postajajo

Postajajo is the third-person plural present tense form of the Slovenian imperfective verb postajati, meaning to become or to be getting to be. It denotes an ongoing process of change affecting multiple subjects. The imperfective aspect signals that the change is viewed as a process rather than a finished state. The form is used when describing gradual development, trends, or ongoing transformations.

Morphology and related forms: The base verb is postajati; in the present tense the 3rd person plural form is postajajo. Other present forms include jaz postajam, ti postajaš, on/ona/ono postaja, mi postajamo, vi postajate. The related perfective form is postati, with 3rd person plural postanejo. Postajanje contrasts with completed changes expressed by the perfective.

Usage: In sentences, postajajo typically describes gradual change: for example, "Otroci postajajo bolj samozavestni" means "The children are becoming more confident." It can describe shifts in social, environmental, or economic contexts. It contrasts with "postane" (3rd person singular present of postati) which refers to a single individual's change or to a completed change when combined with a perfective form.

Origin and relation: Postajati is part of the verb pair that expresses ongoing versus completed change. It is etymologically connected to the Slavic roots for becoming and shares the same semantic domain with the perfective postati, which denotes a single or completed transition.

See also: Slovenian grammar, verb aspects, list of Slovenian irregularities.