presterte

Presterte is the simple past tense form of the Norwegian verb prestere, which means to perform, to achieve, or to deliver. It is used to describe someone’s performance in the past across various contexts, such as sports, exams, work tasks, or other activities. The form is used with all subjects: jeg presterte, du presterte, han/hun/den presterte, vi presterte, dere presterte, de presterte. The corresponding past participle is prestert, used in perfect tenses with the auxiliary har, as in hun har prestert bra.

In use, presterte does not inherently praise or criticize; it simply states what was done or achieved. Nuanced judgments about quality or effort are supplied by adverbs and adjectives, for example “presterte bra” (performed well) or “presterte dårlig” (performed poorly). The term is common in everyday Norwegian and appears in journalism, sports reporting, educational contexts, and formal assessments alike.

Etymology and related terms: prestere is of Germanic origin and has cognates in other Germanic languages, such as Dutch presteren and German leisten, all carrying a sense of performing or achieving. The related noun prestasjon refers to an achievement or performance. The verb contrasts with related verbs that emphasize effort or ability in other ways, and it is used across tenses to describe ongoing or completed performance.

See also: prestasjon, å prestere, har prestert, Dutch presteren, German leisten.