Simple past 'wollte' (wanted to, from wollen)

wollte is the simple past (Präteritum) of the modal verb wollen ("to want to"). As with all modals, the Präteritum is the normal past form, also in spoken German.

wollen has no umlaut to lose, so the form is simply wollte. Regular endings:

• ich/er/sie/es wollte, du wolltest, wir/sie wollten, ihr wolltet

The main verb is an infinitive at the end.

Examples:

• Er wollte ins Kino gehen. - He wanted to go to the cinema.
• Ich wollte dich anrufen. - I wanted to call you.
• Wir wollten früher kommen. - We wanted to come earlier.

Common mistakes: Don't confuse wollte with the English false friend "would" - wollte means "wanted to", not "would". The polite/conditional "would" is expressed with würde + infinitive. Keep the infinitive at the end of the sentence.

'wollte' is the simple past (Präteritum) of 'wollen' - wanted to.

Präteritum of 'wollen'; the infinitive stays at the end.

'wollte' ist das Präteritum von 'wollen'.