{"id":93893,"date":"2023-09-22T04:44:12","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T08:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/german-past-participle\/"},"modified":"2025-02-26T03:30:48","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T08:30:48","slug":"german-past-participle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/german\/german-past-participle\/","title":{"rendered":"The German Past Participle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The past participle, known as the\u00a0Partizip II<\/em>, is a special conjugation of a verb used\u00a0in the\u00a0Perfekt <\/em><\/strong>(present perfect tense),\u00a0Passiv<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>(passive voice) and as an adjective<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In English, we usually form the past participle by adding -ed<\/strong> (or -en<\/strong>)\u00a0to a word.<\/em> For example: “I have\u00a0finished<\/em> my homework” or “The meal was\u00a0prepared<\/em> by a professional chef.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Because the\u00a0Partizip II<\/em> is used in more difficult grammar structures, understanding it well is essential for reaching an advanced level of German<\/a> proficiency. Read on to learn all about the German past participle, including the rules for forming it and its various usages.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

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How to Form the German Past Participle<\/h2>\n

Before we cover the three basic uses, let’s review how to construct the German past participle first. <\/em>We cover the different types of verbs (strong, mixed and weak) extensively in\u00a0this post<\/a>\u00a0and this post<\/a>, but here’s a quick summary before moving forward:<\/p>\n

Weak Verbs (Regular Verbs)<\/h3>\n

Weak verbs are regular German verbs. To correctly conjugate them,\u00a0<\/em>find the stem\u00a0<\/em>of a verb by removing the –en<\/em>\u00a0ending.<\/p>\n

For example, the stem\u00a0of\u00a0machen <\/em>(to do)\u00a0<\/em>is\u00a0mach.<\/em><\/p>\n

Once you have the stem, add a ge-<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>prefix at the beginning and a –t<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0to the end.<\/p>\n

machen \u2192<\/em>\u00a0ge<\/strong>macht<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Here are other examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Regular Verb<\/th>Meaning<\/th>Past Participle<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
spielen<\/em><\/td>to play<\/td>ge<\/strong>spielt<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
kochen<\/em><\/td>to cook<\/td>ge<\/strong>kocht<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
h\u00f6ren<\/em><\/td>to hear\/listen<\/td>ge<\/strong>h\u00f6rt<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fragen<\/em><\/td>to ask<\/td>ge<\/strong>fragt<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
lernen<\/em><\/td>to learn<\/td>ge<\/strong>lernt<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Strong Verbs (Irregular Verbs)\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Strong verbs are your irregular German verbs, like essen<\/em>, which often have spelling changes when conjugated.<\/p>\n

To conjugate a strong verb, simply add\u00a0ge-<\/em><\/strong> to the beginning of the word, apply the appropriate spelling change and leave the\u00a0-en<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0on at the end.<\/em><\/p>\n

Sometimes there won’t be a spelling change in the Perfekt<\/em>, but the strong verb conjugation rules still apply.<\/p>\n

Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Irregular Verb<\/th>Meaning<\/th>Past Participle<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
essen<\/em><\/td>to play<\/td>ge<\/strong>gessen<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
fahren<\/em><\/td>to cook<\/td>ge<\/strong>fahren<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
schlie\u00dfen<\/em><\/td>to hear\/listen<\/td>ge<\/strong>schlossen<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
nehmen<\/em><\/td>to take<\/td> ge<\/strong>nommen<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sprechen<\/em><\/td>to speak<\/td> ge<\/strong>sprochen<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Mixed Verbs<\/h3>\n

Mixed verbs are a mixture of the two types. Mixed verbs tend to be regular in the present tense, but combine the ending of a weak verb (-t)<\/strong><\/em> with the vowel change of a strong verb in the past tense.<\/p>\n

Examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Irregular Verb<\/th>Meaning<\/th>Past Participle<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
bringen<\/em><\/td>to play<\/td>ge<\/strong>bracht<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
wissen<\/em><\/td>to know<\/td>ge<\/strong>wusst<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
denken<\/em><\/td>to think<\/td> ge<\/strong>dacht <\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
brennen<\/em><\/td>to burn<\/td> ge<\/strong>brannt<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rennen<\/em><\/td>to run<\/td>ge<\/strong>rannt<\/strong><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

After learning the forms of these verbs, one way to internalize them better is by constantly seeing them in context, through German media like TV shows, songs and movies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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