zerstörte

Zerstörte is the simple past (preterite) form of the German verb zerstören, meaning “to destroy.” It is used in narrative or formal writing to indicate that something was destroyed, as in Der Sturm zerstörte das Dorf. In this sentence zerstörte agrees with the subject in the third person singular. The infinitive is zerstören, and the corresponding past participle is zerstört, which is used with haben or sein to form perfect tenses and in passive constructions (Es wurde zerstört).

As an adjective used attributively, the participle form can appear as zerstört with appropriate endings, depending on gender, number, and case. Common examples include eine zerstörte Statue (feminine singular), das zerstörte Haus (neuter singular), and die zerstörten Städte (plural, with a different ending on the article). In practice, the adjective translates to “destroyed” or “ruined” in English.

Usage notes often distinguish between the preterite and the perfect in German storytelling. The preterite form zerstörte is more frequent in written narratives and reports, while spoken German tends to favor the perfect with hat zerstört (e.g., Es hat das Dorf zerstört) or passive constructions (Es wurde zerstört).

Related terms include Zerstörung (destruction), zerstören (to destroy), and zerstört (the past participle used as a predicate adjective or in compound tenses). The word is commonly found in discussions of damage, warfare, architecture, and disaster, where the state of being destroyed is described or evaluated.