Question 1

What type of voice and aspect is подписывается in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Подписывается is an imperfective passive form (often called the “-ся passive”). It describes an action being done to the subject (the agreement) rather than the subject doing the action. Because perfective verbs do not have a present‐tense form in Russian, you use the imperfective here to express either a general fact or an ongoing process.

Question 2

What does the suffix -ся do in подписывается?

Accepted Answer

The suffix -ся turns an active verb into a passive‐voice form. Instead of “someone signs” (active), you get “it is signed” (passive). This reflexive‐looking ending is the standard way to build the passive for imperfective verbs in modern Russian.

Question 3

Why is there no preposition like кем (“by”) before обеими сторонами?

Accepted Answer

In Russian passive constructions formed with -ся, the agent (the “doer”) is simply put into the instrumental case without a preposition. So обеими сторонами means “by both sides” even though there is no separate word for “by.”

Question 4

What case is обеими сторонами, and why is that case used?

Accepted Answer

Обеими сторонами is in the instrumental plural. In passive sentences in Russian, the agent is marked by the instrumental case. Here it tells us who performs the action of signing.

Question 5

Why обеими, and not some other form of “both”?

Accepted Answer

The noun стороны (sides/parties) is feminine. The word for “both” in the feminine nominative is обе, and its instrumental plural form is обеими. If you were talking about two masculine or neuter nouns, you’d start with оба and still get обоими in the instrumental.

Question 6

Can I express this same idea with a perfect‐aspect construction?

Accepted Answer

Yes. If you want to emphasize that the signing is already completed, you can say:  
Соглашение подписано обеими сторонами.  
Here подписано is a short passive participle (perfective), equivalent to “has been signed.”

Question 7

Does the present‐tense passive подписывается imply that the signing is happening right this moment?

Accepted Answer

Not necessarily. In Russian imperfective passive, present‐tense can mean an action in progress (“is being signed now”) or a general statement/habitual fact (“is signed” whenever required). Context tells you which.

Question 8

Can I rearrange the word order, for example start with Обеими сторонами?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Russian is flexible:  
Обеими сторонами подписывается соглашение.  
Here fronting обеими сторонами adds emphasis to “by both sides,” but the basic meaning stays the same.

Question 9

How would an active‐voice version look, and what’s the difference in focus?

Accepted Answer

An active version is:  
Обе стороны подписывают соглашение.  
(“Both parties sign the agreement.”)  
In active voice the focus is on the subjects doing the action (the parties). In the passive подписывается, the focus shifts to the agreement itself.

Соглашение подписывается обеими сторонами.

Breakdown of Соглашение подписывается обеими сторонами.

Questions & Answers about Соглашение подписывается обеими сторонами.

More from this lesson

Master Russian — from Соглашение подписывается обеими сторонами to fluency