Three syntactic jobs
Before choosing a form, determine whether the adjective modifies a noun, forms the main predicate, or adds a secondary state to an event participant.
- The same lexeme can occupy all three jobs, but the available morphology changes with the construction.
- Control point: Do not choose short versus long until syntactic job and copular frame are known.
3.14 · Three syntactic jobs · table 1
| Job | Example | Form logic |
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| attribute | интере́сная кни́га | long; agrees in case |
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| primary predicate | Кни́га интере́сна. | short; gender/number only |
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| primary predicate | Кни́га интере́сная. | long nominative |
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| past predicate | Кни́га была́ интере́сной. | long instrumental |
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| secondary predicate | Он счита́ет кни́гу интере́сной. | instrumental object complement |
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Present-tense predicates
With zero copula, both short and long nominative predicates occur, but they are not freely interchangeable.
- Short forms often foreground a predicated property, evaluation, relevance, measure, or complement relation. Long forms are common in conversational identification/description and can present a characteristic or classifying description.
- Control point: Naturalness depends on lexeme, context, word order, focus, and register. Learn recurring predicate frames rather than swapping forms mechanically.
3.14 · Present-tense predicates · table 1
| Form | Example | Typical effect |
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| short | Кни́га интере́сна. | evaluative property; often edited/neutral |
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| long | Кни́га интере́сная. | conversational descriptive predicate |
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| short + complement | Кни́га интере́сна де́тям. | relevance to a group |
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| long identification | Э́тот дом но́вый. | identifies/describes this house |
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| short fixed | Вы пра́вы. | lexically preferred predicate |
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Past and future: short, nominative, or instrumental
An overt copula expands the options, especially for long predicates.
- Short forms remain unchanged for case. Long predicates commonly use instrumental after был/бу́дет and change-of-state verbs; nominative long forms also occur in identity, classification, colloquial, or contextually anchored readings.
- Control point: Treat instrumental as the productive long-form default after overt/change-of-state copulas, while recognising meaningful nominative alternatives.
- Retrieval checkpoint: Pause and reconstruct the diagnostic forms from the last three lessons without looking, then check what you missed.
3.14 · Past and future: short, nominative, or instrumental · table 1
| Pattern | Example | Robust interpretation |
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| short | Он был мо́лод. | property predicated; compact/literary-neutral |
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| long instrumental | Он был молоды́м. | state/characteristic in past frame |
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| long nominative | Он был молодо́й. | possible; discourse/register-sensitive |
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| change of state | Он стал споко́йным. | instrumental strongly selected |
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| future short | Он бу́дет гото́в. | short remains non-case form |
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The permanent-temporary myth
Short does not equal temporary, and long does not equal permanent.
- Aspect of the property can influence choice, but so do lexical semantics, degree/boundedness, complement structure, information focus, style, and conventional usage.
- Myth check: Use the binary rule only as a rejected mnemonic. Ask what construction and lexical meaning the speaker is choosing.
3.14 · The permanent-temporary myth · table 1
| Evidence | Example | Why binary rule fails |
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| stable short | Земля́ кругла́. | inherent property |
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| temporary long | Он сего́дня гру́стный. | current state |
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| measure short | Пальто́ мне велико́. | too large relative to experiencer |
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| lexical contrast | Он ви́дный учёный / Дом ви́ден. | meanings and valency differ |
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| scope | Кни́га интере́сна де́тям. | property relative to complement |
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Lexically privileged short predicates
Some meanings are conventionally expressed by short forms whose related long adjectives differ in meaning or distribution.
- These must be learned as predicate lexemes with agreement and complement frames.
- Control point: A shared historical or morphological base does not guarantee a shared modern meaning.
3.14 · Lexically privileged short predicates · table 1
| Predicate | Example | Long-form warning |
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| до́лжен | Он до́лжен рабо́тать. | до́лжный = proper/due in other uses |
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| ну́жен | Мне ну́жен врач. | ну́жный врач = needed/right doctor as attribute |
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| рад | Она́ рада́ ви́деть вас. | no ordinary synonymous long predicate |
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| прав | Вы пра́вы. | пра́вый has right-side/right-wing meanings |
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| согла́сен | Мы согла́сны с ва́ми. | согла́сный also 'consonant' |
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Adjectives have valency
Like verbs, many adjectives license participants or standards in particular cases.
- Learn adjective + question + case as one lexical frame. The complement is not controlled by general adjective agreement; it is selected by the adjective's meaning.
- Control point: The adjective agrees with its subject; its complement keeps the independently governed case: Го́род бо́гат музе́ями.
- Retrieval checkpoint: Pause and reconstruct the diagnostic forms from the last three lessons without looking, then check what you missed.
3.14 · Adjectives have valency · table 1
| Adjective frame | Example | Complement |
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| ве́рен кому/чему | ве́рен ста́рым друзья́м | dative |
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| по́лон чего | по́лон но́вых иде́й | genitive |
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| бо́гат чем | бо́гат поле́зными ископа́емыми | instrumental |
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| дово́лен кем/чем | дово́лен но́вой рабо́той | instrumental |
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| изве́стен кому | изве́стен ру́сским читате́лям | dative |
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Prepositional complement frames
Many adjective meanings specify a preposition plus case rather than a bare case.
- Near-synonyms may select different frames, and a single adjective may permit more than one frame with a meaning difference.
- Control point: Record the preposition, case, and a natural example in the dictionary entry you learn.
3.14 · Prepositional complement frames · table 1
| Frame | Example | Selected profile |
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| гото́в к чему | гото́в к тру́дному экза́мену | к + dative |
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| похо́ж на кого/что | похо́ж на ста́ршего бра́та | на + accusative |
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| свобо́ден от чего | свобо́ден от серьёзных оши́бок | от + genitive |
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| внима́телен к кому/чему | внима́телен к ма́леньким де́тям | к + dative |
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| уве́рен в ком/чём | уве́рен в но́вом ме́тоде | в + prepositional |
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| согла́сен с кем/чем | согла́сен с но́вым пла́ном | с + instrumental |
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Infinitives and clauses as complements
A predicate adjective may license an infinitive or a clause instead of a noun phrase.
- The adjective still agrees with its subject when it has adjectival short/long form; invariant category-of-state words form a neighbouring but different system.
- Control point: Do not call every -о predicate a neuter short adjective. Test whether a nominative neuter subject controls agreement.
3.14 · Infinitives and clauses as complements · table 1
| Construction | Example | Analysis |
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| adjective + infinitive | Он гото́в рабо́тать. | гото́в agrees with он |
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| adjective + infinitive | Она́ способна́ поня́ть. | способна́ agrees with она́ |
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| adjective + clause | Мы ра́ды, что вы здесь. | ра́ды agrees with мы |
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| dative + invariant | Мне тру́дно рабо́тать. | тру́дно is not agreeing adjective here |
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| clausal predicative | Ва́жно, что вы здесь. | ва́жно invariant; no neuter subject |
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Secondary predicates
A secondary predicate describes a participant during, after, or as a result of the main event.
- Instrumental is common and productive; agreeing nominative forms also occur with subject-oriented depictives, with differences in construction, focus, and style.
- Control point: Ask which participant receives the property and whether the construction presents a simultaneous state, result, evaluation, or role.
- Retrieval checkpoint: Pause and reconstruct the diagnostic forms from the last three lessons without looking, then check what you missed.
3.14 · Secondary predicates · table 1
| Construction | Example | Target |
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| subject result/state | Он верну́лся уста́вшим. | он; instrumental |
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| subject depictive | Он пришёл пе́рвый. | subject-oriented ordinal/adjective |
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| object result | Его́ нашли́ живы́м. | его́; instrumental |
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| object evaluation | Мы счита́ем зада́чу тру́дной. | зада́чу; instrumental |
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| appointment | Его́ избра́ли но́вым дире́ктором. | его́; role phrase |
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Predicate and government assessment
Choose syntactic job first, then form, copular case, and complement frame.