Extended Participial Attribute

Level 5

The Extended Participial Attribute is a formal way to pack information into a noun phrase. Instead of saying 'the law that was proposed by the government,' you say 'the by the government proposed law.' It is common in legal and academic writing.

How It Works

In standard Danish, we usually use a relative clause (with som or der) to describe a noun with complex information. However, in bureaucratic or administrative Danish, writers often use the extended participial attribute for density and objectivity.

1. Structure:
The structure follows this strict order:
[Determiner] + [Modifiers] + [Participle] + [Noun]
The determiner can be an indefinite article (en/et), a numeral such as to, a definite article (den, det, de), a possessive pronoun (min, din, hans), or a demonstrative (denne, dette).

2. Active vs. Passive Meaning:
The choice of participle determines the relationship between the noun and the action:

  • Past Participles (Transitive): Carry a passive meaning. The noun is the receiver of the action (e.g., den underskrevne kontrakt = the contract that was signed).
  • Past Participles (Intransitive): Carry an active meaning, usually indicating a completed change of state or movement (e.g., den hjemvendte soldat = the soldier who has returned home).
  • Present Participles: Carry an active meaning. The noun is the doer of the action (e.g., den legende hund = the dog that is playing).

3. Morphology and Agreement:

  • Definite: When used with a definite article or possessive, the past participle takes the definite -e ending (e.g., den underskrevne kontrakt).
  • Indefinite: If the construction is indefinite, the participle follows standard adjective agreement (e.g., et ofte anvendt ord).
  • Present Participles: These always end in -ende and do not change for gender or number.

4. Register:
Long, densely modified versions are characteristic of formal writing and often sound stiff in conversation. Short phrases such as en ofte anvendt metode are not necessarily bureaucratic. It is often called a 'Germanism' because it mirrors German syntax, but it is a standard feature of formal Danish prose.

Form changes: Do not simply append e to every participle. Compare malet → malede, skrevet → skrevne and anvendt → anvendte in definite or plural adjective use. The choice of stem is lexical.

Indefinite and numbered phrases: En ofte anvendt metode (a frequently used method), et nyligt malet hus (a recently painted house), and to nyligt malede huse (two recently painted houses) are all possible.

A relative-clause alternative: Den af direktøren underskrevne kontrakt can be unpacked as den kontrakt, som direktøren har underskrevet (the contract the director has signed). Choose tense and voice to preserve the intended timing and participants; expanding to a clause is not just a word-for-word rearrangement.

Examples (6)

  1. De i går nævnte problemer skal løses straks.

    The problems mentioned yesterday must be solved immediately.

    Word by Word: The in yesterday mentioned problems shall be solved immediately.

    Here, 'i går' (yesterday) modifies the participle 'nævnte' (mentioned). The entire phrase is placed before 'problemer'.

  2. Den af direktøren underskrevne kontrakt er forsvundet.

    The contract signed by the director has disappeared.

    Word by Word: The by director-the signed contract is disappeared.

    The prepositional phrase 'af direktøren' (by the director) is placed before the past participle 'underskrevne'.

  3. De fra udlandet hjemvendte soldater blev hyldet.

    The soldiers returned home from abroad were hailed.

    Word by Word: The from abroad-the home-returned soldiers were hailed.

    This uses an intransitive verb 'hjemvendte'. Unlike transitive verbs, the past participle here has an active meaning, describing a completed action by the subject.

  4. Min af ministeren godkendte plan blev iværksat.

    My plan approved by the minister was implemented.

    Word by Word: My by minister-the approved plan was implemented.

    This shows that the construction can start with a possessive pronoun ('min') instead of just a definite article.

  5. Den i haven legende hund er meget glad.

    The dog playing in the garden is very happy.

    Word by Word: The in garden-the playing dog is very happy.

    This uses a present participle (-ende). While rarer than the past participle version, it follows the same 'sandwich' logic.

  6. En ofte anvendt metode er at spørge eksperterne.

    An often used method is to ask the experts.

    Word by Word: An often used method is to ask experts-the.

    This shows an indefinite construction. The participle 'anvendt' follows standard adjective agreement for common gender nouns.

Common Mistakes

  • Using English-style word order within the attribute.

    den foreslåede af regeringen lov
    den af regeringen foreslåede lov

    In Danish, the modifiers (af regeringen) MUST come before the participle (foreslåede) when used as an attribute before the noun.

  • Forgetting the definite -e ending on the past participle.

    den af direktøren underskrevet kontrakt
    den af direktøren underskrevne kontrakt

    When a participle acts as an adjective in a definite construction, it must follow adjective agreement rules and take the -e ending.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Extended Participial AttributeLevel 5

Learn This First

To understand the extended participial attribute, you must first be comfortable with using past participles as adjectives and how they agree with nouns. You also need to understand the structure of definite noun phrases, as this pattern involves inserting complex adverbial or prepositional phrases between the definite article and the participle.