PARTIZIP II: How to form the past participle in German

The past participle form of German verbs is the second of the two types of Partizipien in German and one of the several forms in which German verbs can appear. It is not a tense but rather one of the prerequisites for forming the Perfekt and Plusquamperfekt tense both in English as well as in German. Unlike the Partizip I, this second Partizip indicates “done” or the past.

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How to form the Partizip II of german verbs

The Partizip II is a type of German Partizipien which is the past participle form of a verb in English. It is formed differently for the various categories of german verbs and functions in various ways such as; adjectives, interjections, substantive nouns, passive voice and in forming the Perfekt and Plusquamperfekt tense. They can be with or without the participial prefix ge-. The categories of inseparable verbs and those foreign verbs that end with –ieren never take on the participial prefix while those of all other categories do.

1. Partizip II formation for weak verbs (regelmäßige Verben)

This group of German verbs that have a regular conjunction pattern and form their Partizip II in the steps below.

• Conjugate the verb in present tense to the third person subject (er/sie/es) using the table below.

• Add the prefix ge– in front of the verb conjugate as shown in the figure below.

Verbs	Partizip II	English
weinen	geweint	cried
machen	gemacht	done/made
spielen	gespielt	played
hören	gehört	heard
feiern	gefeiert	celebrated
suchen	gesucht	searched

Strong verbs on the other hand form their Partizip II by changing the stem vowel in their first syllable before attaching themselves to the prefix ge-. Since separable and inseparable verbs have their root verbs as either weak, strong or mixed verbs, their Partizip II is formed likewise except that for separable verbs, the prefix ge- is placed in between the prefix and the root verb while that of inseparable doesn’t take a prefix.

2. Partizip II formation for strong verbs (unregelmäßige Verben)

Recall that strong verbs are those with stem changes. This change doesn’t only happen in their conjugated forms but also in their Partizip II. These verbs form their Partizip II in three steps using the table below;

• Change the stem vowel and/or stem-end consonant (if and when necessary) of the infinite form of the verb using the table below.

• Attach the participial prefix ge– in front of the infinite past verb-form.

Verbs	Partizip II	Translation
schreiben	geschrieben	written
ziehen	gezogen	pulled/pushed
fahren	gefahren	driven
stehlen	gestohlen	stolen
essen	gegessen	eaten
sitzen	gesessen	sat
fliegen	geflogen	flown
beißen	gebissen	bitten
schneiden	geschnitten	cut
gehen	gegangen	gone
singen	gesungen	sung
werden*	geworden	become
lassen**	gelassen/ lassen	let/ left

* Has a different form when used as an auxiliary. See the Partizip II for auxiliary verbs below.

** Lassen has two forms of Partizip II and they are used for different circumstances. See how here.

3. Partizip II formation for german mixed verbs

Because these verbs are a mixture of both weak and strong verbs, they form their Partizip II having both attributes of weak and strong verbs in the steps below;

• Conjugate the verb to the third person subject (er/sie/es).
• Change the stem vowel from “e“ or “i” to “a” or “u”.
• Attach the participial prefix ge– to the stem at the front.

Verbs	Partizip II	English
rennen	gerannt	run
wissen	gewusst	known (fact)
bringen	gebracht	brought
kennen	gekannt	known (smb/ smth)
nennen	genannt	(nick) named
wenden	gewandt	turned
brennen	gebrannt	burned
senden	gesandt	sent
denken	gedacht	thought

4. Partizip II formation of auxiliary verbs (Hilfsverben)

The Partizip II of this verb category is not as direct as every other category and so must be mastered. Some members form their Partizip II like weak verbs while others like strong verbs. This is shown below.

* Werden has two forms of Partizip II and they are used differently as auxiliary and as main verbs. See Partizip II for strong verbs above.

5. Partizip II formation for separable verbs (trennbare Verben)

The Partizip II of these verbs is form based on the category of the root verb (weak,strong or mixed) attached to the separable prefix in addition to the participial prefix as described in the steps below;

• Identify the category of the root verb and conjugate appropriately.
• Detach the separable prefix from the root verb.
• Place the participial prefix –ge– between the separable prefix and the root verb.

The root verb here is weak. Hence it is conjugated like a weak verb

Here, the root is a strong verb and so treated like a strong verb

6. Partizip II for inseparable verbs (untrennbare Verben)

This group of verbs have prefixes that do not separate from their root verbs. They are conjugated based on the category of their root verb. They don’t make use of the participial prefix ge– as shown in the examples below…

Verben	Partizip II	English
versprechen	versprochen	promised
zerschneiden	zerschnitten	pieced
gehören	gehört	belonged to
missbrauchen	missbraucht	misused/abused
besuchen	besucht	visited
beginnen	begonnen	begun
bedauern	bedauert	regretted
bedanken	bedankt	thanked
entscheiden	entschieden	decided
empfehlen	empfohlen	recommended
empfangen	empfangen	received

7. Partizip II formation for german verbs with –ieren

The Partizip II of these verbs isn’t formed with the participial prefix ge- just like inseparable verbs. They are somewhat like those of weak verbs in that they are conjugated to the third person subject (er/sie/es) or by replacing the verb-ending –en with a –t as shown below.

8. Partizip II formation for modal verbs (Modalverben)

The Partizip II of modal verbs somewhat behaves like that of mixed verbs. In addition to the participial prefix ge-, the verb-ending –en is replaced with a –t while the stem umlaut vowel is converted to the normal vowel where necessary (e.g ö to o etc). The stem-ending remains the same except for mögen where –g– changes to –ch-. See examples below.

* To further understand the parts (stem, stem-end, verb-end and verb root) of German verbs here.