löstest

löstest is the second-person singular form of the German verb lösen in the Präteritum (simple past). lösen means to solve, to loosen, or to release, depending on context. The form löstest appears in historical and literary German, reflecting older or regional spellings of the second-person past tense. In modern standard German, this exact form is rarely used in everyday speech or writing, where the past tense for du is typically expressed with du hast… gelöst (present perfect) or by other constructions in narrative prose.

Linguistic context and morphology: lösen is a regular verb in its stem, and the Präteritum endings attach to the stem in older grammar patterns. The second-person singular Präteritum ending is traditionally -test, which in historical orthography yields forms such as löstest. The exact spelling can vary with period spelling conventions, but the underlying function remains the same: it marks the action as completed in the second-person singular in a past-tense narrative.

Usage and history: löstest occurs primarily in older texts from the 18th and 19th centuries and in works aiming to imitate period language. It may also appear in regional dialect writing. In contemporary German, speakers would more likely use du hast gelöst for the perfect or du löstest in highly stylized historical writing, where appropriate. The form is of interest to students of German grammar and historical linguistics as an example of how Präteritum endings function in older forms of the language.

See also: Lösen (German verb), German grammar, Präteritum (simple past).