Breakdown of Хищник, рычащий в темноте, нападает на добычу.
в
in / to (direction)
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
темнота
darkness (f)
хищник
predator
нападать
to attack
добыча
prey
рычать
to growl
Questions & Answers about Хищник, рычащий в темноте, нападает на добычу.
How is the active participle рычащий formed from the verb рычать?
It is formed by taking the 3rd-person plural (they) form of the present tense, which is рычат, dropping the final -т, and adding the active present participle suffix -щий. Because it modifies the masculine, nominative subject хищник, it takes the standard masculine nominative ending to become рычащий.
How would you rewrite this sentence using a который (which/who) clause?
You would write: Хищник, который рычит в темноте, нападает на добычу. The participle phrase рычащий в темноте means exactly the same thing as который рычит в темноте, but participles are often used in written Russian as a way to combine clauses smoothly.
Why are there commas surrounding the phrase рычащий в темноте?
In Russian punctuation, when a participle phrase comes immediately after the noun it describes (in this case, хищник), it must be separated from the rest of the sentence by commas. If the phrase were placed before the noun (Рычащий в темноте хищник...), the commas would be dropped.
Why does the verb нападает use the preposition на instead of just taking a direct object?
The verb нападать (to attack) never takes a bare direct object in Russian. It always requires the preposition на plus the accusative case to show who or what is being targeted. Here, the nominative noun добыча (prey) changes to the accusative добычу.
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