Wechselnde

Wechselnde is the present participle of the German verb wechseln and functions in modern usage as an adjective meaning changing or alternating. It can occur in attributive position before a noun, as in wechselnde Zeiten (changing times), or predicatively after a linking verb, as in Die Preise sind wechselnd (the prices are changing).

Declension and usage. As an attributive adjective, wechselnde is declined to agree with gender, number and case of the noun it modifies. For example: feminine singular nominative: eine wechselnde Frau; neuter singular nominative: ein wechselndes Muster; plural nominative: wechselnde Muster. In other cases the endings follow standard adjective declension: masculine accusative singular would be einen wechselnden Mann, feminine genitive singular eine wechselnde Frau, plural dative sieben wechselnden Preisen, etc. The form wechselnde is most commonly seen in feminine singular nominative and in all plural positions, but it appears in other forms according to the normal rules of German adjective inflection.

Predicative use is less marked: with sein or other copular verbs, the form is typically wechselnd (unchanged for gender/number) rather than wechselnde. For example: Die Situation ist wechselnd.

Relation to related terms. Wechseln means to change or to swap, while Wechsel signifies change, exchange, or a monetary or official transfer. Wechselnde phrases are common in neutral descriptive texts, such as those describing processes, patterns, or conditions that vary over time.

In summary, wechselnde is a flexible attributive adjective in German that denotes variability or alternation and follows standard German adjective declension, while its predicative form is typically wechselnd.