przybyli

Przybyli is a Polish verb form meaning "they arrived." It is the past tense, masculine plural form of the perfective verb przybyć, whose meaning is to arrive or reach a destination. The corresponding masculine singular is przybyłem (I arrived), the feminine singular is przybyłam (I arrived), and the feminine plural form is przybyły. The form przybyli is used for masculine or mixed-gender groups in the past tense.

In Polish, past-tense forms agree with the gender and number of the subject. For example, for a masculine or mixed group one says Oni przybyli, while for an all-female group the form would be one in the feminine plural: one przybyły. The imperfective counterpart is przybywać, whose past tense can be przybywało or przybywały, depending on number and gender. The verb przybyć is typically used to describe a completed act of arriving, whereas przybywać emphasizes the ongoing or repeated nature of arrivals.

Usage and style: przybyli appears in narrative prose, historical writing, and news reporting when noting that a group arrived. It is most common in formal or literary contexts; in everyday speech speakers might use alternative phrasing such as "przyszli" (came) depending on nuance and regional preference.

Related forms: przybyć (to arrive, perfective), przybywać (to arrive, imperfective), przybycie (an arrival), and the participle przybywszy (having arrived). The term is primarily a grammatical form rather than a standalone lexical item, and its interpretation hinges on the subject’s gender and number.