Participles as Adjectives
Turn verbs into descriptions: the present participle for what is happening right now, as in das kochende Wasser, and the past participle for what has been done, as in die reservierten Plätze.
Two participles, two directions
German can turn almost any verb into an adjective, and it does so with two different participles. The past participle you know from the Perfekt and the passive — gekocht, reserviert, geöffnet — describes something that has been done: das gekochte Ei is an egg that someone has cooked. The present participle — kochend, schlafend, wartend — describes something in the middle of happening: das kochende Wasser is water that is boiling right now.
So the two participles point in opposite directions. The present participle is active and ongoing; the past participle is completed and usually passive in feel. Compare der schließende Zug — a train in the act of closing its doors — with die geschlossene Tür, a door that is now shut.
Once a participle stands in front of a noun, it behaves exactly like any other adjective and takes the endings you completed in the lessons on adjective declension: das kochende Wasser, mit kochendem Wasser, die reservierten Plätze.
Gießen Sie das kochende Wasser langsam über den Tee.
Pour the boiling water slowly over the tea.
Present participle: the water is boiling at this moment.
Die reservierten Plätze sind in der ersten Reihe.
The reserved seats are in the first row.
Past participle: someone has reserved the seats — the action is complete.
Bitte wecken Sie das schlafende Kind nicht.
Please do not wake the sleeping child.
The present participle: infinitive plus d
Building the present participle could hardly be easier: take the infinitive and add -d. kochen becomes kochend, warten becomes wartend, steigen becomes steigend, kommen becomes kommend. Then add the normal adjective ending for the article, gender and case: die wartenden Fahrgäste, im kommenden Jahr.
A handful of these forms are so frequent that they feel like ordinary adjectives, and you should learn them as vocabulary: steigend (rising), kommend (coming, next), folgend (following), passend (suitable, matching), dringend (urgent). Newspapers love steigende Preise and steigende Mieten; letters and forms love im folgenden Abschnitt and passende Unterlagen.
Unlike English, German does not use this form to build a tense. Ich bin kochend does not mean I am cooking — that is simply Ich koche. The present participle lives almost entirely in front of nouns.
Die steigenden Mieten sind ein großes Problem in vielen Städten.
The rising rents are a big problem in many cities.
Die wartenden Fahrgäste standen dicht gedrängt auf dem Bahnsteig.
The waiting passengers stood tightly packed on the platform.
Im kommenden Jahr möchte ich die B1-Prüfung bestehen.
In the coming year I want to pass the B1 exam.
Wir suchen eine passende Wohnung für unsere Familie.
We are looking for a suitable flat for our family.
The past participle as adjective
The past participle needs no new formation at all — you have been building gekauft, geschrieben and unterschrieben since A1. New is only the position: in front of a noun, with an adjective ending. Der Vertrag ist unterschrieben becomes der unterschriebene Vertrag; die Plätze wurden reserviert becomes die reservierten Plätze.
The meaning is compact: a whole passive sentence folds into two words. Die genannten Unterlagen means the documents that were named; das geöffnete Fenster means the window that has been opened. This is why the pattern is everywhere in written German — it saves a full relative clause.
Without an article the participle carries the strong ending, exactly as you learned for ordinary adjectives: gebrauchte Möbel, gekochtes Gemüse, mit gebrochenem Arm.
Bitte schicken Sie uns den unterschriebenen Vertrag bis Freitag zurück.
Please send the signed contract back to us by Friday.
Durch das geöffnete Fenster kam kalte Luft ins Zimmer.
Cold air came into the room through the open window.
Die reservierten Plätze befinden sich im vorderen Teil des Zuges.
The reserved seats are in the front part of the train.
Gebrauchte Möbel sind oft deutlich günstiger als neue.
Used furniture is often considerably cheaper than new furniture.
Without an article the participle takes the strong ending, like any adjective.
Participles in official and written German
Letters from authorities, rental advertisements and job postings are dense with participle adjectives, because officials prefer two-word descriptions to relative clauses. Where a friend would say die Unterlagen, die ich oben genannt habe, an office writes die genannten Unterlagen. Recognising the pattern turns intimidating letters into readable ones.
A practical decoding trick: when a long adjective before a noun puzzles you, unfold it into a mini sentence. Die angebotene Wohnung — die Wohnung wurde angeboten, the flat was offered. Der beiliegende Brief — der Brief liegt bei, the letter is enclosed. Ask yourself whether the hidden verb is active and ongoing (present participle) or done and passive (past participle), and the meaning falls out.
For your own B1 writing, one or two well-placed participles lift the register immediately: die geplante Veranstaltung, die genannten Punkte. Use them where you would otherwise need a relative clause, and your letters start to sound pleasantly official.
Bitte bringen Sie die genannten Unterlagen zum Termin mit.
Please bring the documents named above to the appointment.
Die angebotene Wohnung wurde leider schon vergeben.
Unfortunately, the flat that was offered has already been given to someone else.
Weitere Informationen finden Sie im beiliegenden Schreiben.
You will find further information in the enclosed letter.
Für die geplante Veranstaltung brauchen wir eine Genehmigung der Stadt.
For the planned event we need a permit from the city.
Check yourself
Quick checks on this lesson. Get at least three quarters right to mark it as completed.
Die ___ Kinder sind sehr laut. — The children are playing right now. Which form fits?
Practise what you learned