Posted by The Partizip 1 or Präsens Partizip is the first of the two types of participles and one of the four forms in which verbs can exist in German. Apart from being used as adjectives and adverbs, it is used to form the present continuous tense in English. Find out how it is used in German!
| Content in this post |
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| 1. Description of the Partizip I 2. How to form the german Partizip I 3. How to use Partizip I as adjectives 4. How to use Partizip 1 as adverbs 5. How to form substantive nouns with Partizip I |
The Partizip I of german verbs corresponds to the present participle verb that is formed with –ing in English which is only obtainable with the infinitive of german verbs. Unlike in English, it is not a tense but rather one of the four ways in which a German verb can exist. This form of German verbs can be used as adjectives, adverbs and substantive nouns in a sentence.
How to form the Partizip I of german verbs
The Partizip I of a german verb is formed by simply adding a “-d” at the end of the infinitive (non-conjugated verb) e.g kochen, fliegen, beginnen etc.
In English , the Partizip I which is called present participle is formed by adding the suffix “-ing” to the verb. For example; “spend” in the partizip I becomes “spending”. This is of course not used for conjugation, rather it always require an auxiliary verb which is then conjugated to the subject. For instance; “I am spending” and “She is eating”. It is never “I spending” etc. Some examples of these derivatives are shown below.
| Infinitive | Partizip I | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| spielen sagen gratulieren sprechen ausbilden ausstehen aufsetzen stehen kommen singen tanzen gehen schlafen weinen verkaufen gehören bringen kochen steigen wissen studieren reden wüten | spielend sagend gratulierend sprechend ausbildend ausstehend aufsetzen stehend kommend singend tanzend gehend schlafend weinend verkaufend gehörend bringend kochend steigend wissend studierend redend wütend | playing saying congratulating speaking training outstanding laying out standing coming singing dancing going sleeping crying selling belonging bringing cooking stepping knowing studying talking raging |
How to use the Partizip I as adjectives
Just like every other adjective, Partizip I can either be placed before a noun as modifiers or used alone as verb complements. When placed before a noun, it must have an adjectival end-declension which is based on the grammatical case, the type of article preceding it and the gender of the succeeding noun. But when it is used to complement a verb like sein, it requires no adjectival ending and must be placed at the end of the sentence.
The difference between this category of german adjectives from the rest is that when used in the present tense, they indicate that something is still on-going. Take for instance “das weinende Baby” which means the crying baby in English. In a nut shell, this is indicating that the baby is still crying or cries every now and then. See more examples below…
| German | Translation |
|---|---|
| 1. Das ist hervorragend. 2. Wo ist the Mutter von diesem weinenden Baby? 3. Du hast ein ausstehendes Ergebnis. 4. Ich möchte dich am kommenden Wochenende besuchen. 5. Das ist ein singender Mann | That is excellent. Where is the mother of this crying baby? You have a pending result. I would like to visit you in the coming weekend. That is a singing man. |
How to use the Partizip I as Adverbs
As adverbs, the Partizip I describes the manner in which something is done. They belong in the modal category of TeKaMoLo classification of German adverbs. Just like every other adverb, these German participial adverbs don’t require an end-declension like adjectives can be placed at the first position before the verb in a flexed sentence or at the third in a normal sentence structure. While in English, they are placed at the first, middle or end of the sentence. When placed at the first and last position, they must be punctuated with a comma.
Also in English, adverbs are famously distinguished from adjectives by the addition of the suffix –ly. Participial adjectives in German are mostly differentiated from their adverbs by their end-declension when used with a noun. But in the absence of a noun, they appear the same in form and even in meaning. Hence, the easiest way to differentiate them is either from their position in the sentence or from the conjugated verb i.e whether it is complimentary (for adjectives) or not (for adverbs).
Unlike most adverbs, the English translation of the German participial adverbs does not take on the suffix –ly. They are instead translated with the suffix –ing. For example, instead of spielend to be “playingly” like quickly, slowly, sadly etc, it is rather playing. See sentences below.
| German | Translation |
|---|---|
| 1. Lachend telefoniert meine Tochter mit ihrem Freund. 2. Die Frau kocht sitzend in der Küche. 3. Sie hat das nicht wütend zu mir gesagt. | Laughing, my daughter talks with her boyfriend on the phone. The woman is cooking in the kitchen, sitting. She did not say that raging at me. |
Partizip I as substantive nouns
Apart from being used as adjectives, the Partizip I of german verbs can equally be used to form masculine and feminine nouns (der/die) of people only by adding “-e/-em/-en/-er/-es” at the end (depending on the preceding article and grammatical case). This is referred to in German as “Gender-Gerichte-sprache/Divers” and often used to prevent discrimination of the sexuality of people. Take for example the substantive Studierend which is obtained from the verb studieren which means “to study” in English. Observe the table below to see how the adjective endings changes with respect to gender, article and grammatical cases.
| Cases/ Types of article | Nominativ | Akkusativ | Dativ | Genitiv |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Def. Article No | Der/die Studierende | Den Studierenden Die Studierende | Dem/der Studierenden | Des/der Studierenden |
| Indef./Neg./ Poss. Articles | (m/k)ein Studierender (m/k)ein Studierende | (m/k)ein Studierenden (m/k)eine Studierende | (m/k)einem Studierenden (m/k)einer Studierenden | (m/k)eines Studierenden (m/k)einer Studierenden |
| No Article | Studierender/ Studierende | Studierenden/ Studierende | Studierendem/ Studierender | Studierenden/ Studierender |
| Plural | Die Studierenden Meine/keine Studierende | Die Studierenden Meine/keine Studierende | Den Studierenden Meinen/keinen Studierenden | Der/meiner/keiner Studierenden |
| Literal translation | (The/a/my/no) Studying person(s) | (The/a/my/no) Studying person(s) | (The/a/my/no) Studying person(s) | (The/a/my/no) Studying person(s) |
| Alternative meaning | (The/a/my/no) Student (s) | (The/a/my/no) Student (s) | (The/a/my/no) Student (s) | (The/a/my/no) Student (s) |
In other to use the Partizip I as substantive nouns, they must be capitalized at the initials and used alone instead of them being used to describe another noun. Some more examples are;
| English | Substantive nouns | Alternative German nouns |
|---|---|---|
| Player Cook Musician Teacher Learner Buyer Driver | Der/Die Spielende Der/Die Kochende Der/Die Singende Der/Die Lehrende Der/Die Lernende Der/Die Kaufende Der/Die Fahrende | Der/Die Spieler*in Der/Die Koch*in Der/Die Musiker*in Der/Die Lehrer*in Der/Die Schüler*in Der/Die Käufer*in Der/Die Fahrer*in |
| German | English |
|---|---|
| 1. Ich bin ein Mitarbeitender von Frau Herzog. 2. Hast du den Reisenden gesehen, der nach Berlin mitfährt. 3. Die Lehrerin hat mit allen Studierenden gesprochen. 4. Ich bin die Mutter des Singenden, deren Musik heute Abend gespielt wurde. | 1. I am a coworker of Ms. Herzog. 2. Have you seen the traveller, who is travelling along to Berlin? 3. The teacher has spoken to all students. 4. I am the mother of the singer whose music was played tonight. |
To learn more about how substantive nouns are formed with natural adjectives see here.
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