Bildete

Bildete is the simple past (Präteritum) form of the German verb bilden, which means to form, to shape, to create, or to educate. As a weak verb, it takes the regular Präteritum endings: ich bildete, du bildetest, er bildete, wir bildeten, ihr bildetet, sie bildeten. The past participle is gebildet, and the perfect tense is formed with haben: er hat gebildet.

In the present tense, the verb forms are: ich bilde, du bildest, er bildet, wir bilden, ihr bildet, sie bilden. The Präteritum form bildete is commonly used in written narrative, while in everyday speech the Perfekt form hat gebildet is more typical for past events.

Usage and senses of the verb include forming or shaping something physical (for example, eine Statue, eine Struktur), forming or constituting groups or systems (eine Partei bildet sich), and shaping knowledge or character through education (eine Schule bildet Schüler aus). The related noun Bildung means education or formation, and the adjective gebildet means educated or cultured.

Notes: Bilden is distinct from bilden’s specialized sense of creating education or formation in specific contexts. The term is often encountered in academic, historical, and formal writing. Its English equivalents include form, shape, constitute, or educate, depending on context.