Überstandest

Überstandest is the second-person singular simple past form (Präteritum) of the German verb überstehen. It translates roughly as “you endured” or “you survived” and is used when narrating events in the past in a formal or literary register.

Origin and meaning: überstehen combines the prefix über- with stehen; the verb means to endure, withstand, or survive something difficult. The past participle is überstanden, which is used with haben to form the present perfect: du hast überstanden. The Präteritum forms follow a pattern similar to other weak or mixed verbs of this class, with düst versions like überstandest in the second person singular.

Usage and style: In everyday speech, speakers typically use the present perfect du hast überstanden rather than the Präteritum du überstandest. The Präteritum form is more common in written narration, historical texts, or poetic contexts. Full Präteritum conjugation for reference: ich überstand, du überstandest, er überstand, wir überstanden, ihr überstandet, sie/Sie überstanden.

Examples: Du überstandest die schwere Prüfung. Translation: You endured the difficult exam. The form can appear in literary prose or historical recounting, where a direct past narrative is preferred over the conversational perfect.