Kørte

Kørte is a Danish verb form that serves as the preterite (simple past) of the verb køre, meaning to drive or operate a vehicle or machine. It is used to describe actions that were completed in the past, such as driving somewhere or running a machine.

Conjugation and usage: In the preterite, the verb is kørte across all persons: jeg kørte, du kørte, han/hun kørte, vi kørte, I kørte, de kørte. For example, “Jeg kørte til Århus i går” means “I drove to Aarhus yesterday.” The infinitive is køre, and the past participle is kørt, which is used with have or had to form perfect tenses or the passive voice, e.g., “Jeg har kørt bil i fem år” (I have driven a car for five years) and “Bilen er kørt til mekanikeren” (The car has been driven to the mechanic).

Etymology and cognates: Køre originates from Old Norse and has cognates in other Scandinavian languages. The corresponding forms in Norwegian are kjøre (infinitive) and kjørte (preterite), while Swedish uses köra and körde. Despite orthographic differences, these forms share a common heritage related to driving or moving something by vehicle or mechanism.

Variations and nuance: Køre can also mean to operate or run a machine, a church bell, or a carousel in certain contexts, not exclusively a road vehicle. The past tense kørte does not imply a completed journey in all cases; it simply marks past time in narrative or description.