zerdrückte

Zerdrückte is a German word formed from the verb zerdrücken, meaning to crush or squash. It has two main grammatical uses: as the Präteritum (simple past) form and as an attributive participial adjective.

As the Präteritum form, zerdrückte is used with ich and er/sie/es in the past. For example: Er zerdrückte die Blume. The form varies by subject in full conjugation: ich zerdrückte, du zerdrücktest, er zerdrückte, wir zerdrückten, ihr zerdrücktet, sie zerdrückten.

As an attributive adjective, zerdrückte can modify a noun and takes appropriate endings according to gender, number, and case. For example: eine zerdrückte Blume (feminine singular, nominative). With other genders and numbers you would adjust endings accordingly: ein zerdrückter Ball, ein zerdrücktes Stück, zerdrückte Blätter, etc.

The standard past participle used with haben in perfect tenses is zerdrückt (Ich habe die Blume zerdrückt).

Etymology and nuance: zerdrücken combines zer- (a prefix indicating destruction or thorough action) with drücken (to press or push). The verb covers physical crushing as well as figurative senses, such as suppressing or overwhelming something or someone (z. B. den Widerstand zerdrücken).

Usage notes: Zerdrückte as a simple past form is common in narrative writing for past actions. As an adjective, it is fairly common in descriptive contexts (eine zerdrückte Blume, zerdrückte Blätter). It should not be confused with zerdrückt when forming compound tenses, where zerdrückt is the participle.