Frühzeitigen

Frühzeitigen is the attributive inflected form of the German adjective frühzeitig, which means early or timely. The form frühzeitigen is used before a noun in certain grammatical cases, most commonly in the plural or after a determiner that marks case. It is not a standalone noun but a descriptive word that combines with a noun to indicate early timing or early action.

Grammatical usage

- With definite articles or other determiners signaling case, the plural form is frühzeitigen: Die frühzeitigen Maßnahmen sind wichtig. Den frühzeitigen Maßnahmen kommt oft größere Wirkung zu. Der Genitiv plural wird ebenfalls frühzeitigen Maßnahmen zugeschrieben.

- Without a definite determiner (strong inflection) in plural, the form is frühzeitige: Frühzeitige Maßnahmen sollten umgesetzt werden.

- In singular usage, the corresponding endings differ: eine frühzeitige Diagnose (feminine singular, indefinite article). The adverbial form frühzeitig describes timing and does not take a declined ending.

Common contexts

Frühzeitigen appears frequently in healthcare, policy, and project planning to indicate actions taken early in a process. Examples include frühzeitige Diagnose (early diagnosis), frühzeitige Behandlung (early treatment), and frühzeitige Warnzeichen (early warning signs). The term is often contrasted with späte oder verzögerte Maßnahmen.

Etymology and related forms

The adjective derives from früh (early) and zeitig (timely). The ending -en in plural or after certain determiners reflects German declension rules. The related adverb form is frühzeitig, used to describe the timing of actions rather than a noun-modifying instance.

See also: frühzeitig, rechtzeitig, frühzeitige Diagnosen, frühe Intervention.