Breakdown of Мой брат выбросил сломанный стул и разбитый телефон.
и
and
брат
brother
стул
chair
телефон
phone
мой
my (мой, моя, моё) / mine
разбить
to break
выбросить
to throw away
сломать
to break (snap, damage, machines)
Questions & Answers about Мой брат выбросил сломанный стул и разбитый телефон.
How is the participle сломанный formed from the verb сломать?
Сломанный is a past passive participle meaning "broken". It is formed from the perfective verb сломать (to break). Because the verb's infinitive ends in -ать, we drop the -ть and add the suffix -нн-, followed by the standard adjective ending -ый.
Why does разбитый use the -т- suffix instead of -нн-?
Past passive participles use the suffix -т- instead of -нн- when the verb root consists of a single syllable ending in a vowel (such as verbs ending in -ить, -ыть, or -еть). Since the verb here is разбить (to smash), which has the short root би-, we drop the -ть and add -т- to get разбитый.
Are сломанный and разбитый in the nominative case here?
They look exactly like the nominative case, but they are actually in the accusative case! Participles decline just like regular adjectives. Because they describe стул (chair) and телефон (phone) — which are masculine inanimate nouns acting as the direct objects of the verb выбросил (threw away) — their accusative forms are identical to their nominative forms.
Both сломанный and разбитый translate to "broken". What is the difference in usage here?
Сломанный comes from сломать, which usually means to snap or break something structurally, like a piece of wooden furniture or a bone. Разбитый comes from разбить, which means to smash or shatter, typically used for fragile things that break into pieces like glass, dishes, or a dropped phone.
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