hakkavad

Hakkavad is the third-person plural present tense form of the Estonian verb hakata (also hakata/hakkama), meaning they begin or they are beginning. The verb hakata/hakkama is used to express the initiation of an action and is commonly combined with another verb in its infinitive to indicate that the action is starting. In standard Estonian, hakkavad is used when the subject is plural.

In practice, sentences with hakkavad typically convey the onset of an activity rather than its completion. Examples include Nad hakkavad tööd tegema (They are starting to work) and Nad hakkavad hiljem sööma (They are going to eat later). The form can carry a sense of immediacy or transition, similar to the English “are starting to” or “are about to begin.”

Morphology and usage notes:

- Hakkavad is the present tense plural form; corresponding singular forms are hakkan (I begin), hakkad (you begin), hakkab (he/she begins).

- The construction is often followed by an infinitive or a bare verb phrase to indicate the specific action being initiated, such as tööd tegema or sööma.

- In modern Estonian, hakata is the more common infinitive, with hakkama as a variant used in similar contexts. Both convey the idea of beginning, though regional or stylistic differences may affect preference.

See also: Estonian grammar, inchoative verb constructions, hakata/hakkama.

Hakkavad thus functions as a key grammatical marker for describing ongoing initiation of actions in plural subjects within Estonian prose and speech, contributing to narrative and temporal nuance.