festgestanden

Festgestanden is the past participle of the German verb feststehen, meaning to be fixed, established, or certain. It is used to indicate that a fact, decision, or situation has become definite or confirmed. The form reflects a state that has been determined rather than something that is ongoing.

Etymology and meaning. The compound verb feststehen combines fest (fixed, firm) with stehen (to stand). Over time, its sense broadened from the literal idea of something standing firm to the more abstract sense of a conclusion or fact that is recognized as settled. The past participle festgestanden is used in perfect tenses to express that this state was reached in the past.

Usage and grammar. In common usage, feststehen is often found in the present tense in phrases like Es steht fest, dass... (It is established that...) or Die Ergebnisse stehen fest. The past participle festgestanden is typically formed with the auxiliary haben in the perfect: Die Ergebnisse haben festgestanden. It can also appear in subordinate clauses with dass or in more formal writing. While feststehen can be used transitively in a sense of determining something, festgestanden is mainly the participial form used in perfector constructions rather than as a standalone verb.

Examples.

- Es steht fest, dass die Sitzung heute stattfindet.

- Die Entscheidung hat festgestanden, bevor der Präsident das Protokoll unterschrieb.

- Die Fakten haben festgestanden und wurden entsprechend bestätigt.

See also. feststehen, festgestellt, feststellung.