Jakmile začne odpočet, tým prohledá rekvizity.

Jakmile means as soon as.

It introduces a subordinate time clause:

• Jakmile začne odpočet = As soon as the countdown starts

A very common pattern in Czech is:

• Jakmile + clause, main clause
• Jakmile přijde, odejdeme. = As soon as he arrives, we’ll leave.

In your sentence, jakmile sets up the timing for the main action.

Because Jakmile začne odpočet is a subordinate clause, and Czech normally separates subordinate clauses from the main clause with a comma.

So the structure is:

• Jakmile začne odpočet, = subordinate clause
• tým prohledá rekvizity. = main clause

This comma is required in standard Czech spelling.

This is a very common Czech feature.

Both začne and prohledá are perfective verbs. In Czech, the present-tense forms of perfective verbs usually refer to the future.

So:

• začne = will start / starts
• prohledá = will search / will search through

That is why Czech does not use bude začít or bude prohledat here.

Compare:

• začíná = is starting / starts repeatedly or as an ongoing action
• začne = will start once, as a completed event

And:

• prohledává = is searching / searches through repeatedly or over time
• prohledá = will search through completely, as a single finished action

They are an aspect pair:

• začít = perfective = to begin/start as a completed event
• začínat = imperfective = to be starting, to start repeatedly, or to focus on the process

In this sentence, začne comes from začít, because the sentence talks about one future moment when the countdown begins.

Examples:

• Odpočet začne v deset. = The countdown will start at ten.
• Odpočet začíná v deset. can mean The countdown starts at ten as a schedule, or can sound more descriptive/present depending on context.

So začne fits best because it marks the moment the action begins.

Odpočet means countdown.

It is a masculine inanimate noun. In this sentence it is the subject of začne:

• odpočet začne = the countdown will begin

Its basic form is already what you see here:

• ten odpočet = the countdown

So here odpočet is in the nominative singular.

Because the standard Czech spelling of tým is with ý. It is a loanword meaning team.

So:

• tým = team

This is simply the normal dictionary form. You just have to learn the spelling.

In this sentence, tým is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of prohledá:

• tým prohledá = the team will search

Prohledá comes from prohledat, which usually means to search through thoroughly, to examine by searching, or to comb through.

So it is a bit stronger and more complete than a basic look for.

• hledat = to look for
• prohledat = to search through thoroughly

In your sentence:

• tým prohledá rekvizity = the team will search through the props

This suggests a deliberate inspection of the props, not just casually looking at them.

Rekvizity is the accusative plural of rekvizita in this sentence.

Singular:

• rekvizita = prop / piece of stage equipment

Plural:

• rekvizity = props

It is in the accusative because it is the direct object of prohledá:

• prohledá co? = search what?
• rekvizity

For this noun, the nominative plural and accusative plural happen to look the same:

• rekvizity = nominative plural
• rekvizity = accusative plural

So the form does not change here.

Yes, Czech often omits subjects when they are clear from the verb form or from context.

So you could say:

• Jakmile začne odpočet, prohledá rekvizity.

That would still be grammatical, but without context it may be less clear who will search the props.

Because prohledá means he/she/it will search depending on context, adding tým makes the sentence explicit and easier to understand.

Not completely. Czech word order is fairly flexible, but the original sentence is natural and neutral:

• Jakmile začne odpočet, tým prohledá rekvizity.

You could also see variations like:

• Jakmile začne odpočet, rekvizity prohledá tým.
• Tým prohledá rekvizity, jakmile začne odpočet.

These alternatives can sound more marked or emphasize different parts.

The original order is the most straightforward for a learner:

1. time clause first
2. subject
3. verb
4. object

Czech has no articles like a/an or the.

So nouns appear without them:

• odpočet = countdown / the countdown
• tým = team / the team
• rekvizity = props / the props

English needs articles, but Czech usually expresses definiteness through context instead.

So although the Czech sentence has no word for the, the English translation may naturally use it:

• As soon as the countdown starts, the team will search the props.

Then Czech would usually use imperfective verbs.

For example:

• Jakmile začne odpočet, tým bude prohledávat rekvizity.

This means something more like:

• As soon as the countdown starts, the team will be searching through the props.

The difference is:

• prohledá = one complete search, viewed as a whole
• bude prohledávat = the action will be ongoing

Likewise:

• začne marks the single moment when the countdown begins

So the original sentence feels concise and event-based: first one thing happens, then the team performs a complete search.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Jakmile ≈ YAKH-mi-leh
• začne ≈ ZACH-neh or more carefully ZAHCH-neh
• odpočet ≈ OD-po-chet
• tým ≈ teem but with a long vowel
• prohledá ≈ pro-HLEH-daa
• rekvizity ≈ REK-vi-zi-ti

A few important points:

• j in Czech is like English y
• č sounds like ch in church
• ý is a long ee-like vowel
• stress is normally on the first syllable of each word

So the whole sentence is approximately:

• YAKH-mi-leh ZAHCH-neh ODPo-chet, teem PROH-leh-daa REK-vi-zi-ti.

As soon as is the best and most direct translation here, but depending on style or context, English might also use:

• once
• when
• the moment

For example:

• Jakmile začne odpočet, tým prohledá rekvizity.
  • As soon as the countdown starts, the team will search the props.
  • Once the countdown starts, the team will search the props.

But the core idea of jakmile is immediacy: one action follows right after the other.