sprachst

sprachst is the second-person singular form of the German verb sprechen in the simple past tense (Präteritum). It represents the past-tense conjugation used with the personal pronoun du, and it is part of the strong-verb pattern that characterizes sprechen. In standard modern German, du sprachst appears mainly in written narratives, historical texts, or elevated style, while everyday spoken German tends to use the perfect tense du hast gesprochen rather than the Präteritum in past narration.

Morphology and form: The Präteritum stem of sprechen is sprach-, and the suffix -st marks the second-person singular. The full paradigm for this verb in Präteritum includes ich sprach, du sprachst, er sprach. The form sprachst also reflects the general German pattern where the second-person singular in the past adds -st to the stem. The verb’s related forms in other tenses include sprichst (present) and gesprochen (past participle).

Usage and context: sprachst is commonly found in literary writing, historical accounts, and certain dialects or stylistic registers. In modern everyday speech, speakers typically employ the present perfect du hast gesprochen to describe past events, especially in conversation. Nevertheless, Sprachst remains grammatically correct and recognizable to German speakers, preserving the historical inflection of the language.

See also: German verb conjugation, Präteritum, sprechen, German dialects.