brennende

Brennende is the present participle form of the German verb brennen, meaning burning or on fire. As an adjective it is used before a noun to describe something that is on fire or burning, for example brennende Kerze (burning candle) or brennende Augen (burning eyes). It can also appear in metaphorical expressions such as brennende Fragen (pressing or burning questions). In standard usage, the participle remains as a descriptive adjective and does not function as a finite verb on its own.

Etymology and linguistic notes: brennen originates from the Germanic verb group related to burning. The present participle suffix -ende gives rise to the form brennende in German when describing a subject in the nominative or other cases. The same root is found in related Germanic languages, with cognates in English (burn) and Dutch (branden). The word brennende is typically written in lowercase as an adjective; nominalized or poetically used forms may appear with capitalization in specific stylistic contexts, though the standard noun for the concept “the act of burning” is Brennen.

Usage considerations: Brennende describes ongoing combustion or intensity, applicable to physical burning (a brennendes Feuer) and to abstract intensities (eine brennende Sehnsucht, a burning longing). It contrasts with brennend, the more general present participle form used in some attributive positions, and with Brennen, the noun denoting the act of burning. The term is common in everyday language, journalism, and literature, conveying immediacy or urgency when used metaphorically.

See also: brennen, brennend, Brennen, Feuer, Brand, Flamme.