erfassten

Erfassten is the simple past tense (Präteritum) form of the German verb erfassen. Erfassen has several related meanings depending on context: to seize or capture physically; to apprehend or grasp mentally; and to record, register, or collect information. The prefix er- can add a sense of completion or achievement to fassen, which is at the core of erfassen.

In use, erfassten describes past actions with different subjects: ich erfasste, du erfasstest (or du erfasstest), erfasste, wir erfassten, ihr erfasstet, sie erfassten. The past participle is erfasst, and it combines with haben to form the present perfect: ich habe erfasst, er hat erfasst, etc. The noun form Erfassung refers to the act of capturing, recording, or understanding something, and Datenerfassung specifically means data capture.

Senses and nuances include physical capture, such as a force that erfasste an opponent or a city; mental apprehension or understanding of a concept; and the registration or documentation of information, for example in a database or survey. In narrative prose, erfassten often marks a completed past action, while in technical writing it may describe the process of collecting data or mapping, indexing, or cataloging elements.

Examples: Die Forscher erfassten mehrere Messwerte. (The researchers recorded several measurements.) Die Soldaten erfassten die Stadt. (The soldiers captured the city.) Wir erfassten die Bedeutung des Textes. (We grasped/understood the meaning of the text.)

See also: erfassen, Erfassung, Datenerfassung.