Breakdown of Мы гуляли вокруг руин, охраняемых государством.
мы
we
гулять
to walk
вокруг
around
государство
the state
руина
ruin
охранять
to protect
Questions & Answers about Мы гуляли вокруг руин, охраняемых государством.
How would you write this sentence using a который clause instead of the participle охраняемых?
You would say Мы гуляли вокруг руин, которые охраняются государством (using the passive reflexive verb) or ...которые охраняет государство (using the active voice). The passive participle охраняемых is a more formal, concise way to express the exact same idea in writing.
Why does охраняемых end in -ых here?
Participles act like adjectives and must agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case. Since the preposition вокруг forces the noun руина into the genitive plural (руин), the participle modifying it must also be in the genitive plural: охраняемых.
Why use the present passive participle (охраняемых) instead of a past participle here?
The present passive participle is formed from the imperfective verb охранять (to protect) and shows an ongoing state. The ruins are currently being protected by the state. Past passive participles are formed from perfective verbs and describe completed actions, which does not fit the continuous nature of protecting a historical site.
Why is государством in the instrumental case?
In Russian passive constructions, the doer or agent of the action is always put in the instrumental case. Since it is the state doing the protecting, государство becomes государством. This functions exactly like the English preposition by in the phrase by the state.
Why is there a comma before охраняемых?
In Russian, when a participle phrase (the participle plus its dependent words, like государством) comes after the noun it modifies (руин), it must be set off by a comma. If you moved the phrase to come before the noun (Мы гуляли вокруг охраняемых государством руин), you would drop the comma.
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