Forming gerunds
Imperfective gerunds come from the они́ (they) form of the present tense: drop the last two letters and add -я (or -а after ж, ш, ч, щ). Perfective gerunds come from the past tense: replace -л with -в. A reflexive verb (one ending in -ся) keeps its ending as -сь.
A few common verbs have no imperfective gerund at all (писа́ть, ждать, петь); Russians use a different construction instead. Perfective verbs ending in -ти use -я: прийти́ → придя́.
The same-subject rule
A gerund has no subject of its own: it borrows the subject of the main verb. So it can only replace a clause whose subject is the same person or thing. If the subjects differ, keep the full clause with когда́ (when) or потому́ что (because).
What a gerund can mean
The same gerund can stand for “while”, “after”, “because”, “by” or “without”, depending on context. Each example below shows the gerund and the longer clause it replaces.
Where you meet them
Gerunds are a mark of written style. In conversation Russians mostly use когда́ or и instead, except in a handful of fixed phrases that have become everyday words.
| Fixed phrase | Literally | Means |
|---|---|---|
| су́дя по всему́ ▸SU-dya pa fsi-MU | judging by everything | apparently, by all accounts |
| не спеша́ ▸ni spi-SHA | not hurrying | slowly, at a leisurely pace |
| че́стно говоря́ ▸CHES-na ga-va-RYA | honestly speaking | to be honest |
| сломя́ го́лову ▸sla-MYA GO-la-vu | having broken one’s head | at breakneck speed |
| спустя́ рукава́ ▸spus-TYA ru-ka-VA | having let down one’s sleeves | carelessly, half-heartedly |