erachteten

Erachteten is a German verb form derived from erachten, meaning to deem, regard, or consider. The verb erachten is often used in formal or literary contexts to express judgment about people, things, or proposals. The form erachteten specifically functions as the simple past (Präteritum) for third-person plural subjects, as in sie erachteten; it can also appear with the formal you in the same tense, Sie erachteten, in formal address.

Etymology and meaning: erachten combines the prefix er- with achten (to value or regard). The resulting verb conveys a strong sense of evaluation or considered judgement, typically followed by a clause or a noun phrase acting as the object of the judgment.

Usage and style: In contemporary ordinary speech, erachten is comparatively formal; erachteten appears mainly in written language, journalism, history, and legal or official discourse when recounting past judgments by groups or institutions. It is common to replace erachten with more everyday expressions such as halten für or ansehen als in less formal contexts.

Examples:

- Die Kommission erachtete den Vorschlag als unzureichend.

- Die Partei erachteten ihn als den geeigneten Kandidaten.

Notes: The corresponding singular past tense forms are erachtete (ich/er/sie) and erachtest (du), erachtetest (ihr), with der Plural form erachteten used for sie or Sie in past contexts. The term is primarily a past-tense, third-person plural marker and does not function as a noun. For many speakers, erachten and its past forms remain a marker of formal or historical narration.