Breakdown of Заглавные буквы, украшенные орнаментом, написаны чернилами красного цвета.
красный
red
цвет
color
написать
to write (perfective)
буква
letter (of the alphabet)
украсить
to decorate (perfective)
заглавный
capital (letter)
орнамент
ornament
чернила
ink
Questions & Answers about Заглавные буквы, украшенные орнаментом, написаны чернилами красного цвета.
Why is the phrase украшенные орнаментом surrounded by commas?
Because it is a participial phrase that comes directly after the noun it modifies (буквы). In Russian, when a participial phrase follows its head noun, it must be set off by commas. If we moved it before the noun, saying украшенные орнаментом заглавные буквы, the commas would disappear.
What is the difference in function between украшенные and написаны in this sentence?
Both are past passive participles, but they play different grammatical roles. украшенные is a long-form participle acting as an adjective phrase to describe the letters. написаны is a short-form participle acting as the main predicate of the sentence (the letters are written). Short-form participles are always used as predicates.
Why are the words орнаментом and чернилами both in the instrumental case?
Both words indicate the instrument or means by which an action was performed. The letters were decorated by means of an ornament (орнаментом) and they were written using ink (чернилами). The instrumental case is frequently used with passive participles to show what was used to complete the action.
Why does the sentence use the genitive phrase красного цвета instead of just the instrumental adjective красными?
Saying красными чернилами (with red ink) is perfectly correct and more common in everyday speech. However, using the genitive phrase чернилами красного цвета (with ink of red color) adds a slightly more formal or descriptive tone, which fits well with a sentence describing ornate calligraphy.
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