German Partizip I: The Present Participle

The Partizip I, also called the present participle, is used in German to describe an action or state that is happening at the same time as another action. Depending on the context, it can often be translated with an English “-ing” form, such as “standing”, “sitting” or “smiling”.

What is the Partizip I?

The Partizip I describes an ongoing action or state. In German, it can be used as an adverb to explain how something happens, or as an adjective before a noun.

• stehend – standing
• sitzend – sitting

How to form the Partizip I

The basic formation is:

verb stem + -d

Examples:

• gehen → gehend – going
• schlafen → schlafend – sleeping
• singen → singend – singing

How the Partizip I is used

As an adverb describing how an action happens

When one action takes place while another action is happening, the Partizip I can describe the manner of the action.

• Mein Freund schläft immer stehend.
  My friend always sleeps standing.
• Sie kam lächelnd ins Zimmer.
  She came into the room smiling.
• Er saß schweigend in der Ecke.
  He sat silently in the corner.

In these examples, the Partizip I corresponds to an English “-ing” form or an adverb such as “silently”.

As an adjective

The Partizip I can also work as an adjective. In this role, it comes before the noun, like any other attributive adjective.

• die sprechende Frau – the speaking woman
• der stehende Mann – the standing man
• das mit dem spielenden Kind – the one with the playing child

Adjective endings

When the Partizip I is used as an adjective, it takes an ending in the same way as other German adjectives. Possible endings include -e, -en, -em and -er.

• Ein lachender Junge – a laughing boy
• Mit einem spielenden Kind – with a playing child

Negation

To negate the Partizip I, use nicht directly before the participle.

• ein nicht schlafender Mann – a man who is not sleeping
• eine nicht sprechende Frau – a woman who is not speaking

Further examples

• A friend sleeps standing. – Mein Freund schläft stehend.
• The teacher explains while smiling. – Der Lehrer erklärt lächelnd.
• The man standing in the street is familiar. – Der auf der Straße stehende Mann ist bekannt.
• The child learns while playing. – Das Kind lernt spielend.
• A crying baby is in the car. – Ein im Auto weinendes Baby.
• The child who is not sleeping watches television. – Das nicht schlafende Kind sieht fern.

Summary

• The German name for the present participle is Partizip I.
• It is formed with verb + d, for example gehen → gehend.
• It has two main uses:
  1. As an adverb: describing how an action happens, for example stehend or lachend.
  2. As an adjective: describing a noun, for example die lachende Frau or der spielende Junge.
• When used as an adjective, the Partizip I takes an ending like any other German adjective.
• Negation is formed with nicht + Partizip I.

Practical steps for learning the Partizip I

1. Take a German verb and remove its infinitive ending to identify the verb stem.
2. Add -d, for example gehen → gehend.
3. Use the new form after a verb when you want to describe an action happening at the same time.
4. Place it before a noun when it functions as an adjective.
5. Add the appropriate adjective ending when the Partizip I is used before a noun.
6. For a negative meaning, place nicht directly before the Partizip I.