal adverbs from common verbs, checking that you maintain the same-subject rule.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Active Participles -- another verbal adjective form in formal Russian