Breakdown of Der König war alt und wurde schwach.
sein
to be
und
and
alt
old
werden
to become / to get (change of state)
schwach
weak
der König
the king
Questions & Answers about Der König war alt und wurde schwach.
What is the infinitive of wurde and what does it mean in this sentence?
wurde is the simple past tense of the verb werden. In this context, it translates to "became" or "got." The king changed states from just being old to also getting weak.
What is the difference between war and wurde here?
war is the simple past tense of sein (to be), describing a state that already existed: he "was" old. wurde is the simple past tense of werden (to become), describing a process or change: he "became" or "got" weak.
Why isn't there a subject after und? Shouldn't it be und er wurde schwach?
You can leave out the subject if it is the exact same person or thing doing the action in both halves of the sentence. Since Der König is the subject for both war and wurde, you do not have to repeat it, exactly like in English.
Is wurde the same word as würde?
No, and this is a very common mix-up! wurde (with a regular u) means "became" or "got" as we see in this sentence. würde (with an umlaut ü) means "would." Pay close attention to the spelling and pronunciation so you do not mix them up.
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