stretával

Stretával is a verb form used in Slovak (and in some contexts in Czech) as the imperfective past tense of the verb stretávať, meaning to meet or to encounter. It denotes habitual or repeated meetings in the past rather than a single, completed event. The form is masculine singular; corresponding forms exist for other genders and numbers, such as stretávala (feminine singular) and stretávali (plural). The related reflexive form stretávať sa expresses meeting with others over time.

Grammatical usage and meaning

Stretával signals that the action of meeting occurred regularly or repeatedly in the past. It is typically used in narrative or descriptive prose to set a scene of habitual encounters. It contrasts with the perfective counterpart stretnúť or stretol/stretla, which would indicate a single, completed meeting.

Examples

- Keď som býval v meste, stretával som ho často na námestí. (When I lived in the town, I used to meet him often in the square.)

- On sa stretával s kamarátmi každý víkend. (He used to meet his friends every weekend.)

- Spomínam, ako sme sa stretávali pred rokom na univerzite. (I remember how we used to meet at the university a year ago.)

Etymology and related forms

Stretával originates from the Slovak verb stretávať, rooted in the common Slavic verb stem meaning “to meet.” Related forms include the infinitive stretávať, the perfective stretnúť, and the reflexive stretávať sa.

See also

- stretávať (infinitive)

- stretnúť (to meet, perfective)

- stretávanie sa (meeting with others)