ersetzten

Ersetzten is the simple past tense (Präteritum) form of the German verb ersetzen. It is not an infinitive lemma on its own but a conjugated form used with plural subjects in narrative or formal writing. The corresponding singular past forms are ersetzte (ich/er/sie/es) and ersetztest (du), while the past participle is ersetzt.

The verb ersetzen has several related meanings. Primarily it means to replace something with another item, for example, “Wir ersetzten die defekten Teile” (We replaced the defective parts). A secondary sense is to compensate or reimburse someone for a loss or damage, as in “Der Schaden wurde ersetzt” (The damage was compensated/replaced). In everyday speech, ersetzen is commonly used for both replacing objects and compensating costs, with context clarifying the meaning.

Usage notes and examples:

- Wir ersetzten die defekten Teile. (We replaced the defective parts.)

- Der Schaden wurde ersetzt. (The damage was compensated.)

- Wir haben den Schaden ersetzt. (We have replaced/compensated for the damage.)

- Du ersetztest das alte Modell durch ein neueres. (You replaced the old model with a newer one. — singular form in past tense)

Etymology and related forms:

Ersetzen comes from er- plus setzen, where er- adds a directional or aspectual nuance. The past tense forms follow regular weak-verb patterns in German, with plural subjects using ersetzten in the Präteritum. The infinitive remains ersetzen and the past participle is ersetzt.

In summary, ersetzten is a finite past tense form of ersetzen, used to describe replacing or reimbursing actions in the past, while the infinitive ersetzen and the participle ersetzt anchor the related verb forms in German grammar.