Breakdown of Die Truppe kommt gerannt und der Reiter kommt mit dem Bogen geritten.
und
and
kommen
to come
mit
with
rennen
to run
Questions & Answers about Die Truppe kommt gerannt und der Reiter kommt mit dem Bogen geritten.
Why does the sentence use the past participles gerannt and geritten instead of present participles like rennend and reitend?
This is a special structure in German. When expressing how someone or something arrives, German uses the verb kommen followed by the past participle of a motion verb. Even though English uses the "-ing" form ("comes running"), German requires the past participle. So, "comes running" is kommt gerannt, not kommt rennend.
Can I use this kommen + past participle structure with any verb?
No, it is strictly used with verbs that describe a manner of motion (how someone gets from one place to another). In this sentence, rennen (to run) and reiten (to ride) describe the manner in which the troop and the rider are arriving. Other common verbs used this way include fliegen (to fly), laufen (to walk/run), and schwimmen (to swim).
Why is mit dem Bogen placed before geritten?
This is due to the standard German sentence bracket. The conjugated verb kommt is in the second position of its clause, which pushes the participle geritten to the very end. The prepositional phrase mit dem Bogen (with the bow) fits neatly inside this bracket, right before the participle at the end.
Does using the past participle geritten mean the rider has already arrived?