schätzte

Schätzte is the simple past tense (Präteritum) form of the German verb schätzen. It denotes an act of estimating, valuing, or appreciating that occurred in the past. In the Präteritum it appears as ich schätzte and er/sie/es schätzte, while the second-person singular and other subjects use forms such as du schätztest, ihr schätztet, wir schätzten, sie schätzten.

Usage of schätzte spans several senses. It can describe numerical estimates or time estimates, as in “Ich schätzte, dass es zwei Stunden dauern würde.” It can express the valuation of objects or money, for example “Ich schätzte den Wert auf 150 Euro.” It can also convey past appreciation or regard, as in “Ich schätzte seine Hilfe.” The corresponding perfect tense uses haben with the past participle geschätzt, not schätzte.

Relation to related forms is straightforward. The noun Schätzung means an estimate or appraisal, derived from the same root. A person who estimates is a Schätzer (or Schätzerin for feminine). The verb schätzen also has a broader semantic range in present tense, including “to value” or “to esteem” someone or something.

Notes and nuances. In standard written German, the Präteritum form schätzte is common in narration to recount past estimation or valuation, whereas in everyday spoken language the present tense schätzen is more frequent. The verb is regular (weak) in its conjugation, and the past participle used in perfect constructions is geschätzt.