B2-24 · Unpack long participle phrases
Advertising and persuasion
Read and build extended participle attributes, placing extra information before the participle and matching its ending to the noun.
About 5 minutes to read · 13 quiz questions
01
Who planned the campaign?
An extended participle attribute compresses a relative clause. Die von Eva geplante Kampagne means the campaign that Eva planned. The extra phrase von Eva comes before the participle, and the noun comes after it.
Die von Eva geplante Kampagne startet morgen.
The campaign planned by Eva starts tomorrow.
Wir prüfen den von der Agentur entwickelten Slogan.
We check the slogan developed by the agency.
Das gestern veröffentlichte Plakat zeigt ein Fahrrad.
The poster published yesterday shows a bicycle.
Die im Studio aufgenommenen Bilder wirken ruhig.
The pictures taken in the studio have a calm effect.
Partizip II often describes a completed or passive relationship here. Kampagne is what was planned; Eva did the planning. The whole phrase belongs between article and noun.
02
Describe an ongoing effect
An extended Partizip I attribute describes an active or ongoing relationship: die auf junge Erwachsene zielende Werbung. Zielend comes from zielen, to target, and takes an adjective ending.
Die auf junge Erwachsene zielende Werbung läuft online.
The advertising targeting young adults runs online.
Ein schnell wachsendes Interesse überrascht das Team.
Rapidly growing interest surprises the team.
Wir beobachten die immer stärker steigende Nachfrage.
We observe demand that is rising increasingly strongly.
Mit einer überzeugend wirkenden Darstellung beginnt der Film.
The film begins with a presentation that appears convincing.
Extra information still comes before the participle: auf junge Erwachsene zielend. Choose Partizip I for the action being performed by the noun; choose Partizip II for the passive or completed relationship used in the previous block.
03
Find the noun before translating
In a long attribute, first identify the noun, then read backwards to the participle and its extra information. Die von der Agentur sorgfältig geprüfte Aussage is an Aussage that the agency checked carefully.
Die von der Agentur sorgfältig geprüfte Aussage bleibt im Text.
The statement carefully checked by the agency remains in the text.
Wir lesen einen für die Zielgruppe verfassten Text.
We read a text written for the target group.
Mit dem auf mehrere Kanäle verteilten Budget plant Eva vorsichtig.
Eva plans cautiously with the budget distributed across several channels.
Die vor dem Start getesteten Anzeigen werden überarbeitet.
The advertisements tested before launch are revised.
These invented advertising claims are being examined, not endorsed. In your own writing, a relative clause may be easier to read when too many details accumulate before the noun.
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Check what you remember with 13 short questions.
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