nachfolgendes

Nachfolgendes is a German term used to refer to content that comes after in a text. It functions as a determiner or pronoun in signposting and as a nominalized form in formal writing. In practice, it helps readers identify what will be presented next or what follows a previous section.

Etymology and forms: the word combines the prefix nach- (after) with folgend (following), itself a participle of folgen. When used as a substantive, it is usually capitalized as Nachfolgendes or Das Nachfolgende, referring to the following material. As an attributive adjective before a noun, it appears as nachfolgendes or das nachfolgende Kapitel, with the ending determined by the article and noun gender and case (neuter singular: das nachfolgende Kapitel; ein nachfolgendes Kapitel).

Usage and nuance: Nachfolgendes is common in legal, administrative, academic, and technical writing to introduce or summarize what will be shown next. It can appear at the beginning of a sentence to foretell upcoming content (e.g., Nachfolgendes gilt zu beachten). The related term das Folgende has a similar meaning, and nachstehend is used to indicate something that follows in the text (often as an adverb or adjective).

Related forms and alternatives: In many texts, Nachfolgendes or Nachstehendes is used interchangeably to refer to the information that follows. Another related expression is das Folgende, which is more neutral and frequently used in everyday formal writing. All forms are part of standard German style for signaling sequence and structure in written discourse.