Learn Hardcore Russian: План, предложенный учителем, интересный. - The plan proposed by the teacher is interesting.

The sentence consists of a subject, a participial phrase, and a predicate adjective. План is the subject, предложенный учителем is a participial phrase modifying the subject, and интересный serves as the predicate adjective describing План. In English, this translates roughly to “The plan (that was) proposed by the teacher is interesting.”

What is the function of the participial phrase "предложенный учителем" in this sentence?

The participial phrase предложенный учителем provides additional information about the noun План. It functions similarly to a relative clause in English—essentially meaning “proposed by the teacher”—and specifies which plan is being discussed.

How is the participle "предложенный" formed, and what does it signify?

Предложенный is the past passive participle of the verb предложить (to propose). It indicates that the noun it modifies (План) is the recipient of the action performed by an agent—in this case, the teacher. So, it conveys the meaning “proposed.”

Why is "учитель" written as "учителем" in the participial phrase?

In Russian, when expressing the agent of a passive action, the noun is put in the instrumental case. Учителем is the instrumental form of учитель and shows that the teacher is the one who performed the action of proposing the plan.

Why are commas used to set off the participial phrase "предложенный учителем"?

The participial phrase предложенный учителем is non-restrictive—it adds supplementary information about План without limiting which plan is meant. In Russian punctuation, such non-essential modifiers are typically separated by commas to clarify that the information is additional and not crucial to identifying the subject.

Why is there no linking verb like "is" in the sentence?

Russian often omits the present tense of the verb быть (to be). Although English requires a linking verb (as in “The plan is interesting”), Russian speakers simply say План интересный, with the predicate adjective directly describing the subject.

How does adjective agreement work in this sentence?

The adjective интересный agrees with the noun План in gender, number, and case. Since План is masculine, singular, and in the nominative case, интересный is also in the masculine, singular, nominative form, ensuring proper grammatical agreement.