Posted by Partizip 1 or Präsens Partizip is the first of the two types of participles as well as one of the forms in which a German verb can exist. 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 this article!
The Partizip I of German verbs corresponds to the present participle verb form with the suffix –ing in English. Unlike in English, it is not a tense but rather one of the ways in which a verb can exist. It performs various functions such as being used as Adjectives, Adverbs and Substantive nouns in a sentence.
How to form the Partizip I of German verbs
To derive the Partizip I, the suffix “-d” is simply added at the end of the infinitive verb (non-conjugated verb e.g kochen, fliegen, beginnen etc) just like in the description below.
Infinitive verb + d = Partizip II
For example; kochen + d = kochend
The difference between this category of Partizipien from the other one is that they indicate that something is still on-going or continuous. Take for instance “das weinende Baby” which means the crying baby in English indicates that the baby is still crying or cries every now and then. See more examples below…
Comparison between the Partizip I in German vs. English
In English , the Partizip I which is called the 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 possible to conjugate, rather it always requires the auxiliary verb “be” which is rather conjugated to the subject. For instance; “I am spending” or “She is eating” would never be “I spending” and “she eating” respectively etc.
Also in English, adverbs are famously different from adjectives with the addition of the suffix –ly. Participial adjectives in German are mostly different from their adverbs die to 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 between 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). Some examples of these derivatives are shown below.
| Infinitive | Partizip I | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| spielen ausstehen aufsetzen kommen singen tanzen schlafen weinen steigen studieren | spielend ausstehend aufsetzen kommend singend tanzend schlafend weinend steigend studierend | playing outstanding laying out coming singing dancing sleeping crying stepping studying |
How to use the Partizip I as adjectives
Just like every other regular and irregular adjectives, Partizip I can either be placed before a noun as modifiers or used alone to complement a verb. When placed before a noun, they must have an adjectival end-declension which depends on the grammatical case, the type of article that precedes them and the gender of the noun they are describing.
#Note that when they are used to complement verbs like sein, finden, aussehen etc., they require no adjectival ending.
| German | Translation |
|---|---|
| 1. Das ist hervorragend. | That is excellent. |
| 2. Wo ist the Mutter von diesem weinenden Baby? | Where is the mother of this crying baby? |
| 3. Du hast ein ausstehendes Ergebnis. | You have a pending result. |
| 4. Ich möchte dich am kommenden Wochenende besuchen. | I would like to visit you in the coming weekend. |
| 5. Das ist ein singender Mann. | That is a singing man. |
How to use the Partizip I as Adverbs
As an adverb, the Partizip I describes the manner in which something is done. It belongs in the modal category of Adverbs with respect to TeKaMoLo. Just like every other adverb in German, they do not require end-declensions and can either be placed at the preverbal position in a flexed sentence or at the third in a normal sentence structure.
Unlike most adverbs, the English translation of the German participial adverbs does not take on the suffix –ly. They are instead translated with just 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. | Laughing, my daughter talks with her boyfriend on the phone. |
| 2. Die Frau kocht sitzend in der Küche. | The woman is cooking in the kitchen, sitting. |
| 3. Sie hat mir das nicht wütend gesagt. | She did not say that raging at me. |
How to use the Partizip I as substantive nouns
Apart from using the Partizip I as adjectives and adverbs, one can equally convert them to Substantive masculine, feminine and plural nouns of people by adding “-e/-em/-en/-er” at the end depending on the preceding article and intended grammatical case. This is the German “Gender-Gerichte-Sprache/ or Divers” which prevents discrimination of the sexual preferences of people. See examples below…
| English | Substantive nouns | Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Player | Der/Die Spielende | Der/Die Spieler*in |
| Cook | Der/Die Kochende | Der/Die Koch*in |
| Musician | Der/Die Singende | Der/Die Musiker*in |
| Teacher | Der/Die Lehrende | Der/Die Lehrer*in |
| Learner | Der/Die Lernende | Der/Die Schüler*in |
| Buyer | Der/Die Kaufende | Der/Die Käufer*in |
| Driver | Der/Die Fahrende | Der/Die Fahrer*in |
Observe the table below to see how the adjective endings changes with respect to gender, article and grammatical cases.
Substantive Noun Endings With Definite Articles
| Cases/ Gender | Maskulin | Feminin | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | e | e | en |
| Akkusativ | en | e | en |
| Dativ | en | en | en |
| Genitiv | en | en | en |
Substantive Noun Endings With Indef., Neg. & Pos. Articles
| Cases/ Gender | Maskulin | Feminin |
|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | er | e |
| Akkusativ | en | e |
| Dativ | en | en |
| Genitiv | en | en |
Substantive Noun Endings With No Articles
| Cases/ Gender | Maskulin | Feminin | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominativ | er | e | e |
| Akkusativ | en | e | e |
| Dativ | em | er | en |
| Genitiv | en | er | er |