mängivad

Mängivad is the present tense, third-person plural form of the Estonian verb mängima, meaning "to play." It translates as "they play" or "they are playing" and is used with plural subjects, such as nad or any plural noun referring to multiple players. The form is built from the verb stem mäng- with the present-tense plural ending -ivad, marking third-person plural.

In Estonian, the present tense is generally imperfective, so mängivad expresses an action that is ongoing, habitual, or not completed at the reference time. It can occur in simple statements, questions, or subordinate clauses without indicating a completed event.

Examples: Nad mängivad lauamängu kodus. Lapsed mängivad jalgpalli iga nädal. These sentences illustrate the use with a board game at home and with soccer as a regular activity, respectively.

Related forms include other present-tense endings for different subjects: mängin (I play), mängid (you play, singular), mängib (he/she/it plays), mängime (we play), mängite (you play, plural), and mängivad (they play). The past tense is formed as mängisid (you plural), or otherwise as appropriate for the subject. The present participle, used adjectivally, is mängiv ("playing"), and the past participle is mänginud ("played").

Notes: Mängivad is distinctive to Estonian verb conjugation for -ima verbs and serves as a clear indicator of a plural subject in the present tense.