Verb

fehlen

Translation

were missing, lacked, were absent

Uns fehlten die Worte.

We were lost for words.

Zwei Schüler fehlten gestern.

Two students were absent yesterday.

Die Schlüssel fehlten auf dem Tisch.

The keys were missing from the table.

((sb.dat)) ((sth.nom)) were missing (to sb.) They were missing the necessary information.

mangelten (lacked); Antonyms: waren vorhanden (were present)

Simple past (Präteritum) of the verb 'fehlen'. The '-ten' ending marks the plural past tense (for wir, sie, Sie).

Recognize the '-ten' ending as the simple past for plural subjects. 'Wir fehlten' means 'we were absent'.