gehende

Gehende is a form of the German present participle of gehen (to go) when it is used as an adjective in attributive position. It describes someone or something that is in the act of going or moving. The word itself is not a standalone noun; it is the declined form of the participle used for descriptive purposes.

Morphology and examples: With a definite article, the attributive form appears as der gehende Mann, die gehende Frau, das gehende Kind. In the plural you would say die gehenden Männer, die gehenden Frauen, die gehenden Kinder. With an indefinite article, the endings change accordingly: ein gehender Mann, eine gehende Frau, ein gehende? (note: neuter uses ein gehendes Kind). In short, gehende functions as a regular participial adjective formed from gehen and inflected according to gender, number, and case.

Usage and nuance: Gehende is most commonly encountered in descriptive or literary contexts where the act of moving or progressing is foregrounded. In everyday speech, speakers often opt for simpler or more specific expressions such as moving, walking, or using other adjectives depending on the intended nuance. The form is part of standard German grammar and is distinguished from the base participle form gehend, which is the present participle that can also appear in attributive use but may carry slightly different stylistic associations.

See also: German grammar, Partizip I, Partizip II, Adjective declension in German.

Note: This article treats gehende as the feminine, masculine, or neuter singular attributive form of the present participle of gehen; plural and other declensions follow the usual adjective-ending rules in German.