Learn German: Das Dorf wurde reich. - The village became rich.

Werden is a very busy verb! When it is used as a helping verb with an infinitive verb at the end of the sentence, it forms the future tense ("will"). But when it is the main verb in the sentence, as it is here, it means "to become". Since wurde is the simple past form, it translates to "became". Beware of the false friend: "to become" is werden, while the German word bekommen actually means "to get" or "to receive"!

Why is the verb form wurde here?

Wurde is the simple past (Präteritum) of werden for the third-person singular (he, she, it). Since das Dorf (the village) is a neuter noun, it acts as an "it". If the subject were "I", it would also be ich wurde. For "you" it is du wurdest, and for "we" or "they" it is wurden.

Is it normal to use the simple past form wurde in spoken German?

Yes! While spoken German usually prefers the conversational past (Perfekt) for most verbs, werden is a major exception. Along with verbs like sein (to be) and haben (to have), Germans prefer using the simple past (wurde) even in everyday conversation. It is much more natural and concise to say Das Dorf wurde reich than the Perfekt version (Das Dorf ist reich geworden).

Why doesn't reich have an adjective ending, like reiches?