Breakdown of Свитки, украшенные редким орнаментом, — это образцы классической каллиграфии.
это
this / it is
образец
sample
украсить
to decorate (perfective)
редкий
rare
классический
classical
свиток
scroll
каллиграфия
calligraphy
орнамент
ornament
Questions & Answers about Свитки, украшенные редким орнаментом, — это образцы классической каллиграфии.
Why are there commas around украшенные редким орнаментом?
This is the core rule of Russian participial phrases. Because the phrase украшенные редким орнаментом (decorated with a rare ornament) comes after the noun it modifies (Свитки), it must be set off by commas. If you moved it before the noun (украшенные редким орнаментом свитки), the commas would disappear.
Why is there an em dash (—) right after the comma?
The dash is required because both the main subject (Свитки) and the main predicate (образцы) are nouns in the nominative case. The dash acts like the English verb 'to be', and it is often followed by это. The comma right before it is just closing the participial phrase; you need both punctuation marks here side-by-side to satisfy both grammar rules.
Why is редким орнаментом in the instrumental case?
Passive participles like украшенные (decorated) take the instrumental case to indicate the material used to perform the action. Just like you would say украшен цветами (decorated with flowers), here the scrolls are decorated with a rare ornament.
Why does the participle украшенные have a double н (нн)?
This is a past passive participle formed from the perfective verb украсить. By rule, full passive participles with prefixes (like the у- here) are written with double нн. Remember that if it were a short-form participle, like in the phrase свитки украшены, it would drop one and only have a single н.
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