bewunderten

Bewunderten is a form of the German verb bewundern in the Präteritum (Imperfekt). It is used as the simple past tense with plural subjects, most commonly wir, ihr, oder sie/Sie. The corresponding forms in the same tense are: ich bewunderte, du bewundertest, er/sie/es bewunderte, wir bewunderten, ihr bewundertet, sie/Sie bewunderten. The infinitive is bewundern, and the past participle is bewundert, which is used with haben to form the perfect tense.

Usage and meaning: bewundern means to admire or look upon with admiration. bewunderten expresses that admiration occurred in the past. It is a transitive verb and typically takes a direct object or a clause describing what was admired. For example, Wir bewunderten die Ausstellung. Sie bewunderten die Leistung der Athleten. The form bewunderten is not the past participle; it occurs only in finite past tense constructions.

Etymology and classification: bewundern is formed with the prefix be- plus the noun Wunder (wonder), indicating causing or indicating wonder. The form bewunderten comes from the regular weak-verb conjugation in the Präteritum. It is used in written narration and in speech when recounting past opinions or reactions.

Notes: In spoken German, the Perfekt is more common for past events, using bewundert as the participle with haben (z. B. Wir haben die Kunst bewundert). The Präteritum form bewunderten remains common in literature and formal writing, particularly with plural subjects.

See also: bewundern, Wunder, be- prefix, German verb conjugation, Präteritum.