späteren

Späteren is the inflected form of the German adjective später, meaning “later” or “subsequent,” and is used in attributive position before a noun. It denotes that the noun refers to a point in time or sequence that comes after another reference. Because German adjectives are declined based on case, gender, number, and the presence of a determiner, beginnen forms like späteren appear in several common patterns.

In practice, you will encounter späteren in phrases such as:

- Einen späteren Termin (a later appointment) — masculine singular accusative after an indefinite article

- Die späteren Jahre (the later years) — plural with a definite article in nominative or accusative

- Den späteren Jahren (to the later years) — plural dative with a definite article

- Der späteren Entscheidung (the later decision) — feminine singular dative with a definite article

- Zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt (at a later point in time) — masculine singular dative with an indefinite article

Bare, article-free plural forms typically use spätere for nominative or accusative, while späteren appears in determinered or prepositional contexts as noted above. The exact ending agrees with the noun’s gender, number, and case as governed by German declension rules.

Etymology and related forms: später is the comparative-adverbial base meaning “later,” deriving from older Germanic roots. The form späteren is one of several inflected endings that the adjective takes to align with its grammatical function in a sentence.

See also: später (the base adjective), Spätes (neuter noun form in other contexts), German adjective declension.