dovolili

Dovolili is a verb form found in Czech and Slovak, acting as the past tense of the verb meaning to allow or permit. It is used when someone gave permission or allowed something to happen.

In both languages, dovolit (Czech) or dovoliť (Slovak) is a perfective verb. The past tense changes according to gender and number. The form dovolili is the third-person plural past tense, typically used for masculine plural or a mixed-gender group. Feminine plural would use a different ending in Czech (dovolily). In Slovak, the corresponding past-tense forms follow the language’s gender-and-number rules, with dovolili commonly appearing for masculine or mixed groups in past contexts.

Usage notes: Dovolili is commonly employed to report that permission was granted by someone in authority or by a subject of discussion. It often accompanies a direct object or a subordinate clause describing what was permitted. For example, in Czech: Oni nám to dovoli? No—that would be the present tense. A correct past-tense example: Oni nám to dovolili. Dovolili nám vstup. In Slovak, a mirror sentence might be: Dovolili nám vstup.

See also: dovolit, dovoliť, permission verbs in Czech and Slovak, past tense conjugation patterns in West Slavic languages.