ertrug

Ertrug is the simple past tense (preterite) form of the German verb ertragen, meaning to endure, bear, or tolerate. It is primarily found in written or narrative contexts. In everyday speech, Germans more often use the perfect tense (hat ertragen) to describe experiences of endurance.

Conjugation and usage: ertragen is a strong verb with a prefix er-. In the preterite, the verb changes to ertrug. For example: Er ertrug die Last still. Sie ertrug die Müdigkeit über Stunden. The corresponding past participle is ertragen, as in Ich habe die Prüfung ertragen. The distinction between ertrug (preterite) and ertragen (infinitive or past participle) is a standard feature of German verb conjugation and is primarily of interest to learners and in formal or historical writing.

Distinctions and notes: ertrug is not used as a standalone noun or concept. It is strictly a verb form. The word is sometimes confused with related nouns such as der Ertrag (yield) or with the noun erträglichkeit (tolerability, acceptability), but ertrug itself has no independent nominal meaning. In modern everyday German, the present perfect hat ertragen is more common than the preterite ertrug, except in literary, historical, or journalistic contexts where a narrative past is preferred.

See also: ertragen, to endure; erträglich, tolerable; Ertrag, yield; German verb conjugation, strong verbs.