What are extended adjective constructions in German?

In German, extended adjective constructions (aka “extended modifiers”) are multi-word phrases that act like an adjective and appear before the noun they describe. If you like unbelievably long and complex German sentences, these constructions are for you! Compare:

• Normal adjective:

  Der gepackte Rucksack steht am Pier.

  Translation: The packed backpack is standing on the pier.
• Extended adjective construction

  Der gestern Abend von mir und meinem Vater sorgfältig gepackte Rucksack steht am Pier.

  Translation: The backpack that was carefully packed last night by me and my father is standing on the pier.

  Literally: lit. The last-night-by-me-and-my-father-carefully-packed backpack is standing on the pier.

In English, long extended adjective constructions like these aren’t generally allowed, so you’ll usually see them translated using a that-clause, as in the example above. But in German, they sound totally fine. Let’s learn more about how to use extended adjective constructions!

In German, an extended adjective construction is formed by adding modifiers before an attributive adjective (the sort of adjective that precedes a noun).

In a sentence, the entire extended adjective appears in the same position where a plain attributive adjective would appear: after the determiner (e.g. article, possessive adjective, demonstrative,...) and before the noun it modifies.

And as usual, a determiner is not always required:

Let’s look, now, at the internal structure of those adjective constructions. What kinds of adjectives can they be built around? What kinds of modifiers can they take? What order should you use for those modifiers? Read on to learn more!

Many extended adjective constructions are built around participles, but not all of them! Let’s look at some extended adjective constructions based around present participles, past participles, and “classic” (non-participle) adjectives, to give you an idea of the differences!

• Extended adjective constructions with a present participle

  An extended adjective construction built around a present participle usually describes an ongoing action that the noun is engaged in. You’ll usually translate these into English with a relative clause and a verb in its “be verbing” form.

  extended adjective

  die flink über Fels und Stein springende Gämse

  Translation: the mountain goat that is nimbly jumping over rocks and stones

  However, sometimes, if the present participle is immediately preceded by zu (meaning to) the extended adjective can be better translated using a passive infinitive (e.g. “to be verbed”):

  • simple adjective

    Pdas zu erwartende Gewitter

    Translation: the thunderstorm that is to be expected
  • extended adjective

    das in den nächsten paar Stunden zu erwartende Gewitter

    Translation: the thunderstorm that is to be expected in the next couple hours

    Literally: lit. the in-the-next-couple-hours-to-expecting thunderstorm)

• Extended adjective constructions with a past participle

  An extended adjective construction built around a past participle will typically describe an action happened to the noun and has been completed. You can generally translate these into English with a relative clause that uses a passive verb (“be verbed”).

  extended adjective

  die von unserem Elektriker gestern Abend reparierte Seilbahn

  Translation: the cable car that was repaired last night by our electrician

  Literally: lit. the by-our-electrician-last-night-repaired cable car

  However, if you use the past participle of a verb that doesn’t take an object, these are translated using the active voice, usually past tense, instead.

  • simple adjective

    der aufgestandene Wanderer

    Translation: the hiker that got up
  • extended adjective

    der wegen des lauten Vogelgesangs schon früh um 5 Uhr aufgestandene Wanderer

    Translation: the hiker that got up at 5 AM already because of the loud birdsong

• Extended adjectives with non-participle adjectives

  Though many extended adjective constructions will be built around participles, it is just as possible to build them around “classic” adjectives that are unrelated to a verb. Usually these will be translated using a relative clause involving a linking verb like “to be.”

  extended adjective

  seine nach der Wanderung im Gebirge sehr müden Füße

  Translation: his feet that are very tired after the hike in the mountains

  Literally: lit. his from-the-hike-in-the-mountains-very-tired feet

  wegen vieler historischer Häuser sehr malerische Dörfer

  Translation: villages that are very picturesque because of the many historic houses

  Literally: lit. because-of-many-historic-houses-very-picturesque villages

It sure looks as if one can put pretty much anything in that vast space before an attributive adjective, doesn’t it? Well, that’s more or less right, but not quite: there are rules on what types of words and phrases can be used to form an extended adjective construction. Let’s take a look:

• the direct object of a participle in the accusative case:

  direct object (accusative)adjective (participle)

  der einen steilen Weg hinauf kletternde Mann

  Translation: the man that was climbing a steep path

• the indirect object of a participle in the dative case:

  indirect object (dative)adjective (participle)

  der ihm von seiner Oma für die Wanderung geschenkte Rucksack

  Translation: the backpack that was gifted to him by his grandma for the hike

• a genitive attribute, i.e. a possessor or source in the genitive case:

  genitive attributeadjective

  der sich der Gefahren des Gewitters nicht bewusste Wanderer

  Translation: the hiker that was not aware of the dangers of the thunderstorm

  In English a genitive attribute is usually a noun that ends in the possessive -’s or a noun that follows “of”.

• adverbs

  adverbadjective

  der überraschenderweise wunderschöne Ausblick

  Translation: the surprisingly lovely view

• Adverbial phrases describing a time, reason, manner, or place:

  adjectiveadverbial phrase

  die heutzutage wegen der Umweltverschmutzung in den Alpen sehr seltene Bergziege

  Translation: the mountain goat that is very rare in the Alps nowadays due to the environmental pollution

• Additional adjectives, describing either the main noun or describing one of the object nouns

  adjectivesecondary adjective

  die im Mittelalter zerstörte alte Burgruine

  Translation: the old castle ruin that was destroyed in the Middle Ages

German extended adjective constructions can seem very long and daunting at first, so here are some helpful hints for reading and translating them. Let’s look at an example:

1. Translate the main clause (without the adjective and its modifiers):

   Meine Tante ist schon zu Bett gegangen.

   Translation: My aunt has gone to bed already.

2. Translate the “main” adjective (the one that is directly in front of the noun). Depending on what sounds natural, you can use an adjective or a that-clause in English:

   meine zurückgekommene Tante

   Translation: my aunt that returned

3. Translate the “extensions” piece by piece, starting at the leftmost element:

   • meine um 20 Uhr zurückgekommene Tante

     Translation: my aunt that returned at 8 pm
   • meine um 20 Uhr von der langen Bergtour zurückgekommene Tante

     Translation: my aunt that returned at 8 pm from the long mountain tour

4. Translate the “extensions” piece by piece, starting at the leftmost element:

   • meine um 20 Uhr zurückgekommene Tante

     Translation: my aunt that returned at 8 pm
   • meine um 20 Uhr von der langen Bergtour zurückgekommene Tante

     Translation: my aunt that returned at 8 pm from the long mountain tour
   • meine um 20 Uhr von der langen Bergtour ziemlich erschöpft zurückgekommene Tante

     Translation: my aunt that returned rather exhausted at 8 pm from the long mountain tour

Want to use extended adjective constructions yourself? Start by writing a sentence with an attributive adjective, then add more information step-by-step—the process described above can also help you make your own very long extended adjective constructions.

Theoretically, there is no limit to how long an extended adjective construction can be, though practically, it would make a sentence fairly incomprehensible if a single adjective in a sentence is extended by more than say… four or five phrases.

Since you might run out of breath or forget where you started, extended adjective constructions are typically not that common in spoken German, but they are very common in the written language. Look for them in newspaper articles and literary works.

And here, just for you, is the longest extended adjective construction your author could think of! 😮

Extended adjective constructions allow us to provide more detailed information about nouns and adjectives by placing descriptive information directly before an attributive adjective. Here are the most important points to remember:

• Extended adjective constructions are multi-word phrases that act like attributive adjectives: they come after the determiner and before the noun. The adjective itself will come directly before the noun.

• Extended adjectives are most common in written German.

• Most often, you’ll need to translate extended adjective constructions into English using a relative clause. Don’t forget to review the translation tips we gave you to help you translate them accurately!

• Extended adjective constructions can be constructed around present participles, past participles, or “classic” adjectives (ones with no relation to a verb)

Ready to practice? Check out these German extended adjective activities to test your skills!