märkavad

Märkavad is the third-person plural present indicative form of the Estonian verb märkama, meaning "to notice" or "to perceive." As a finite verb form, märkavad is used when the subject is they (nad) and the action is occurring in the present: for example, "Nad märkavad muutust" — "They notice a change."

The form is built from the verb stem märk- and the regular Estonian present plural ending -avad, characteristic of verbs with an -ama infinitive. Estonian stress typically falls on the first syllable; an approximate phonetic rendering is /ˈmærkɑvɑd/, with ä pronounced like the vowel in English "cat."

Märkama and its forms are part of the Finnic branch of the Uralic language family and have cognates and related roots in other Finnic languages. In usage, märkavad appears in everyday speech, written texts, journalism, and literature whenever a plural subject notices, observes, or becomes aware of something.

Outside its grammatical rôle, the string "märkavad" may appear as a component in names, titles, or stylistic expressions; in such cases its interpretation depends on context and may be capitalized as a proper noun. Because it is a standard verbal form rather than a distinct lexical entry, references to märkavad are normally found in grammatical descriptions, dictionaries, and language-learning materials.