haltende

Haltende is a form of the German verb halten (to hold, to stop) used as a participle. In grammar it functions as a verbal adjective (Partizip I) that can modify nouns and appear in predicative constructions. The form haltend becomes haltende when declined as an attributive adjective before a feminine singular noun or under certain declension patterns; the exact ending varies with gender, number, and case according to standard German adjective declension.

Morphology and usage

As a present participle, haltende denotes an ongoing action or state related to halting or holding. When used attributively, it follows the usual pattern for adjectives: after a definite article, after no article (strong declension), or after an indefinite article or possessive. For example: der haltende Fahrer (the driver who is stopping), eine haltende Linie (a stopping line), eine haltende Bewegung (an ongoing, halting movement). In plural form, the ending changes (die haltenden Fahrer, die haltenden Bewegungen).

Semantics

The sense of haltende depends on context: it can describe something that causes a halt, something that is in the process of stopping, or a state characterized by stopping or holding. In everyday German, more common expressions for persistent or continuing states often use anhaltend or andauernd, but haltende appears especially in literary or technical contexts as a participial adjective.

Relation to related terms

Haltende is related to halten (to hold/stop) and to other participle forms such as haltend and anhaltend. It illustrates how German uses participles as adjectives with declension that mirrors other attributive adjectives.

See also

Halten, Partizip I, German grammar, adjective declension.