Der Täter hat mein gestohlenes Fahrrad; deshalb erstatte ich Anzeige.

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Breakdown of Der Täter hat mein gestohlenes Fahrrad; deshalb erstatte ich Anzeige.

• haben: to have
• deshalb: therefore
• mein: my; (masculine or neuter, nominative)

Questions & Answers about Der Täter hat mein gestohlenes Fahrrad; deshalb erstatte ich Anzeige.

Why is it mein gestohlenes Fahrrad and not meinen gestohlenen Fahrrad?

Because Fahrrad is neuter: das Fahrrad.

In this sentence, Fahrrad is the direct object of hat, so it is in the accusative case. For a neuter singular noun with a possessive word like mein, the form stays mein:

• nominative: mein Fahrrad
• accusative: mein Fahrrad

The adjective ending on gestohlen- changes too. After mein in neuter singular accusative, the adjective takes -es:

• mein gestohlenes Fahrrad

If the noun were masculine, you would get forms like:

• meinen gestohlenen Wagen

So the sentence is correct as written.

What exactly is gestohlenes here?

Gestohlenes is the past participle of stehlen used as an adjective.

• verb: stehlen = to steal
• past participle: gestohlen = stolen

When German uses a participle before a noun, it behaves like an adjective and gets an ending:

• das gestohlene Fahrrad = the stolen bicycle
• mein gestohlenes Fahrrad = my stolen bicycle

So gestohlenes is not acting as part of a verb tense here. It is simply describing Fahrrad.

Does Der Täter hat mein gestohlenes Fahrrad mean The culprit stole my bicycle?