The debate on the nature of verbal nouns in Slavic languages: nominal or verbal?

The article defines the status of verbal nouns in Slavic linguistics, focusing in particular on the diverse terminological apparatus in each of the Slavic languages and determining its verbal or nominal nature. The verbal nature of such constructions is analyzed based on the following features: regular and systemic nature of formation; retained aspectual correlation; constructions with the agent in the instrumental case, which are characteristic of the passive voice; retained reflexive formants; expressed uncountable actions, which makes it impossible to use a plural form; expressed categories of transitivity/intransitivity and nullified categories of tense, mood, and person. It is emphasized that the productivity of the usage of these forms in Slavic languages depends on the nominal (Russian, Polish) or verbal (Ukrainian, Slovak) nature of the language. The article also analyzes the usage of reflexive verbal nouns in modern texts.