gehörte

gehörte is the simple past tense (Präteritum) form of the German verb gehören, meaning to belong. It expresses that something was owned or related to someone in the past. In German, belonging is usually described with a subject that is the thing belonging and a dative object that indicates the possessor, as in Das Auto gehörte mir.

In usage, gehörte appears primarily in written language or narrative past contexts. In everyday speech, speakers more often use the present tense or the present perfect. For example, Das Auto gehört mir is present, while Das Auto gehörte mir conveys a past perspective. The construction with zu plus a group or category, such as gehören zu, expresses membership or part of a set, e.g., Das Team gehörte zu den Favoriten.

Conjugation notes: gehörte is the Präteritum form for ich, er/sie/es, and ihr in many contexts. The second-person singular can appear as du gehörtest or du gehörtest, reflecting some variation in colloquial and formal usage. The other forms are wir gehörten, ihr gehörtet, sie gehörten. Like other weak verbs, gehören forms through the past tense use the -te/-ten endings.

Examples:

- Der Schlüssel gehörte dem Mann.

- Dieses Buch gehörte mir.

- Früher gehörten wir zu den besten Teams der Liga.

- Das Auto gehörte meinem Bruder.

Related expressions include gehören zu, meaning to belong to or be part of a group, and das Gehören as a noun sense of property or belonging. The word is distinct from hören (to hear), though they look similar in spelling.

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