Breakdown of Мы заканчиваем согласовывать документы.
мы
we
документ
document
заканчивать
to finish
согласовывать
to approve (imperfective)
Questions & Answers about Мы заканчиваем согласовывать документы.
Why is согласовывать in the imperfective aspect here?
In Russian, verbs that express the beginning, continuation, or end of an action (like заканчивать - to finish, or начинать - to start) must always be followed by an imperfective infinitive. Because you are finishing the process of approving, you must use the imperfective согласовывать, even if your ultimate goal is a finished result.
If I wanted to say "We WILL finish approving the documents," how would the sentence change?
You would change the main verb to its perfective form, which automatically makes it future tense: Мы закончим согласовывать документы. Notice that the second verb (согласовывать) stays imperfective, because verbs of finishing always require an imperfective infinitive, no matter what tense the main verb is in!
I know the word согласен (agree). How is согласовывать related to that?
They share the same root. While быть согласным means "to agree" with someone's opinion, согласовывать is a business or formal verb meaning "to coordinate," "to clear," or "to get approval for" a document or plan. It literally means bringing voices (глас) together (со-).
How would you add a deadline like "by Friday" to this sentence?