Participles as Adjectives in German: Partizip I and Partizip II

German can put both participles in front of a noun and use them like ordinary adjectives. Partizip I (lachend) describes an active, ongoing action: das lachende Kind means the laughing child. Partizip II (repariert, geschlossen) usually describes something completed or done to the noun: das reparierte Auto means the repaired car.

In front of a noun, participles take normal adjective endings. They let you shrink a whole relative clause into one word, which makes them common in news, reports and B2 exam texts.

The two participles at a glance

	Partizip I	Partizip II
Form	infinitive + -d	ge-…-t / ge-…-en
Meaning	active, happening at the same time	passive and completed, or a completed change
Example	die schlafende Katze	die geschlossene Tür
English	the sleeping cat	the closed door

Partizip I: form and meaning

Formation

Take the infinitive and add -d. That is the whole rule.

Infinitive	Partizip I	Example	English
warten	wartend	die wartenden Fahrgäste	the waiting passengers
lächeln	lächelnd	eine lächelnde Verkäuferin	a smiling shop assistant
ankommen	ankommend	die ankommenden Gäste	the arriving guests
tun	tuend		doing (rare)
sich nähern	sich nähernd	das sich nähernde Gewitter	the approaching storm

Separable verbs stay together in one word (ankommend). Reflexive verbs keep their pronoun, which goes before the participle (das sich nähernde Gewitter).

Meaning

Partizip I is always active: the noun is doing the action. The action happens at the same time as the main event in the sentence.

• Die wartenden Fahrgäste wurden über die Verspätung informiert. — The waiting passengers were informed about the delay.
• Viele Familien leiden unter den steigenden Mieten. — Many families are suffering from rising rents.
• Der Hund lief zu dem weinenden Kind. — The dog ran to the crying child.

Each of these replaces a relative clause in the present: das Kind, das weint becomes das weinende Kind.

Partizip II: form and meaning

Formation

You already know this form from the Perfekt. If you need a refresher, see our guide to the Perfect Tense (Perfekt).

Verb type	Infinitive	Partizip II	Example	English
regular	kaufen	gekauft	das gekaufte Ticket	the purchased ticket
irregular	schreiben	geschrieben	ein geschriebener Text	a written text
separable	einladen	eingeladen	die eingeladenen Gäste	the invited guests
-ieren	reparieren	repariert	das reparierte Auto	the repaired car
inseparable	verkaufen	verkauft	die verkauften Wohnungen	the sold flats

Meaning 1: passive (transitive verbs)

With verbs that take an accusative object, Partizip II has a passive meaning. Something has been done to the noun.

• Die Polizei hat das gestohlene Fahrrad gefunden. — The police found the stolen bike.
• Bitte legen Sie die ausgefüllten Formulare auf den Tisch. — Please put the completed forms on the table.

Das gestohlene Fahrrad means das Fahrrad, das gestohlen worden ist.

Meaning 2: completed change (verbs with sein)

Some intransitive verbs form the Perfekt with sein and describe a change of state. With these verbs, Partizip II is active and completed: the noun did it, and it is finished.

• Die gestiegenen Preise ärgern viele Kunden. — The increased prices annoy many customers.
• Der verspätet angekommene Zug fährt gleich weiter. — The train that arrived late is leaving again shortly.
• Wir haben das eingeschlafene Baby ins Bett gelegt. — We put the baby, who had fallen asleep, to bed.

Intransitive verbs that form the Perfekt with haben cannot be used this way. Der geschlafene Mann is wrong. Use Partizip I (der schlafende Mann) or a relative clause (der Mann, der geschlafen hat).

Reflexive verbs

With Partizip II, the reflexive pronoun disappears:

• sich verlieben → das verliebte Paar — the couple in love
• sich erholen → die erholten Urlauber — the rested holidaymakers

Endings: participles behave like adjectives

In front of a noun, a participle takes exactly the same endings as any other adjective. The ending depends on the article, gender, case and number. If these still feel shaky, review our guide to Adjective Endings first.

Case	Definite article	Indefinite article	Plural, no article
Nominative	der wartende Kunde	ein wartender Kunde	wartende Kunden
Accusative	den wartenden Kunden	einen wartenden Kunden	wartende Kunden
Dative	dem wartenden Kunden	einem wartenden Kunden	wartenden Kunden
Genitive	des wartenden Kunden	eines wartenden Kunden	wartender Kunden

the waiting customer / a waiting customer / waiting customers

With Partizip II forms ending in -en, the adjective ending is added on top: geschrieben + -e → die geschriebene Nachricht (the written message). Do not drop either part.

From relative clause to participle

Turning relative clauses into participles is a typical B2 task. Ask yourself two questions. Is the noun doing the action or receiving it? Is the action ongoing or finished?

Relative clause	Participle attribute	English
der Mann, der telefoniert	der telefonierende Mann	the man who is on the phone
die Fenster, die geputzt wurden	die geputzten Fenster	the cleaned windows
der Zug, der angekommen ist	der angekommene Zug	the train that has arrived
die Kinder, die spielen	die spielenden Kinder	the playing children

• Active and ongoing → Partizip I
• Passive (transitive verb) → Partizip II
• Completed change (sein verb) → Partizip II

The Relative Clauses guide covers the long version if you want to compare.

You can also add extra information before the participle: der seit einer Stunde wartende Kunde (the customer who has been waiting for an hour). These longer structures are a C1 topic, explained in our guide to Extended Participle Attributes.

A note on zu + Partizip I

In formal texts you will also see zu + Partizip I with an ending. It expresses what must or can be done: die zu lösende Aufgabe (the task to be solved), ein nicht zu unterschätzendes Risiko (a risk not to be underestimated). At B2 you mainly need to recognise it.

Predicative and adverbial use

Participles can also appear after the verb or describe how something is done. In these positions they take no ending.

Partizip II after sein describes a state:

• Die Tür ist geschlossen. — The door is closed.
• Das Problem ist gelöst. — The problem is solved.

Partizip I after sein only works when the participle has become a real adjective:

• Der Film ist spannend. — The film is exciting.
• Die Arbeit war anstrengend. — The work was tiring.

You cannot say Das Kind ist weinend. German uses the verb instead: Das Kind weint. (The child is crying.)

Adverbial use describes the manner of an action:

• Sie verließ lachend den Raum. — She left the room laughing.
• Er kam völlig erschöpft nach Hause. — He came home completely exhausted.

Partizip I vs Partizip II: -end or ge-…-t?

Many participles are now everyday adjectives. They work much like English -ing and -ed adjectives. The Partizip I form describes the thing that causes a feeling. The Partizip II form describes the person who has the feeling.

Partizip I (causes it)	Partizip II (feels it)
ein spannender Krimi — an exciting thriller	gespannte Zuschauer — eager viewers
eine überraschende Nachricht — surprising news	ein überraschter Kollege — a surprised colleague
eine enttäuschende Leistung — a disappointing performance	enttäuschte Fans — disappointed fans
eine verwirrende Anleitung — confusing instructions	ein verwirrter Kunde — a confused customer
ein überzeugendes Argument — a convincing argument	ein überzeugter Veganer — a committed vegan

These adjectives also form comparatives and superlatives: Das Buch war spannender als der Film. (The book was more exciting than the film.)

Participles as nouns

Participles are often turned into nouns. They keep their adjective endings:

• der/die Reisende, ein Reisender, die Reisenden — the traveller(s)
• die Studierenden — the students
• der/die Angestellte, eine Angestellte — the employee
• Bei dem Unfall gab es drei Verletzte. — There were three injured people in the accident.

Common mistakes

• ✗ das weinend Kind → ✓ das weinende Kind — A participle in front of a noun always needs an adjective ending.
• ✗ die steigende Preise → ✓ die steigenden Preise — After die in the plural, the ending is -en.
• ✗ der geschlafene Hund → ✓ der schlafende Hund — Schlafen forms the Perfekt with haben, so its Partizip II cannot describe a noun.
• ✗ Ich bin spannend auf das Ergebnis. → ✓ Ich bin gespannt auf das Ergebnis. — The person who feels the tension is gespannt.
• ✗ der geinformierte Kunde → ✓ der informierte Kunde — Verbs ending in -ieren never take ge-.
• ✗ das nähernde Gewitter → ✓ das sich nähernde Gewitter — Partizip I of a reflexive verb keeps the reflexive pronoun.
• ✗ Das Baby ist schlafend. → ✓ Das Baby schläft. — Partizip I after sein only works with true adjectives like spannend.
• ✗ ein geschriebenes Brief → ✓ ein geschriebener Brief — Brief is masculine, so the nominative after ein is -er.

Quick check

Fill in the correct form of the participle.

1. Das ___ (schreien) Baby hat die ganze Nacht nicht geschlafen.
2. Wir haben das ___ (reparieren) Fahrrad gestern abgeholt.
3. Die gerade ___ (ankommen) Gäste wurden herzlich begrüßt.
4. Er hatte Angst vor dem ___ (bellen) Hund.
5. Ich bin sehr ___ (spannend / gespannt), wie das Spiel ausgeht.

Answers

1. schreiende — active and ongoing, so Partizip I; neuter nominative after das. The screaming baby didn’t sleep all night.
2. reparierte — passive, so Partizip II with no ge-; neuter accusative after das. We picked up the repaired bike yesterday.
3. angekommenen — completed change with a sein verb; plural after die. The guests who had just arrived were warmly welcomed.
4. bellenden — active, so Partizip I; masculine dative after dem. He was afraid of the barking dog.
5. gespannt — the speaker feels the suspense; no ending after sein. I’m very curious to see how the match ends.

Next step

The key decision is always the same: active and ongoing means Partizip I, while passive or completed means Partizip II, followed by the correct adjective ending. Practise that decision in context with our B2 Participles as Adjectives test. Look at any mistakes and check whether the problem was the participle, the ending, or both.