podívat

Podávat is a Czech verb with several related senses. Its core meanings are to hand in or submit something to someone (for example a document, a request, or a complaint) and to serve or present food or drink to another person. It can also mean to pass or offer something to someone, or to perform an action or gesture for another person, such as offering a handshake.

Etymology and grammar: Podávat is formed from the prefix pod- attached to the verb dát (to give). It is imperfective, transitive, and belongs to the Czech first conjugation. In the present tense the forms are: já podávám, ty podáváš, on podává, my podáváme, vy podáváte, oni podávají. The perfective counterpart is podat, used when the action is completed, for example podat žádost (to submit an application) or podat stížnost (to file a complaint). The noun podání can denote the act of submitting or delivering something, or, in sports, a serve (as in tennis).

Usage: Common phrases include podávat žádost (to submit an application), podávat ruku (to offer a handshake), and podávat jídlo (to serve food). In bureaucratic or formal contexts one often encounters podat, while podání frequently appears as a noun referring to the act itself or to a serve in sports.

See also: podání; podání v tennis (serve). The term is widely used in administrative language as well as in everyday speech to denote the act of delivering or presenting something to another party.