Andy's Wordshop

Slovak verbs have clearly different forms depending on whether they are perfective or imperfective (dokonavé alebo nedokonavé) in meaning. "Riešiť" and "vyriešiť" are good examples. The former means we don't know about the end of the activity (problem-solving), but the latter clearly indicates that the problem will be (or has been) solved. There are formal means available to express this difference in English as well.

If someone says: "We have solved the problem", we know there's no more problem because the "-ed" form indicates the end of it. But if they say: "Hang on, we're solving the problem", you don't know about the end, whether the "solving process" will be completed, let alone how long it's going to take. The primary meaning of "solve" is "vyriešiť" (not "riešiť"), but by using the "-ing" form in English you can make the meaning unclear.