vorbereitenden

Vorbereitenden is the inflected form of the German present participle vorbereitend, derived from the verb vorbereiten (to prepare). As an adjective, it carries the meaning "preparatory" or "preparing" and is used to describe actions, steps, or measures that precede a main action or event. It functions attributively before a noun and agrees in gender, number, and case with that noun.

Usage and examples:

- In plural with a definite article: Die vorbereitenden Maßnahmen müssen abgeschlossen werden. This common construction uses the ending -en in the attributive position with the definite article.

- In singular masculine dative: dem vorbereitenden Schritt. Here the ending -enden appears in the dative singular form.

- With a possessive or demonstrative determiner: Seine vorbereitenden Arbeiten liefen parallel zum Projektstart.

Grammatical notes:

- The form is flexible across cases and numbers, and its exact ending depends on the noun it modifies and the determiner present.

- It is distinct from the past participle used in passive constructions and from the bare participle used in some compound constructions.

- While primarily adjectival, it can appear in legal, administrative, academic, and project-management contexts to denote preparatory phases or steps.

Etymology:

- Formed from vorbereiten plus the present participle suffix -end, with usual German inflection for adjectives.

See also:

- Vorbereitung (preparation)

- Partizip I and Partizip II (participles)

- German adjective declension in attributive position