German C1 · Extended Participial Attributes
Erweitertes Partizip I als Attribut – C1 German Grammar
Extended present participle (Partizip I) as an attribute
The present participle is formed from the infinitive + -d: wachsen → wachsend, lachen → lachend. Before a noun it is declined like an adjective.
Meaning: active and simultaneous – something is happening right now / continuously.
- das schlafende Kind = the sleeping child (the child who is sleeping)
- die steigenden Preise = the rising prices (prices that are rising)
Extension: putting information before the participle
Everything that stands before the verb in the relative clause moves between the article and the participle:
article + [extension] + Partizip I + ending + noun
| relative clause | extended participial attribute |
|---|---|
| der Markt, der schnell wächst | der schnell wachsende Markt (the rapidly growing market) |
| die Kinder, die im Garten spielen | die im Garten spielenden Kinder (the children playing in the garden) |
| ein Problem, das seit Jahren besteht | ein seit Jahren bestehendes Problem (a problem that has existed for years) |
| die Zahl der Menschen, die in Armut leben | die Zahl der in Armut lebenden Menschen (the number of people living in poverty) |
Don't forget the endings!
The participle takes the normal adjective ending:
- der wachsende Markt, ein wachsender Markt, mit dem wachsenden Markt
Reading strategy for long attributes
In specialist texts attributes can become very long. Decode them like this:
- Find the article: die …
- Look for the matching noun (often far to the right): … Studierenden
- Find the participle in front of it: … arbeitenden …
- Read the rest as a relative clause: die neben dem Studium in Teilzeit arbeitenden Studierenden = the students who work part-time alongside their studies.
Special form: zu + Partizip I (necessity/possibility)
die zu lösende Aufgabe = the task that has to / can be solved.
Examples:
- Die ständig steigenden Mieten belasten viele Familien. (Constantly rising rents are a burden on many families.)
- Wir suchen einen fließend Deutsch sprechenden Mitarbeiter. (We are looking for an employee who speaks fluent German.)
- Der seit Stunden wartende Patient wurde endlich aufgerufen. (The patient who had been waiting for hours was finally called.)
- Die im Ausland lebenden Deutschen dürfen per Brief wählen. (Germans living abroad may vote by post.)
- Das ist eine noch zu klärende Frage. (That is a question still to be clarified.)