Feststellen

Feststellen is a German verb meaning to determine, establish, or ascertain something after examination or observation. It also covers the act of noticing or confirming a fact. The word is transitive, as in nicht unabout: man can say “eine Tatsache feststellen.” In everyday and formal use, it often appears with dass-clauses: “Ich stelle fest, dass die Daten unvollständig sind.”

Grammatically, feststellen is a separable-prefix verb. In the present tense the prefix is separated: “Ich stelle fest,” “du stellst fest,” “er/sie/es stellt fest,” “wir stellen fest,” “ihr stellt fest,” “sie stellen fest.” The perfect tense uses haben: “Ich habe festgestellt.” The past participle is festgestellt. The corresponding noun is Feststellung, meaning a finding, determination, or ascertainment. The plural Feststellungen refers to multiple conclusions.

Usage and nuance: Feststellen is common in science, law, administration, journalism, and everyday speech to express that something has been proven or observed. Examples include “Die Messungen haben eine Erhöhung der Temperatur festgestellt” or “Die Studie stellt fest, dass ...” The noun Feststellung is used in phrases like “eine Feststellung treffen” or “eine Feststellung machen,” and titles such as “Feststellung der Rechtslage” are standard in official texts. Related verbs include erkennen, eruieren, ermitteln; embora feststellen emphasizes formal confirmation or documentation of a fact. Etymologically, feststellen combines fest (fixed) with stellen (to place/put), signaling the act of fixing something as a fact.