porovná

Porovná is a Czech verb form used to denote the act of comparing. It is the third-person singular present (with future meaning) form of the perfective verb porovnat, which means to compare or contrast two or more items. In neutral usage, porovná introduces a statement that someone will or has already compared objects such as prices, options, or data.

Etymology and meaning: The verb porovnat is formed from the root rovnat, with the prefix po-, yielding a completed action. The core sense centers on placing items side by side to evaluate their similarities and differences. This distinction from related verbs reflects the contrast between a single completed comparison (porovnat) and ongoing or repeated comparisons (porovnávat).

Usage: Porovná is commonly found in journalism, analysis, and everyday speech when referring to a specific act of comparison that is imminent or has just occurred. The imperfective counterpart porovnávat is used for habitual or ongoing comparison. For example, porovná ceny dvou modelů means to compare the prices of two models, while porovnávám data each day would indicate a regular process of comparison over time. In many contexts, the exact aspect (perfective vs. imperfective) guides whether the action is viewed as completed or as an ongoing activity.

Conjugation: The present/future form of the perfective porovnat is:

- já porovnám, ty porovnáš, on porovná, my porovnáme, vy porovnáte, oni porovnají.

The imperfective counterpart porovnávat has present forms such as já porovnávám, ty porovnáváš, on porovnává, my porovnáváme, vy porovnáváte, oni porovnávají.

See also: porovnávat, srovnat, srovnání, konfrontovat.