hemmten

Hemmten is a German verb form meaning to hinder, impede, or restrain. It is the simple past tense (preterite) of the verb hemmen, and it can be used to describe past actions in both literal and figurative senses. In English contexts, hemmten is often translated as “hampered,” “hindered,” or “restrained.”

Conjugation and forms include the preterite ich hemmte, du hemmtest, er/sie/es hemmte, wir hemmten, ihr hemmtet, sie hemmten. The past participle is gehemmt, used with auxiliary haben to form perfect tenses, such as hat gehemmt. Hemmen is considered a regular weak verb in its conjugation patterns.

Etymology and linguistic background: The verb hemmen is of Germanic origin and has cognates in related West Germanic languages. Its sense is rooted in the idea of holding back or checking movement or progress. The past tense form hemmten reflects regular German preterite endings for plural and first-person plural subjects.

Usage and register: Hemmen appears in formal and historical writing, journalism, and narrative prose. It can describe physical restraint, as in blocking movement, or figurative restraint, such as curbing development, trade, or political action. Example sentences in German include: Die Zölle hemmten den Handel. (The tariffs hampered trade.) Die Politik hemmte jahrelang das Wachstum. (The policy hampered growth for years.)

See also: hemmen, hindern, behindern, blockieren. Hemmen is part of a broader family of German verbs used to describe obstructions and checks in both concrete and abstract contexts.