The Past Participle II: Formation and Usage

What “Partizip II” is (and why you need it)

• Partizip II = the German “past participle” form of a verb.
• You use it most often in Perfekt (spoken past):
  haben/sein + Partizip II
• You also see it in:
• Passive: Die Tür ist geschlossen.
• As an adjective: die geschlossene Tür

Step 1: Find the verb type (regular vs. irregular)

Ask one question first:

• Does it behave “predictably” (like English worked)? → regular
• Does it change the stem / look different (like English wrote)? → irregular (often needs memorizing)

Step 2: Build regular Partizip II (the “default”)

1. Take the verb stem: malen → mal-
2. Add ge- in front.
3. Add -t at the end.

Result: malen → gemalt

Common A1 examples:

• machen → gemacht
• fragen → gefragt
• spielen → gespielt

Step 3: When regular verbs need “-et” (easy pronunciation rule)

Some regular verbs add -et (not just -t) because German needs an extra syllable to pronounce it clearly.

• Typically when the stem ends in -d or -t
• Often also with stems ending in -m or -n after another consonant

Step 4: Irregular Partizip II (what changes, what stays)

• Many irregular verbs end with -en: ge- + (changed) stem + -en
• The main “problem” is the stem change (not predictable).

Example you saw:

• schließen → schließ- → schloss- → geschlossen

Typical A1-style irregulars (learn as a set):

• gehen → gegangen
• kommen → gekommen
• sehen → gesehen
• schreiben → geschrieben

How to use Partizip II in Perfekt (spoken past)

• Structure: Subject + haben/sein + … + Partizip II
• Word order: the Partizip II usually goes to the end of the sentence.

Partizip II as an adjective: “closed door”, “open shop”

• Used like an adjective: the participle gets an ending (like normal adjectives).
• At A1, focus on recognizing the pattern:

Tip: If you see -e / -en / -er / -es after the participle, it’s being used as an adjective.

Passive with Partizip II: “is open/closed” (state)

• Very common with places and doors: sein + Partizip II
• This often describes a state/result (not who did it).

Don’t mix it up: Perfekt talks about an action you did; passive/state talks about how something is.

• Perfekt: Ich habe die Tür geschlossen. (I closed it.)
• State: Die Tür ist geschlossen. (It is closed.)

Self-check: avoid the 3 most common mistakes

• 1) Ending: regular verbs usually end in -t, irregular often in -en.
  malen → gemalt vs. schließen → geschlossen
• 2) -et verbs: if it sounds “hard” without an extra syllable, it’s often -et.
  arbeiten → gearbeitet (not gearbeitt)
• 3) Word order in Perfekt: Partizip II goes to the end.
  Correct: Ich habe die Tür geschlossen.
  Wrong: Ich habe geschlossen die Tür.

Mini learning goal (what you can do after this)

• You can build regular Partizip II forms (ge-…-t / -et).
• You can recognize irregular Partizip II forms and know they may require memorization.
• You can choose the right pattern in real-life sentences:
  Ich habe … gemacht. / Die Apotheke ist … geschlossen.