Participles Used as Adjectives

Level 3

A participle like gekacht (cooked) can describe a noun: gekachten Ham, e gekacht Ee, eng zougemaach Dier.

How It Works

1. From verb to describing word
A past participle can describe a noun: kachen → gekacht → e gekacht Ee (a boiled egg). It goes before the noun, like any adjective.

2. Masculine: -en
de geklauten Auto (the stolen car), gerappte Kéis (grated cheese). The -en follows the n-rule. See adjective endings masculine.

3. Neuter: no extra t
Most participles already end in -t, so nothing is added: e gekacht Ee (a boiled egg), dat renovéiert Haus (the renovated house). See adjective endings neuter -t.

4. Feminine and plural
Ordinary adjectives stay bare here (eng grouss Stad). Participles in -t often take -en instead:

  • déi gefroten Dokumenter (the requested documents)
  • gekachten Ham (cooked ham). Ham is feminine, but this is how the food is always named, and the official spelling guide writes eng gekachten Ham.

The bare form is also common: gekacht Gromperen (boiled potatoes), déi geplangt Ännerungen (the planned changes). Participles without a final t usually stay bare: eng zougemaach Dier (a closed door). Both are heard, so you do not need to worry about this choice.

5. In the dative
The dative endings are the same as for adjectives: mat gerapptem Kéis (with grated cheese). See adjective endings in the dative.

6. After sinn
After sinn, the participle has no ending, because it describes a state: D'Dier ass zougemaach. See state passive. Longer phrases before a noun are covered in extended participle phrases.

Examples (6)

  1. Ech hätt gär zwou Tranche gekachten Ham.

    I would like two slices of cooked ham.

    Gekachten Ham is the fixed name of the food.

  2. Do war just eng zougemaach Dier.

    There was only a closed door.

    Zougemaach has no final t and stays bare before the feminine Dier.

  3. Si hunn de geklauten Auto am Bësch fonnt.

    They found the stolen car in the woods.

    Masculine: geklaut + -en.

  4. Ech iessen all Moien e gekacht Ee.

    I eat a boiled egg every morning.

    Neuter: gekacht already ends in t, so nothing is added.

  5. Schéckt eis wgl. déi gefroten Dokumenter.

    Please send us the requested documents.

    Plural: the participle gefrot takes -en.

  6. Dat gëtt mat gerapptem Kéis zerwéiert.

    That is served with grated cheese.

    Dative without an article: -em, as for any adjective.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out the -en before a masculine noun.

    Si hunn de geklaut Auto fonnt.
    Si hunn de geklauten Auto fonnt.

    Before a masculine noun, the participle takes -en, like any adjective.

  • Adding -en before a neuter noun.

    Ech iessen e gekachten Ee.
    Ech iessen e gekacht Ee.

    Ee is neuter. A participle that already ends in t adds nothing before a neuter noun.

  • Putting the participle after the noun, as in French.

    Ech hätt gär Ham gekacht.
    Ech hätt gär gekachten Ham.

    A participle used as an adjective goes before the noun. Ech hätt gär Ham gekacht means something else: I would have liked to cook ham.

How It Connects

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

Participles Used as AdjectivesLevel 3

Learn This First

Before Participles Used as Adjectives, learn Regular Past Participles: Ge- ... -t and Adjective Endings: Masculine -en.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.