Prallte

Prallte is the simple past tense form (Präteritum) of the German verb prallen, meaning to rebound, collide with, or strike a surface and bounce off. The form prallte is used for third-person singular and for first- and third-person plural in narrative past, as in der Ball prallte gegen die Wand or er prallte von der Wand ab. The corresponding past plural forms are prallten, and the second-person singular ends as pralltest.

Usage and nuances

Prallen describes a physical impact that results in a rebound or deflection. It is used for objects in motion or objects striking a barrier, for example, Der Ball prallte vom Wagen ab. The past participle of prallen is geprallt, which forms perfect tenses with appropriate auxiliary verbs. In contexts emphasizing movement or change of position, ist geprallt is common: Der Stein ist gegen das Schild geprallt. In other contexts, especially with emphasis on the event rather than the motion, hat geprallt may also occur.

Related concepts

Prallen can be used with the preposition gegen to indicate the surface struck, as in prallen gegen die Wand. The noun form Prallung refers to the impact or collision itself, while Aufprall is another related term often used in technical or physical descriptions. The term prallen has cognates in related Germanic languages and reflects common patterns of impact and rebound.

Examples

Der Ball prallte gegen die Wand. Der Stein prallte vom Schild ab. Der Ball ist gegen die Wand geprallt. These constructions illustrate the typical use of prallte in past narrative to describe a bounce or collision.