Predicate meaning, register, and restrictions
Short forms are productive unevenly: some are neutral and frequent, some bookish, and some unavailable or semantically specialised.
- The contrast is lexical as well as grammatical. Relative adjectives such as дере́вянный normally lack short forms, while qualitative readings can license forms that a classificatory reading cannot.
| Type | Example | Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| neutral frequent | Комна́та свобо́дна. | productive predicate |
| formal/evaluative | Э́та ме́ра целесообра́зна. | common in edited prose |
| bookish aphoristic | Земля́ кругла́. | short form natural |
| relative classification | стекля́нная две́рь | normally no *дверь стеклянна |
| relic attribute | на бо́су но́гу | fixed phrase, not productive syntax |
Read the model
3.13 · Predicate meaning, register, and restrictions · table 1
neutral frequent · Комна́та свобо́дна. · productive predicateformal/evaluative · Э́та ме́ра целесообра́зна. · common in edited proseMini-check
Why is *дере́вянен a poor default? Is every short predicate temporary?
Apply this next
- Say the Russian examples aloud, cover the model, and retrieve the pattern once before continuing.