German past participle (participle II)
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Lesson outline
HideFormation of the past participle
There are three different ways to form the past participle of a verb.
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Alina Y. 
Daniele D. 
Christina F. 
Arianna L.
Manuja M. 
Nina T.
Marko B.
Marco S.
Barbara S. 
Jolanda F.
1. Regular weak verbs
A regular weak verb doesn't change its word stem in the past participle. It is formed as follows: ge + stem + -t . The ending -t widens to -et in verbs whose stem ends in -d, -t and -n.
| weak verb | past participle |
|---|---|
| prüfen | geprüft |
| arbeiten | gearbeitet |
| baden | gebadet |
2. Verbs that end in -ieren
The verbs end in -ieren are also weak verbs. They don't have a ge- prefix in their past participle form. 
| weak verb | past participle |
|---|---|
| analysieren | analysiert |
| reparieren | repariert |
| idealisieren | idealisiert |
3. Inseparable and separable prefix verbs
If you don't remember the meaning of these verbs, please click on separable and inseparable verbs in order to receive more information.
- Verb with inseparable prefixes do not have the ge- prefix in their participle form.
- Verbs that have a separable prefix add the ge- particle between the separable prefix and the stem.
| verb | past participle |
|---|---|
| besuchen | besucht |
| erzählen | erzählt |
| umfahren | umgefahren |
| fehlschlagen | fehlgeschlagen |
Usage of the past participle
You use the past participle for the passive voice, the compound tenses, as attributive adjective or instead of a subset where one action leads the other.
| past participle | use of past participle |
|---|---|
Die Aufgaben wurden vom Lehrer geprüft. (Your tasks have been checked by the teacher) | passive voice |
Die Geschwister haben sich heute wiedergesehen. (The siblings saw each other again today) | compound tense |
Den Radiobericht gehört, weiß sie, dass Fett dick macht. (Having heard the radio report, she knows that fat makes one overweight) | one action leads the other |
Darum lässt er die geöffnete Tür offen. (That's why he leaves the open door open) | attributive adjective |