Otrzymali

Otrzymali is a Polish verb form, the past tense of the perfective verb otrzymać, meaning they received or they obtained. It is used to describe a completed event in the past and agrees with the subject in number and gender. Specifically, otrzymali is the masculine personal plural form, used when the subject is male or a mixed-gender group. For a feminine group, the corresponding form is otrzymały, while singular forms differ (e.g., otrzymał for masculine singular and otrzymała for feminine singular).

As a perfective verb, otrzymać conveys a completed action with a definite result. Its imperfective counterpart is otrzymywać, which describes ongoing or repeated receiving in the past (e.g., otrzymywali, otrzymywały). This distinction is important in Polish syntax and nuance, affecting aspect and temporal interpretation.

Common usage of otrzymali occurs in formal and informal prose alike, including news reports, official communications, and narrative descriptions. It often answers questions like who received what, for example: Otrzymali nagrody, Otrzymali dofinansowanie, Otrzymali informację.

Etymologically, otrzymać is a standard Polish perfective verb formed with the prefix o- and a root related to the core verb otrzymać’s semantic field of obtaining or receiving. The specific past-tense form otrzymali follows regular agreement patterns for masculine personal plural common to Polish verb conjugation.

In summary, otrzymali is the masculine plural past tense form of otrzymać, used to indicate that a group of people received something in the past, and it contrasts with feminine otrzymały and other person-number forms of the same verb.