sbíral

Sbíral is the masculine singular past tense form of the Czech verb sbírat, which means to collect, gather, or harvest. The verb is imperfective, used to describe an action that was ongoing, repeated, or not completed at a past moment. Its present tense form is sbírá, and its perfective counterpart is nasbírat (to collect up, to have collected).

Morphology and usage notes: In past tense, sbíral corresponds to a male subject, sbírala to a female subject, and sbírali to a plural subject. The form conveys that the collecting activity occurred over a period or repeatedly in the past, rather than signaling a single completed event. The verb can denote collecting tangible items (for example sbíral známky, sbírala mince) as well as gathering information, data, or resources. It is commonly used in ordinary narration, biographical sketches, and descriptive prose.

Etymology and related forms: The verb is connected to the noun sběr, meaning collection or harvest, and to the notion of gathering. Related forms include nasbírat (perfective) for a completed act of collecting, sbírka (a collection), and sběratel (a collector).

Examples:

- On sbíral známky. (He collected stamps.)

- Ona sbírala podklady pro studii. (She was gathering materials for the study.)

- Nasbírali dostatek dat. (They collected enough data.)

See also: sběr, sbírka, sběratel, nasbírat.