Breakdown of Ветеринаром осматривается каждый питомец, пришедший в клинику.
в
to
каждый
every
ветеринар
the veterinarian
клиника
the clinic
осматриваться
to be examined
питомец
the pet
пришедший
arrived
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Russian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Ветеринаром осматривается каждый питомец, пришедший в клинику.
Why is ветеринаром in the instrumental case?
In Russian passive (or “indefinite-personal”) constructions with -ся, the noun representing the agent (the “doer” of the action) is put in the instrumental case. Here ветеринаром literally means “by the veterinarian.”
What does the -ся suffix do in осматривается?
The suffix -ся makes the verb passive or reflexive. In осматривается it creates a passive meaning: “(is) examined.” There is no “self”-meaning here; it simply shifts the focus onto the pet being examined.
Why is the word order ветеринаром осматривается каждый питомец instead of каждый питомец осматривается ветеринаром?
Russian has relatively free word order. Placing ветеринаром at the start can highlight the agent (the veterinarian) or serve a stylistic purpose. The neutral, most common order would be Каждый питомец осматривается ветеринаром.
Is the comma before пришедший в клинику necessary?
It depends. Пришедший в клинику is a participle phrase describing питомец, and when a participle phrase follows its noun, it is usually set off with commas if it’s non-restrictive. If it’s essential to the meaning (restrictive), you can omit the comma. In many formal texts the comma is still used for clarity.
What is пришедший here, and why does it have that form?
Пришедший is a past active participle of прийти (“to come”). It agrees with питомец in gender (masculine), number (singular) and case (nominative) because it modifies that noun and specifies “which pet.”
Why is каждый питомец singular, not something like все питомцы?
Каждый means “each” and always pairs with a singular noun: каждый питомец = “each pet.” To speak about all pets collectively you would use все питомцы (“all the pets”).
Can I say the sentence in the active voice? How would that look?
Yes. In active voice it becomes Ветеринар осматривает каждого питомца, пришедшего в клинику. Now ветеринар is the subject in nominative, осматривает is the active verb, and каждого питомца moves to accusative singular.
Why use a participle (пришедший) instead of a relative clause with который?
Participles allow Russian to form shorter, more formal clauses. Питомец, пришедший в клинику is more concise than питомец, который пришёл в клинику, though both are grammatically correct.