Learn German: Hast du den verlorenen Handschuh gefunden?

verloren is the past participle of verlieren (to lose). In this sentence, it is being used as an attributive adjective (an adjective placed directly before a noun) to describe the glove. Because it acts just like a regular adjective here, it must take an adjective ending, making it verlorenen.

Why exactly does the adjective ending have to be -en on verlorenen?

The phrase den verlorenen Handschuh is the direct object of the sentence, which means it is in the accusative case. Because Handschuh is a masculine noun and follows the accusative definite article den, the adjective must take the -en ending.

There are two past participles in this sentence: verlorenen and gefunden. How do their placements differ?

gefunden is part of the core verb structure forming the present perfect tense (Hast ... gefunden), so the rules of German word order dictate it must go at the very end of the sentence. verlorenen, on the other hand, is functioning entirely as an adjective, so it stays tightly glued to the noun it describes, right between the article den and the noun Handschuh.

I always forget the gender of Handschuh. Is there an easy trick?