Breakdown of Люди, гуляющие по набережной, кормят уток.
люди
people
гулять
to walk
по
along, around
кормить
to feed
набережная
the embankment
утка
the duck
Questions & Answers about Люди, гуляющие по набережной, кормят уток.
How is the active present participle гуляющие formed here?
It comes from the imperfective verb гулять (to walk). To form it, take the third-person plural present tense form гуляют (they walk), drop the final -т, and add the participle suffix -щий. Since it describes the plural noun люди (people), it takes the plural nominative ending -щие, giving us гуляющие.
Why are there commas around гуляющие по набережной?
In Russian, when a participle phrase (the participle and its dependent words, like по набережной) comes directly after the noun it modifies, it must be set off by commas. If the phrase came before the noun instead (гуляющие по набережной люди), you would not use commas.
Why does the word for embankment, набережной, take an adjective ending?
The word набережная is an adjective that permanently functions as a noun (a substantivized adjective), so it still follows adjective declension rules. The preposition по (along) requires the Dative case, causing the feminine adjective ending to change to -ой, making it набережной.
Why is the word for ducks уток instead of утки?
The verb кормят (are feeding) requires the Accusative case for its direct object. The dictionary plural form for ducks is утки. Because ducks are alive (animate), their Accusative plural form must match their Genitive plural form, which is уток.
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