Германн трепетал...

Hermann trembled...

We will try again to build a full sentence, starting small and adding words as we go. This time, I borrowed a sentence from The Queen of Spades by A. S. Pushkin. The protagonist, Hermann, was stationed outside the house, anxiously waiting for a chance to sneak in.

Illustration by Alexandre Benois

Германн трепетал.

Hermann trembled.

---

Германн трепетал, как тигр.

Hermann trembled like a tiger.

---

Германн трепетал, как тигр, ожидая.

Hermann trembled like a tiger as he waited.

“Ожидая” is an adverbial participle (деепричастие in Russian), similar to an English gerund, but different in that it expresses an additional action occurring simultaneously with or in connection to the main action “трепетал” (trembled).

It answers the question что делая? (while doing what?) in present tense or что сделав? (after doing what?) in past tense.

So “ожидая” literally means “while waiting,” “as (he) waited” or “as (he was) waiting.”

---

Германн трепетал, как тигр, ожидая назначенного времени.

Hermann trembled like a tiger, while waiting for the appointed time.

---

Германн трепетал, как тигр, ожидая назначенного времени. В десять часов вечера он уж стоял перед домом графини.

Listen to these lines read by Nikolai Marton:

Please find in my notes the links to the full text of The Queen of Spades by A. S. Pushkin and to the audio files of Nikolai Marton reading the novella.