TRANSLATING THE PARTICIPLE

The difference between the English and Russian participle concerns its form and usage.

As for the form, the English participle exists in two special forms – the Present Participle and the Past Participle, the former varying into Simple and Perfect, active and passive forms. The Russian participle is altered according to time and voice distinctions. Furthermore, there is a form, called the adverbial participle (деепричастие) which varies by the tense. Thus, a general correspondence between English and Russian participles can be given as follows:

For example, The main problem is rising prices. – Основная проблема – растущие цены.

Rising crime has driven many families out of downtown areas. – Возросший уровень преступности вынудил многие семьи уехать из центра города.

The Chairman, having risen from his seat, was beginning to speak. – Уже вставший со своего места председатель начал свою речь.

The government, raising taxes, cuts public spending. – Правительство, увеличивающее налоги, сокращает расходы на общественные нужды.

Raising her voice, she made herself heard over the noise in the classroom. – Повысив голос, она заставила класс услышать себя, несмотря на шум.

Raised taxes is no news for us. – Увеличенные налоги – для нас не новость.

Risen by 10% every year, salaries did not keep up with prices. – Возраставшие ежегодно на 10% зарплаты, тем не менее, не поспевали за ценами.

Note, however, that not all Russian verbs have the entire set of participial forms; some of them lack adverbial participles (e.g., ждать, писать, беречь, мерзнуть, бежать).

The English participle can be translated not only by the Russian participle or adverbial participle, but also by the clause: The cat shuts its eyes when stealing cream. –Когда кошка крадет сливки, она закрывает глаза. In this case, the English sentence is more laconic, since in Russian the subject is repeated twice, whereas in English only once: Если человек нужен, его ищут. – When wanted, a man is looked for.

Sometimes a Russian noun accompanied by a preposition may correspond to the English participle: Aspirin can be poisonous when taken in excessive amounts. – При приеме в больших количествах аспирин может быть ядом.

A parallel verb may also be used: She sat reading. – Она сидела ичитала.

Sometimes, to translate a participle, it is necessary to transform the entire sentence: When seen from this angle, the picture looks rather good. - Если смотреть на картину с этой стороны, она кажется достаточно интересной. When shot, Mrs. Doran was apparently taking a walk. – Миссис Доран была убита, очевидно, во время прогулки.125