ablehnte

Ablehnte is a form related to the German verb ablehnen, which means to refuse or reject. In standard modern German, the separable-prefix verb is usually conjugated with the prefix separated in the simple past: er lehnte ab, not er ablehnte. The past participle is abgelehnt, and the perfect tense is hat abgelehnt. Because of the separable-prefix construction, the typical past tense form is written as two words, with the prefix ab- moved to the end of the clause.

Usage and meanings

Ablehnen denotes rejecting, declining, or turning down something such as an offer, proposal, or request. It can be used in formal and informal contexts. The corresponding noun form is Ablehnung, meaning rejection or refusal.

Grammatical notes

As a single word, ablehnte is not the standard modern written form for the Präteritum of ablehnen. It may appear in older texts, historical orthography, or in dialectal or nonstandard usage. In most contemporary writing, you would not use ablehnte as the finite verb form; you would instead write lehnte ab or abgelehnt in the past participle form and relevant tenses.

Related terms

- ablehnen: to refuse, reject

- Ablehnung: rejection, refusal

- ablehnend: disapproving or rejecting (adjective)

Examples

- Er lehnte das Angebot ab. (He rejected the offer.)

- Die Behörde hat den Antrag abgelehnt. (The authority rejected the application.)

- Ihre ablehnende Haltung war deutlich. (Her rejecting attitude was clear.)

In summary, ablehnte is a nonstandard or archaic form of a standard Präteritum composition for ablehnen; modern German uses lehnte ab and abgelehnt for the past tenses.

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