B2 · GRAMMAR
Participial adjectives
Participles can function as adjectives placed right before nouns. Partizip I gives an active meaning ('-ing'): das schlafende Kind (the sleeping child). Partizip II gives a passive or completed meaning ('-ed'): das gekochte Ei (the boiled egg). Information can be added in front of them to form long participle groups. Good news: This structure works very similarly to English!
In this lesson
1. Partizip I = active (-ing)
Infinitive + d + adjective ending: active, simultaneous.
das schlafende Kind
the sleeping child
2. Partizip II = completed / passive (-ed)
Completed action or passive voice.
das gekochte Ei
the boiled egg
3. Adjective endings
Declined just like regular adjectives: der lachende Mann, ein lachender Mann.
4. Extended participle groups
Extra details are placed before the participle, just like in English.
die seit Jahren leer stehende Wohnung
the apartment standing empty for years
5. Converting to a relative clause
die seit Jahren leer stehende Wohnung = die Wohnung, die seit Jahren leer steht.
💡 When reading a long participle group, jump straight from the article to the noun, then read the middle part from left to right: die [seit Jahren leer stehende] Wohnung → the apartment standing empty for years.