© Tobias Woelke 09.01.2018

Partizip I and Partizip II in German  

German lessons by Skype

German lessons by Skype

The participles are formed through verbs. In the German language there are two participles:

The participle I in German

The participle I, the so-called participle of the present that is formed through the infinitive of the verb.Examples:

Participle I (“Partizip I” in German): Kochend, laufend, weinend

The participle I is constructed with:

(infinitive of the verb) + “d”

Verb                                                  Participle 1

• singen                                         singend
• laufen                                          laufend
• kochen                                        kochend
• Exception is the verb sein the participle here is seiend

The participle II in German

• The participle II, is the so-called participle of the past that can be used in the past perfect, plus-perfect, the passive. Examples of the past participle:
• Participle II (“Partizip II” in German): gekocht, geschlossen, verletzt

Both participles can be used as adjectives in the German language.

When can participles be used as adjectives in German?

We begin with the participle I:

Formation of the participle I in German

Article +                          participle I +declination of the adjective        + Noun

Der                                                bellende                                             Hund

Das                                               fahrende                                             Auto

The participle I as an adjective is used to express that two events are happening at the same time in the present. Let’s see an example:

Der Hund geht in den Park und bellt.

Here two actions occur at the same time:

– On the one hand the dog goes to the park

-the second action: the dog barks

Now we convert this phrase into a phrase using participle 1 as an adjective:

Der Hund geht bellend in den Park

“The dog is barking at the park”. We realize that the participle 1 as an adjective is not declined because it does not go before the noun, it does not have function as an attribute.

Now we decline the participle I as an adjective, the rules of adjectival declension apply:

With definite article: Der bellende Hund geht in den Park

With an indefinite article: Ein bellender Hund geht in den Park

No article: Bellender Hund verhindert Einbruch (barking dog avoids a theft)

In theory the participle I can be used with all the verbs, but with some verbs its use sounds very strange as for example in the case of sein or modal verbs.

Participle II as an adjective in German:

The participle II as an adjective is used for a finished action or in the passive

How is the participle II formed as an adjective?

An example:

Die Suppe ist gekocht                                              the soup is cooked

Since the participle does not go before the noun, it is not declined. In the following example, if:

Die gekochte Suppe                                                 the cooked soup

article + Participle II + declination of adjectives + Noun

Die                              geschlossene                                     Tür

Der                              verletzte                                             Mann

More examples of the use of the participle II as an adjective in the German language:

Das gewonnene Spiel                                               the won game

Das gestohlene Geld                                                the stolen money

Die verlassene Stadt                                                the abandoned city

This has been all about the participle I and the participle II as an adjective in the German language. If you have any doubt, you can comment on the Post.

a greeting

Tobias Woelke

German  lessons by Skype