B2 · Upper-intermediate · Lesson 23
Participles
Compress a whole clause into a single word.
Adjectival participles describe a noun ('the reading man', 'the closed door'). Adverbial participles describe an action ('while reading', 'having finished'). They are everywhere in written and formal Polish.
| Type | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Active adjectival | -ący | czytający — reading |
| Passive adjectival | -ny / -ty | zrobiony / zamknięty |
| Adverbial 'while' | -ąc | czytając — while reading |
| Adverbial 'having' | -wszy | zrobiwszy — having done |
- •Adjectival participles agree like adjectives.
- •Adverbial participles never change form.
Quick check
____ do domu, spotkałem kolegę.
The 'while' adverbial participle is wracając.
'The closed door' (zamknąć):
The passive participle is zamknięte/zamknięty.
Make the 'while' participle of pisać:
piszą → pisząc.
Practice
Now produce the answers yourself — type them, choose the form, or build the sentence.
___ do domu, kupiłem chleb. ('while')
'the closed door': drzwi są ___
'while' participle of 'pisać':
Say: The doors are closed.
An adverbial participle must share its ___ with the main verb.
What this lesson covered
Participles let you compress a whole clause into a single word, and this lesson introduced the main types. The active participle in -ący turns a verb into an adjective — czytający student (a reading student), interesująca książka (an interesting book). The passive participle in -ny or -ty describes something acted upon — napisany list (a written letter), zamknięte drzwi (a closed door). And the adverbial -ąc form sets up a background action — idąc do domu, śpiewał (walking home, he sang). These forms make your writing and speech more economical and sophisticated, replacing longer “who is…” or “while he was…” clauses. The goal here was to recognise each type and what it does, since they appear constantly in written Polish and formal speech. They agree with their nouns like ordinary adjectives, so your earlier agreement practice pays off directly.