Breakdown of Человек, читающий газету, сидит на платформе.
читать
to read
сидеть
to sit
на
on
газета
the newspaper
человек
the person
платформа
the platform
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Questions & Answers about Человек, читающий газету, сидит на платформе.
Why is читающий used instead of a relative clause like который читает?
Читающий is a present active participle, which makes the sentence more concise and literary. A relative clause with который читает газету would mean the same (“The person who is reading a newspaper…”), but participles are often used in Russian to shorten such clauses and add stylistic variety.
How is the participle читающий formed from the verb читать?
To form a present active participle for a first‐conjugation verb like читать:
• Remove -ть → чита-
• Add -ющ- → читающ-
• Add the appropriate adjective ending: -ий (nominative masculine singular) → читающий.
Why are there commas around the phrase читающий газету?
In Russian, when a participial phrase follows the noun it modifies, it is set off by commas. Here читающий газету comes after человек, so you write:
Человек, читающий газету, …
Why is газету in the accusative case?
The verb читать is transitive and answers the question “что?” (what?). To show the direct object “newspaper,” you put газета into the accusative singular (газету).
Does читающий agree with человек in gender and number?
Yes. Participles in Russian function like adjectives and must agree with the noun they modify.
• Masculine singular: читающий человек
• Feminine singular: читающая женщина
• Plural: читающие люди
Why is платформе in the prepositional case after на?
When на indicates location (answers “where?”), it requires the prepositional case. The base платформа becomes платформе in that case.
Could you reorder the sentence, for example starting with На платформе?
Yes. Russian word order is flexible. You could say:
На платформе сидит человек, читающий газету.
This places emphasis on the location first. The meaning stays the same.
Why isn’t there a hyphen or dash between читающий and газету?
Читающий газету is not a compound word but a participle plus its object. No hyphen is needed—hyphens in Russian appear in other constructions (e.g., numbers двадцать один can be written with a hyphen in some styles, but not here).
When should I choose a participle phrase over a full relative clause?
Use a participle phrase when you want brevity or a formal/written style. A full relative clause (который/которая читает газету) is more common in spoken Russian or when the clause is long or complex.