Academic, legal and journalistic German often packs whole relative clauses into the space between an article and its noun. At C2 you need to read these chains quickly and build them yourself when the style requires it.
An extended participial attribute replaces a relative clause. Everything that belonged to the relative clause moves in front of the participle, and the participle takes an adjective ending:
A chain arises when several such attributes are combined. They can be stacked (two attributes for the same noun) or nested (an attribute inside an attribute):
| Form | Meaning | Example | Relative clause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partizip I | active, happening at the same time | die stark steigenden Preise | die Preise, die stark steigen |
| Partizip II (transitive verbs) | passive, completed | die in der Studie erhobenen Daten | die Daten, die in der Studie erhoben wurden |
| Partizip II (sein-verbs) | active, completed | der gerade angekommene Zug | der Zug, der gerade angekommen ist |
| zu + Partizip I | must or can be done | die bis Freitag einzureichenden Unterlagen | die Unterlagen, die bis Freitag eingereicht werden müssen |
All participles take normal adjective endings: ein schlafendes Kind, mit den gestiegenen Kosten, eines lange erwarteten Berichts.
Example: Die von vielen Bürgern seit Langem geforderte und nun endlich beschlossene Reform tritt im Januar in Kraft. Bracket: Die … Reform. Two participles joined by und: geforderte and beschlossene. Meaning: the reform, which many citizens have long demanded and which has now finally been passed, comes into force in January.
Participial chains are efficient but demanding. Use them in reports, academic papers and legal texts, where density is valued. In speech, and in texts for a general audience, replace long chains with relative clauses. As a rule of thumb, one extended attribute per noun phrase is readable; two stacked attributes are acceptable in formal writing; nested chains should be reserved for specialist texts. Always check the ending of the participle: it agrees with the noun in gender, number and case, exactly like an adjective.
| Not quite | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| die von der Firma entwickelnde App | die von der Firma entwickelte App | The app is developed by the firm (passive), so Partizip II is needed. |
| das zu lösene Problem | das zu lösende Problem | The modal participle is zu + Partizip I: lösend → zu lösend-. |
| die seit Jahren steigende Mieten | die seit Jahren steigenden Mieten | After the definite article in the plural, the participle takes the weak ending -en. |
1. the prices that are rising sharply: die ___ Preise
2. der von allen ___ Vorschlag (the proposal accepted by everyone)
3. Which relative clause matches „die im Jahr 2020 gegründete Firma“?
4. mit den bis Freitag ___ Unterlagen (which must be submitted)
5. das von der seit Jahren in Pune ___ Ärztin geschriebene Buch
6. What is the head noun in „die von vielen Bürgern seit Langem geforderte und nun endlich beschlossene Reform“?
7. a child that is sleeping: ein ___ Kind
8. the data that were collected in the study: die in der Studie ___ Daten
Related grammar: Extended participial attributes, The modal participle (zu + Partizip I), Participles as adjectives, Nominal style.
Back to the grammar reference or to the C2 lessons.
Original practice questions written by the Desi European Tales editorial team; they are not the official exam questions. Checked 1 November 2026.
Related: German grammar reference · German C2 lessons · Extended participial attributes
