Stroitsya and postroen: two ways to hide the doer
When who acts does not matter, the doer is hidden — and two ways of doing it are not to be mixed up. For example: “Отходы сортируют, а опасные сдают отдельно” — The waste is sorted and the hazardous kind is handed in separately. A rule from the Russian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
When who acts does not matter, the doer is hidden — and two ways of doing it are not to be mixed up.
The first is a verb in -sya: Dom stroitsya, Musor sortiruetsya. This is process and rule: notices, instructions and laws live like this.
The second is a short word from the participle: Dom postroen, Zayavlenie podano. This is the result, and the word bends by gender and number: stena postroena, doma postroeny.
The simplest way out is the plural with no person: Stroyat novuyu shkolu, Sortiruyut otkhody. No doer, and the verb is alive.
Table
| The way | Example | The meaning | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| a verb in -sya | dom stroitsya | process | the work is on |
| a verb in -sya | musor sortiruetsya | a rule | so it is arranged |
| a short participle | dom postroen | the result | the job is done |
| a short participle | zayavlenie podano | a state | about papers |
| the personless plural | stroyat shkolu | an action | the doer does not matter |
| the personless plural | govoryat, chto | words retold | hearsay |
| the full participle | postroennyy dom | a quality | next to a noun |
| the doer in the by/with form | postroen zavodom | by whom | when the doer is needed after all |
By example
- Отходы сортируют, а опасные сдают отдельноOtkhody sortiruyut, a opasnye sdayut otdelnoThe waste is sorted and the hazardous kind is handed in separately
- Мост построен, а дорога ещё строитсяMost postroen, a doroga eshchyo stroitsyaThe bridge is built and the road is still under construction
- Новую школу строят, а старую снесутNovuyu shkolu stroyat, a staruyu snesutThe new school is being built and the old one will be torn down
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Dom stroitsya or dom postroen?
The first is a verb in -sya: Dom stroitsya, Musor sortiruetsya. This is process and rule: notices, instructions and laws live like this.
How to skip who did it?
When who acts does not matter, the doer is hidden — and two ways of doing it are not to be mixed up.
Musor sortiruetsya: the rule?
The first is a verb in -sya: Dom stroitsya, Musor sortiruetsya. This is process and rule: notices, instructions and laws live like this.
How to make a result into a quality?
When who acts does not matter, the doer is hidden — and two ways of doing it are not to be mixed up.
What does it look like in a Russian example sentence?
“Отходы сортируют, а опасные сдают отдельно” (Otkhody sortiruyut, a opasnye sdayut otdelno) — The waste is sorted and the hazardous kind is handed in separately. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.