existiertet

Existiertet is the simple past tense (Präteritum) form of the German verb existieren. It is the second-person plural form, used with the subject ihr, and translates to "you (plural) existed" in English. The verb existieren is regular, so its Präteritum forms follow the standard pattern: ich existierte, du existiertest, er existierte, wir existierten, ihr existiertet, sie existierten.

Usage and frequency: The Präteritum form existiertet is primarily found in written language, especially in historical narratives or formal prose. In modern everyday speech, speakers often prefer the Perfekt (conversational past), or rephrase past events, so existiertet is relatively uncommon outside of literary or historical contexts.

Etymology and related forms: Existieren derives from the German verb existieren, itself from the Latin existere. The Präteritum forms are part of the regular weak-verb conjugation for German verbs ending in -ieren. Related forms include existierte (3rd person singular or other singular forms) and existierten (3rd person plural past).

Example usage: Im Mittelalter existierte eine kleine Gemeinde in dieser Region. Ihr existiertet vermutlich in dieser Zeit, bevor neue Siedlungen entstanden. For many contexts, a reader would encounter the same idea expressed with either das Präteritum or with a Perfekt construction using existieren.

See also: existieren, Präteritum, German verb conjugation.