To give clear step-by-step instructions—like guiding yoga and meditation—you can compress long clauses into short noun phrases.
Syntactic Compression with Verbal Nouns
A verbal noun (отглагольное существительное) is formed directly from a verb, like turning "to inhale" into "an inhalation" (вдох) or "to relax" into "relaxation" (расслабление).
Instead of using full subordinate clauses (like "when you inhale" or "so that you relax"), you can replace the entire clause with a prepositional phrase. This is called syntactic compression, and it is widely used in formal guides and instructions.
Common prepositions used for compression include:
- при
- Prepositional case: "on" or "at the time of" an action.
- для
- Genitive case: "for" a purpose.
- во время
- Genitive case: "during" an event.
- после
- Genitive case: "after" an action.
- без
- Genitive case: "without" a condition.
| On the inhale, it is important to hold the pose. | При вдохе важно сохранять позу. |
| For relaxation after yoga, we use meditation. | Для расслабления после йоги мы используем медитацию. |
| During meditation, the instructor demands serious concentration. | Во время медитации инструктор требует серьёзной концентрации. |
| After the exhale, complete relaxation of the body occurs. | После выдоха наступает полное расслабление тела. |
| Without flexibility, it is hard to do this stretch. | Без гибкости тяжело делать эту растяжку. |
Advanced Compression: Action Nouns Ending in -ие
In everyday speech, we often use complete clauses with когда (when) to connect events.
| Yoga begins when the instructor arrives. | Йога начинается, когда приходит инструктор. |
However, formal instructions often compress these clauses using по + Prepositional case to mean "upon" (e.g., "upon completing", "upon finishing").
Many formal verbal nouns end in -ие (завершение for "completion", выполнение for "execution"). When these neuter nouns take the Prepositional case—whether following по or при—their ending changes from -ие to -ии.
| Upon completing the meditation, we take a deep exhale. | По завершении медитации мы делаем глубокий выдох. |
| The instructor recommends closing your eyes when performing this pose. | Инструктор рекомендует закрывать глаза при выполнении этой позы. |
| Upon finishing the yoga class, we feel joy. | По окончании урока йоги мы чувствуем радость. |