Die Vortragende bittet uns, leise zu bleiben.

to stay

Breakdown of Die Vortragende bittet uns, leise zu bleiben.

• leise: quiet
• uns: us
• bitten: to ask

Questions & Answers about Die Vortragende bittet uns, leise zu bleiben.

Why is Vortragende capitalized?

Because Vortragende is being used as a noun here, not just as an adjective or participle.

German often turns adjective-like words into nouns this way:

• der Vortragende = the male presenter/speaker
• die Vortragende = the female presenter/speaker
• die Vortragenden = the presenters/speakers

When an adjective or participle is used as a noun, it is capitalized in German.

What exactly is Vortragende grammatically?

It is a substantivized participle/adjective.

It comes from the verb vortragen = to present, give a talk, deliver a lecture/presentation.

So vortragend originally means something like presenting. When German turns that into a noun-like form, it becomes:

• der Vortragende
• die Vortragende

So grammatically, it behaves like an adjective with adjective endings, but functionally it means the presenter / the speaker.

Why is it die Vortragende and not some other ending?