hängender

Hängender is a declined form of the German adjective hängend, meaning “hanging” or “suspended.” It is used to describe something in a state of being suspended and, like other German adjectives, inflects for gender, number, and case when placed before a noun.

In practice, hängender appears in various grammatical contexts. With an indefinite article, it appears as ein hängender Mann (masculine nominative), eine hängende Lampe (feminine nominative), or ein hängendes Bild (neuter nominative). With a definite article, the forms are der hängende Mann (masc nom), die hängende Lampe (fem nom), das hängende Bild (neut nom). In other cases, the endings change accordingly: des hängenden Mannes (masc gen), der hängenden Lampe (fem gen), des hängenden Bildes (neut gen); dem hängenden Mann (masc dat), der hängenden Lampe (fem dat), dem hängenden Bild (neut dat). The plural forms follow the same pattern with der hängenden Mannen in some older or poetic uses and more often der hängenden Männer in common usage; similarly, die hängenden Lampen (nom), die hängenden Lampen (dat/acc as appropriate).

Usage notes and distinctions: hängender is an inflected adjective form, not a separate word. It should be compared with gehängt, the past participle meaning “hung” in the sense of being executed or affixed in a completed action, and with hängend as the uninflected present participle or predicate adjective in some constructions (for example, Die Lampe ist hängend vs. Die Lampe hängt). The form hängender thus primarily serves as a descriptive, attributive form in everyday German grammar.

Etymology: hängend derives from the verb hängen, rooted in the Germanic verb family related to suspending or hanging. The suffixes in hängender reflect standard German adjective declension.