Participles as adjectives
Partizip I und II als Adjektiv
In German a verb can be used like an adjective to describe a noun: Partizip I for an action still going on (kochend), Partizip II for a finished one (gekocht).
In German you can use verbs like adjectives, just as English does with “boiling water” and “boiled egg”. Partizip I (Infinitiv + d) is for actions that are going on right now, Partizip II for finished actions.
Right now: turning a verb into an adjective
ShortcutPartizip I (-d): the action is going on at the same time as the main verb. Partizip II (ge-): the action is finished or was done by someone else (inseparable prefixes and verbs ending in -ieren take no “ge-”; with separable verbs “ge-” slips into the middle).
das kochende Wasser
boiling water (it is boiling right now, P I)
das gekochte Ei
boiled egg (the cooking is done, P II)
When these words come in front of a noun, they follow the adjective-ending rules (Adjektivdeklination) exactly like an ordinary colour or size adjective.
You already do this in English
In English we add “-ing” or “-ed/-en” to verbs and put them in front of nouns (a crying child, a used car). The logic in German is the same.
| English | German | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| the crying child | das weinende Kind | Partizip I (infinitive + d) |
| the used car | das gebrauchte Auto | Partizip II (third form) |
| the flowing water | das fließende Wasser | Partizip I (infinitive + d) |
| the stolen bag | die gestohlene Tasche | Partizip II (third form) |
Partizip I is always an active, ongoing action. Partizip II is a finished action (with transitive verbs it also expresses the passive).
Table: Partizip II is not only passive
Partizip II is usually used for passive actions (done by someone else). But intransitive verbs that form their perfect with sein and express a change of state or place (einschlafen, kaputtgehen) can also give a Partizip II. These are not passive: they express “active but finished”.
| Verb type | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Transitive (takes haben) | das gekaufte Auto | the car that has been bought (passive) |
| Intransitive (takes sein) | das eingeschlafene Baby | the baby that has fallen asleep (active, event finished) |
| Intransitive (takes sein) | das kaputtgegangene Radio | the radio that has broken (active, event finished) |
Verbs that take haben and are also intransitive (e.g. weinen, lachen) can NOT be used as a Partizip II adjective.
Trap: intransitive verbs that take haben
Trying to make a Partizip II adjective from every verb
If a verb cannot take an object (intransitive) and forms its Perfekt with “haben” (e.g. weinen, lachen, schlafen), you cannot make a Partizip II adjective from it. English is more relaxed here — “a laughed man” sounds odd, but “a slept-in bed” exists — so do not trust your English ear.
das geweinte Kind
Wrong. weinen takes “haben” and is intransitive.
das weinende Kind
the crying child
der gelachte Mann
Wrong. lachen takes “haben”.
der lachende Mann
the laughing man
What you just learned
Die ___ Kinder spielen im Garten. (lachen)
Show the answer
lachenden — Plural (die) Nominativ -> adjective ending -en (die lachenden).
das reparierende Auto — means “the repaired car”.
Show the answer
False. “reparierende” is Partizip I and means “repairing”. A car cannot repair itself. The correct form is “das reparierte Auto”.
Der ___ Kaffee ist heiß. (kochen)
Show the answer
kochende — The coffee is still boiling (active) -> kochend + e (der Kaffee).
The part nobody tells you: a shortcut instead of a Relativsatz
In newspapers and books you meet very long adjective phrases: Der vor dem Haus parkende Wagen... This is German’s trick for shortening sentences. The structure “Der Wagen, der vor dem Haus parkt...”, which is really a relative clause (Relativsatz), is made more compact with a participle. In everyday speech the Relativsatz is preferred, in writing the Partizip.
Know this before the test
The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.
- Active = Partizip I, finished = Partizip II
If the event is going on, add -d. Use Partizip II when a transitive verb expresses a passive/finished action, or when an intransitive verb with sein expresses an active but finished state.
der kochende Kaffee (boiling), das eingeschlafene Baby (fallen asleep)
das gestohlende Auto
das gestohlene Auto
No extra -d ending is added to the Partizip II form.
Test yourself
Tap an answer — we will look at why together.
Er hat einen Job. (anstrengen)
He has a tiring job.
Der Kaffee ist heiß. (kochen)
The boiling coffee is hot.
Ich kaufe einen Wagen. (gebrauchen)
I’m buying a used (second-hand) car.
Der Hund ist laut. (bellen)
The barking dog is loud.
Wir reparieren das Radio. (kaputtgehen)
We’re repairing the broken radio.
Er spricht mit der Frau. (weinen)
He’s talking to the crying woman.
Practice done — –
To finish the topic, take the full test: score 60% and it is marked as done on your level path.
0/6 · questions answered
Partizip als Adjektiv worksheet
This whole page — tables, traps, examples — as one PDF. Download it, print it, run through it before the exam.
Related topics
Adjective endings
guter · gute · gutes · guten
German adjective endings are the letters an adjective takes when it stands in front of a noun: guter, gute, gutes, guten.
Relativsätze
der · den · dem · dessen
Relative clauses (Relativsätze) are subordinate clauses that describe a noun and start with a relative pronoun: der, den, dem, dessen.
Perfekt
haben or sein?
The spoken past: choosing haben or sein, and building Partizip II.