Popisují

Popisují is a Czech verb form derived from the verb popisovat, meaning to describe. It is the present tense, third-person plural (oni popisují) and uses the imperfective aspect, typically translated as "they describe" or "they are describing" depending on context.

Grammatical notes: Popisují agrees with plural subjects and appears in everyday, academic, and literary Czech. The imperfective aspect indicates an ongoing, habitual, or general description, in contrast to the perfective form popíší, which would refer to a single, completed description. The form is used with a wide range of direct objects in the accusative, such as data, phenomena, methods, or events.

Usage: Popisují is commonly found in scientific writing, journalism, and narrative prose to present descriptions of methods, results, settings, or processes. It often introduces explanatory or descriptive passages without judgment. Examples include: "Autoři popisují metody experimentu," meaning "The authors describe the experimental methods," and "Příběh popisují svědci," meaning "The witnesses describe the story."

Etymology and related forms: The verb stems from popis, description, plus the common Czech verb infix -ovat. It is related to other descriptors and descriptive phrases, and its use emphasizes description rather than evaluation or judgment. In translation, context determines whether it expresses a present ongoing action or a general descriptive activity.

Notes: While popisují denotes description, Czech distinguishes it from evaluative verbs that express assessment or inference. Proper usage aligns with describing observable aspects, procedures, or characteristics rather than voicing opinions about them.