Ønskte

Ønskte is the simple past tense form of the verb ønske in Danish and Norwegian, meaning to wish or to desire. It is used to describe wishes or desires that occurred in the past. The word has a corresponding past participle form, ønske t, spelled ønsket in most written Danish and Norwegian, which is used to form perfect tense constructions (for example, har ønsket).

In Danish, the simple past tense is often used in narrative or reported speech to express a past wish. For example: Han ønskte en ny bil. The Danish past participle ønsket is used with auxiliary har to form perfect tenses: Han har ønsket en ny bil. The verb can also take dependent clauses with at, as in Jeg ønskte at jeg kunne være der.

In Norwegian, the past tense form is likewise used to express past wishes or desires. An example is Hun ønskte å dra til fjells. The corresponding past participle, ønsket, appears in perfect constructions such as Hun har ønsket å dra til fjells.

Etymology and cognates: ønske is a Germanic-origin verb with cognates in other Scandinavian languages and related forms in Old Norse. The noun form ønske means “a wish.” The pair of forms with -te and -et reflect typical Germanic verb conjugation patterns for past tense and past participle in these languages.

In usage, ønske often conveys a milder sense of desire than stronger verbs like håpe or krev. The English equivalents are “wanted” or “wished,” depending on context. See also ønske (infinitive) for the base verb.