starben

Starben is the simple past (preterite) tense form of the German verb sterben, meaning to die. It is used with plural subjects, while the singular past tense is starb (for example, ich starb, er starb). In practice, starben appears in narratives and historical accounts to describe events in the past that affected multiple people or objects.

Conjugation in the preterite for sterben is: ich starb, du starbst, er starb, wir starben, ihr starbt, sie starben. The past participle is gestorben, used with auxiliary ist to form the present perfect (er ist gestorben, sie sind gestorben). Starben is considered an irregular or strong-verb form because the stem vowel changes from sterb- in the present to starb- in the preterite plural.

Usage and nuances: starben commonly appears in written German, especially in historical narration, reports, and literary prose. It conveys completed events in the past and is distinct from present or completed-action forms like gestorben, which is used with an auxiliary to describe a death that has relevance to the present. In everyday speech, speakers may prefer other past-tense constructions depending on dialect, but starben remains standard for formal or literary past narration involving multiple subjects dying.

Etymology and related forms: starben derives from the same Germanic root as sterben, with the preterite plural ending added to the stem. The related forms include the singular preterite starb and the past participle gestorben. Related topics include the broader system of German verb tenses and the distinction between preterite and perfect in narrative writing.

See also: sterben, gestorben, German verbs, past tense.