This is the 340th most frequent Czech word.
bylo
"Bylo" means "was" or "it was" in English.
The word 'bylo' functions as a past-tense verb indicating existence or state of being, agreeing with the subject 'to' and implying a neutral gender.
Bylo to krásné léto.
It was a beautiful summer.
The word 'bylo' is used in a conditional clause to express possibility or hypothetical scenarios, paired with 'kdyby' (if).
Kdyby bylo více času, mohli bychom to dokončit.
If there were more time, we could finish it.
In this sentence, 'bylo' acts as a copula linking the subject 'zvláštní' (strange) to the extended explanation and has a neutral form indicative of impersonal past tense.