Gespanntem

Gespanntem is a German inflected form of the adjective gespannter? Wait, no. Gespannt is the past participle of spannen, but it is also used as an adjective meaning tense or eager. Gespanntem is the dative singular form of this adjective when it occurs before a masculine or neuter noun in the dative case in a context without a definite article, or in other strong-declension constructions. In practice, you will often see phrases such as mit gespanntem Blick or in gespanntem Zustand, where the noun is in the dative singular and the adjective bears the -em ending.

In German grammar, adjectives decline according to case, gender, and article. Gespanntem represents the form for the dative singular when the adjective is declined strongly (no determiner or no ending provided by the determiner). This form contrasts with other possible endings such as gespannter or gespanntes, which appear in other cases or with other declension patterns (for example after a definite article or in other grammatical environments).

Common usages illustrate the meaning: in phrases like mit gespanntem Blick (with a tense, attentive gaze) or in gespanntem Zustand (in a tense or expectant condition), gespannt describes a mental or physical state of anticipation or tension. The sense of gespannter in other contexts can extend from physical tautness (a gespanntes Seil) to psychological expectancy.

Etymologically, gespannter derives from the verb spannen, meaning to stretch or to tense. As an attributive adjective in the dative singular, gespannten becomes the standard spelling in contexts without a determiner that would mark the ending differently.

Note: Gespanntem is not a standalone word with separate meaning; it is a grammatical form used to modify a noun in the dative singular.