Building the attribute yourself
Reading an extended participle is one skill. Building one from a relative clause is another, because you have to check first whether the clause allows it. The test has two steps: what case is the relative pronoun, and what is the verb form?
Relative clause to attribute
Four checks
- 1
Is the relative pronoun the subject?
Only a Nominativ relative pronoun can be folded away. der Kollege, dem ich geholfen habe has a Dativ pronoun and stays a clause.
- 2
Active and still going on? Partizip I
die Menschen, die in Städten leben → die in Städten lebenden Menschen.
- 3
Passive, or Perfekt with sein? Partizip II
der Antrag, der abgelehnt wurde → der abgelehnte Antrag. der Zug, der aus Wien angekommen ist → der aus Wien angekommene Zug.
- 4
müssen or können plus passive? zu + Partizip I
die Unterlagen, die noch eingereicht werden müssen → die noch einzureichenden Unterlagen.
Die Zahl der in Städten lebenden Menschen wächst weiter.
The number of people living in cities keeps growing.
Der aus Wien angekommene Zug fährt in zehn Minuten weiter.
The train that has arrived from Vienna continues in ten minutes.
Bitte schicken Sie uns die noch einzureichenden Unterlagen bis Freitag.
Please send us the documents still to be submitted by Friday.
When the clause has to stay
A transitive verb in the active Perfekt has no participle that keeps the meaning, because its Partizip II reads as passive. Keep the clause, or find a noun that names the doer.
die Kollegin, die den Bericht geschrieben hat
the colleague who wrote the report
No attribute possible.
die Verfasserin des Berichts
the author of the report
A noun as an alternative.
Tense disappears. die steigenden Kosten can mean costs that rise or that rose; the main clause decides. If the time matters, keep the clause.
Unique nouns. With meine Mutter or Berlin, an attribute can sound as if there were several: meine in Graz lebende Mutter. Add extra information with a relative clause: meine Mutter, die in Graz lebt.
Length. Beyond four or five words between article and noun, the reader loses track. Split the information.
Choosing the form
Same content, two styles
Attribute: compact, written
Die gestern vom Stadtrat beschlossenen Maßnahmen treten im Mai in Kraft.
The measures adopted by the city council yesterday take effect in May.
Relative clause: clear, spoken
Die Maßnahmen, die der Stadtrat gestern beschlossen hat, treten im Mai in Kraft.
The measures that the city council adopted yesterday take effect in May.
English shortens relative clauses behind the noun: the measures adopted yesterday, people living in cities. German moves the same material in front. When you translate such an English phrase, an attribute is often the natural German equivalent in writing, and a relative clause in speech.
