gelegenen

Gelegenen is not a standalone word in German; it is a declined form of the adjective gelegen, which means situated or located. The base adjective gelegene, gelegene, gelegenes can take different endings depending on gender, number, and case, and gelegenen is one of those endings. It most commonly appears after definite articles or other der-words, where adjectives take the weak ending -en.

In practical use, gelegenen appears in several common forms:

- Plural: die gelegenen Orte (nominative or accusative plural) and in der gelegenen Orten? No, after a definite article in dative plural it is in the form den gelegenen Orten. In genitive plural: der gelegenen Orte.

- Singular dative after definite articles: dem gelegenen Mann, der gelegenen Frau, dem gelegenen Gebiet. These are common contexts where -en serves as the standard ending in the weak declension.

- Plural dative: den gelegenen Orten (also uses -en).

Etymology and meaning: gelegenen derives from gelegen, the past participle of liegen, historically meaning “situated” or “located.” The adjective is used attributively to describe the location or position of a noun, and it is frequently found in formal or descriptive prose, such as geographic, urban, or historical texts.

Usage notes: gelegenen is contrasted with other endings (such as gelegene, gelegenes) to reflect the specific gender, number, and case of the noun it modifies. It is not used independently as a noun; rather, it is a grammatical inflection that helps convey precise information about location within noun phrases. Common examples include “die gelegenen Städte,” “in den gelegenen Gebieten,” and “den gelegenen Orten.”

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