wechselte

Wechselte is the simple past tense (Präteritum) form of the German verb wechseln, which means to change, switch, or exchange. The verb can describe changing clothes or tires, exchanging money, or switching to another topic or location. In everyday language, wechseln is used for both physical changes and shifts in status or state, and it appears in various fixed phrases such as Geld wechseln (to exchange money) or das Thema wechseln (to switch the topic).

Etymology and form: Wechseln derives from the same Germanic root as the noun Wechsel, meaning change or alteration. The preterite form wechselte reflects the regular weak-verb pattern in German, and its related forms include wechselt (present third person singular) and gewechselt (past participle). The standard auxiliary in the perfect tense is haben: ich habe gewechselt.

Usage and examples: Wechseln is versatile and widely used in both literal and figurative senses. Examples in the Präteritum include: Er wechselte die Reifen. Sie wechselte das Thema. Wir wechselten heute Geld. In narrative writing, the Präteritum form wechselte helps situate past actions in time.

Conjugation overview: In the Präteritum, the forms are: ich wechselte, du wechseltest, er wechselte, wir wechselten, ihr wechseltet, sie wechselten. The present tense uses wechselt and wechsle, and the perfect tense is formed with habe gewechselt (Ich habe gewechselt). The verb is not separable in compound tenses.

See also: Wechsel (change), Geld wechseln, Reifen wechseln.