regelmäßigen

regelmäßigen is the inflected form of the German adjective regelmäßig, which means regular, routine, or punctual. The base meaning covers things that occur at predictable intervals or follow a rule. In German grammar, adjectives are declined to agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case. The ending -en appears in several common forms, especially in plural after a definite determiner or in certain singular cases with a determiner.

Usage and forms

regelmäßigen can occur in plural phrases after definite articles, as in die regelmäßigen Termine (the regular appointments) or die regelmäßigen Muster (the regular patterns). It also appears in singular phrases with a determiner in the dative case, for example dem regelmäßigen Termin (to the regular appointment) or der regelmäßigen Veranstaltung (the regular event in the dative feminine). Outside the determiner context, the strong or mixed declensions yield different endings, such as regelmäßige Muster in the nominative plural without a determiner.

Examples

- Wir treffen uns in regelmäßigen Abständen. (We meet at regular intervals.)

- Die regelmäßigen Termine wurden bestätigt. (The regular appointments were confirmed.)

- Dem regelmäßigen Termin bin ich pünktlich. (I am punctual for the regular appointment.)

Etymology and related terms

regelmäßig derives from Regel (rule) with the suffix -mäßig (like, in the manner of). Related words include Regel (rule) and Regelmäßigkeit (regularity). The form regelmäßigen is one of several inflected variants used to express agreement with different nouns and grammatical contexts.