In German, a past participle, or Partizip II, is a form of a verb that is most often formed using the pattern ge- + verb + -t / -en, though often the vowel of the verb will need to be changed as well.
| Infinitive | Past Participle |
|---|---|
legen Translation: to put | gelegt Translation: put |
wissen Translation: to know | gewusst Translation: known |
singen Translation: to sing | gesungen Translation: sung |
German past participles have many uses. Most commonly you’ll find them used…
to to form perfect tenses:
Was hast du getan?Translation: What have you done?to form the passive voice:
Das Flugzeug wird von einem Piloten geflogen.Translation: The plane is being flown by a pilot.as adjectives:
die versteckten KostenTranslation: the hidden costs
However, they can also be used as adverbs and they form the base of some nouns that come from verbs. In this post, we’ll go over how to form German past participles and introduce you to some of the situations where you’ll use this verb form, while directing you to further resources where you can learn more. Let’s have a look!
How to form past participles in German?
There are three main patterns you might follow when forming a German past participle. The pattern you follow for an individual verb will depend on if it is a weak, strong, or mixed verb. Let’s look first at each class, then we’ll talk about what to do for separable and inseparable verbs. Let’s make sense of the past!
Weak verbs
The past participle of weak verbs (sometimes called “regular verbs”) is formed using the basic rule: ge- + verb stem + -t.
verb stem
If the verb stem ends in -t, -d or a consonant group, like -tm, -chn , -ffn, -ckn or -gn, you’ll need to add an extra -e- before the ending, which makes it easier to pronounce.
| Infinitive | Stem | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
warten Translation: to wait | wart- | gewartet Translation: waited |
landen Translation: to land | land- | gelandet Translation: landed |
atmen Translation: to breathe | atm- | geatmet Translation: breathed |
zeichnen Translation: to draw | zeichn- | gezeichnet Translation: drawn |
öffnen Translation: to open | öffn- | geöffnet Translation: opened |
trocknen Translation: to dry | trockn- | getrocknet Translation: dried |
regnen Translation: to rain | regn- | geregnet Translation: rained |
Strong verbs
Strong verbs, sometimes called “irregular verbs,” are those verbs that change their stem vowel in one or more tenses. To form the past participle of these forms, you’ll follow the formula ge- + verb stem + -en, but the vowel in the verb stem will often, though not always, be different from the one in the infinitive. For example:
verb stem
(possible vowel change)
The examples above all have a vowel change:
- fliegen → geflogen
- gehen → gegangen
- singen → gesungen
However, some strong verbs still use the same vowel in the stem and the past participle:
| Infinitive | Past Participle |
|---|---|
fahren Translation: to drive | gefahren Translation: driven |
lesen Translation: to read | gelesen Translation: read |
rufen Translation: to shout | gerufen Translation: shouted |
Mixed verbs
Mixed verbs, as the name implies, have characteristics of both weak and strong verbs. Mixed verbs generally follow the weak verb pattern, ge- + stem + -t, but most of them have a change in their stem vowel as well.
verb stem
(possible vowel change)
Did you notice the stem vowel change?
- bringen → gebracht
- denken → gedacht
Here are a few more examples. Notice that they do not always have a vowel change.
| Infinitive | Past Participle |
|---|---|
wissen Translation: to know | gewusst Translation: known |
wollen Translation: to want | gewollt Translation: wanted |
haben Translation: to have | gehabt Translation: had |
How to form the past participle of separable and inseparable verbs?
Separable and inseparable verbs are verbs like einsteigen meaning to get on or verpassen meaning to miss, which are created by adding a prefix to a normal verb. Verbs like these follow slightly different rules, when you’re forming the past participle.
Separable verbs
To form the past participle of a separable verb, take the past participle of the “base” verb, then add the prefix to the front. This works for weak, mixed and strong verbs alike.
| Base Class | Infinitive | Base Infinitive | Base Participle | Past Participle (prefix + ge-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weak | einkaufen Translation: to buy | kaufen | gekauft | eingekauft Translation: bought |
| Strong | vorsingen Translation: to audition as a singer | singen | gesungen | vorgesungen Translation: auditioned-for as a singer |
anrufen Translation: to call | rufen | gerufen | angerufen Translation: called | |
| Mixed | ausdenken Translation: to think up | denken | gedacht | ausgedacht Translation: thought up |
anbringen Translation: to fix, to mount | bringen | gebracht | angebracht Translation: fixed, mounted |
Inseparable verbs
The past participle of an inseparable verb will never have the ge- prefix. The inseparable prefix takes its place.
| Base Class | Infinitive | Base Infinitive | Base Participle | Past Participle (no ge-) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weak | erklären Translation: to explain | klären | geklärt | erklärt Translation: explained |
zerstören Translation: to destroy | stören | gestört | zerstört Translation: destroyed | |
| Strong | versprechen Translation: to promise | sprechen | gesprochen | versprochen Translation: promised |
zerfallen Translation: to decay | fallen | gefallen | zerfallen Translation: decayed | |
| Mixed | erkennen Translation: to recognize | kennen | gekannt | erkannt Translation: recognized |
verbringen Translation: to spend (e.g. time) | bringen | gebracht | verbracht Translation: spent |
How to use the past participle in German?
In German, past participles are primarily used to form perfect tenses, to form the passive voice, and as adjectives, however they have some other uses as well. Let’s look at each use one-by-one.
Past participles in perfect tenses
The perfect tenses are the first place where most German learners will meet the past participle. These tenses, the perfect (or “present perfect”), the past perfect and the future perfect, are created by combining a form of haben meaning to have or sein meaning to be with a past participle.
Perfect:
haben/seinpresent tense
past participle
Das Hochzeitspaar hat die ganze Nacht gesungen und getanzt.Translation: The wedding couple sang and danced all night.Past Perfect:
haben/seinpast tense
past participle
Alle Studenten bestanden die Prüfung, weil sie viel gelernt hatten.Translation: All students passed the exam because they had studied a lot.Future Perfect:
haben/seinfuture tense
past participle
Morgen um diese Zeit werde ich schon in Berlin angekommen sein.Translation: Tomorrow at this time I will already have arrived in Berlin.
Past participles in the passive voice
The past participle is also used in forming the passive voice in German. The main verb in passive constructions will be realized as a past participle:
past participle
Past participles as attributive adjectives
Just like in English, German past participles can be used as attributive adjectives (i.e. adjectives before a noun). Adjectives like these typically describe nouns that have undergone or experienced the verb.
- Die eingelegten Gurken sind lecker!Translation: The pickled cucumbers are delicious!Someone pickled the cucumbers.
- Eine zerkratzte Pfanne sollte man schnellstmöglich ersetzen.Translation: A scratched pan should be replaced as soon as possible.The pan got scratched.
Notice that when you use a past participle as an attributive adjective, you’ll need to add the same adjective endings to them that you add to other adjectives in German. These endings depend on the gender, case and number of the noun, but also on what kind of article or determiner precedes them.
Here are some more examples of German past participles being used as adjectives:
| Determiner | Examples | |
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by a definite article |
| |
| Preceded by a demonstrative article |
| |
| Preceded by an indefinite article |
| |
| Zero article |
| |
Past participles as adverbs
Less commonly, past participles can also be used as adverbs. Like other adverbs, the past participle is not inflected when used as an adverb:
- Die Schale lag zerbrochen auf dem Boden.Translation: The bowl lay broken on the floor.
- Die Studenten hören dem Professor gelangweilt zu.Translation: The students listen to the Professor, bored.
Past participles as the base for nouns
In German, past participles can be turned into nouns (or “nominalized”) that represent someone or something that underwent an action. Such nouns take on the gender of the type of noun that underwent the action and are declined like adjectives.
For a lot more discussion of participles like this, check out our post on nominalization in German.
Summary
Turns out, the past participle makes quite a useful addition to your German tool box! In this article, you have learned the following:
Past participles mostly are formed with one of these patterns:
Weak verbs ge-stem
-enStrong verbs ge-stem
(often a vowel change)-enMixed verbs ge-stem
(often a vowel change)-enRemember the special rules for prefix verbs:
Separable verbs → ge- is inserted between the prefix and the base verb.
Inseparable verbs → the participle prefix ge- is omitted.
List item The German past participle has a number of uses:
perfect tenses
passive voice
as an attributive adjective
as an adverb
in nominalizations
Ready to study? Check out this sorted list with the past participles of common German verbs! Or, if you’d rather practice, check out these German past participle activities to put these new tools to use!
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