Zakládají

Zakládají is a form of the Czech verb zakládat, meaning to establish, found, or to lay foundations. It is the third person plural present tense: they establish. The imperfective nature of zakládat emphasizes an ongoing or repeated process of founding, as opposed to its perfective counterpart založit, which denotes a completed act.

Etymology and meaning: zakládat is built on the root related to základ, meaning base or foundation, with the prefix za- and the verb element -kládat (to place). The term is commonly used for founding organizations, institutions, companies, or initiatives, as well as for physically laying foundations in construction (zakládat základy).

Usage notes: zakládat typically describes an ongoing or future action when used in present tense with they/they are founding, and it often appears in contexts such as business, education, culture, and civic life. The difference between zakládat and založit is similar to other Slavic imperfective versus perfective pairs: zakládat describes the process, while založit refers to a single, completed act of founding.

Examples:

- Společnost zakládají dva podnikatelé. (Two entrepreneurs are founding the company.)

- Univerzita zakládá nový výzkumný institut. (The university is establishing a new research institute.)

- Město zakládá kulturní festival a vytváří nové tradice. (The city is establishing a cultural festival and creating new traditions.)

- Ve stavebnictví zakládají základy pro nový dům. (They are laying the foundations for a new house.)

In Czech grammar, zakládat follows regular conjugation patterns for the imperfective verb, with the present tense forms: já zakládám, ty zakládáš, on/ona/ono zakládá, my zakládáme, vy zakládáte, oni zakládají.