importierten

Importierten is a form related to the German verb importieren (to import). It occurs in two primary ways: as the simple past tense form for plural subjects (Präteritum), and as the declined past participle importiert used as an attributive adjective in plural noun phrases (after a definite article).

As a verb form, importierten is the Präteritum (simple past) for the plural subjects wir and sie. It is typical in written, formal, or narrative contexts. For example: Wir importierten letzte Woche neue Maschinen. Sie importierten große Mengen Öl aus dem Ausland. In spoken German, the Perfekt form haben importiert is more common: Wir haben importiert.

As an attributive adjective, the past participle importiert can function as a modifier in plural noun phrases and takes the weak declension ending -ierten after a definite determiner. The standard form is die importierten Waren (the imported goods). Other cases include den importierten Waren (dative plural) and der importierten Waren (genitive plural). In the bare plural, without a determiner, one would typically use importierte Waren (without the -en ending on the participle). Example: Die importierten Waren wurden geprüft.

Usage notes: Distinguish the two uses by context. The Präteritum form applies to the verb and speaks of the action in the past, while the participle form describes a characteristic of the nouns (the goods that have been imported). In modern everyday language, the Perfekt is more common in speech, whereas Präteritum and attributive participles appear frequently in written German, journalism, and formal reports.