Hungarian verbs 1

Hungarian verbs

Hungarian language

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This page is about verbs in Hungarian grammar.

Hungarian verbs 2

Lemma or citation formThere is basically only one pattern for verb endings, with predictable variations dependent on the phonologicalcontext.The lemma or citation form is always the third person singular indefinite present. This usually has a ∅ suffix, e.g.kér ("ask", "have a request").

-ik verbsA slight variation to the standard pattern is with certain verbs which have third person singular indefinite presentending with -ik, e.g. dolgozik ("work"), and 1st singular indefinite present usually with -om/-em/-öm. The stem forthis is reached by removing -ik. These verbs explain the reason for this form being the citation form.The -ik verbs were originally middle voice, reflexive or passive in meaning, which can still be seen e.g. about thepair tör ("s/he breaks sth") vs törik ("sth. breaks" / "sth gets broken"). However, most of them have lost this meaningso historically speaking they are like deponent verbs. There are some verb pairs that only differ in the presence orabsence of the -ik ending, while they are unrelated in meaning, such as ér ('be worth sth.' or 'arrive') and érik ('ripen')as well as nyúl ('reach for sth.') and nyúlik ('stretch/extend'). (These -ik verbs also have a middle-voice meaning, theiractive version being érlel 'make sth. ripe' and nyújt 'stretch/extend sth.'.)With these verbs, the third person singular (present, indefinite, indicative) form (i.e., the lemma) consistently usesthe -ik form. What is more, new -ik words are constantly born (e.g. netezik "use the Internet") so their deviationneeds to be followed.However, as far as the first person singular (present, indefinite, indicative) suffix is concerned, it is often assimilatedto the "normal" conjugation (as it has practically happened to the other -ik-specific forms) so most verbs usually takethe regular form for this person (e.g. hazudok; *hazudom would be taken as hypercorrect or incorrect). Nevertheless,with some basic -ik verbs, the assimilated variant is stigmatized (e.g. eszem is expected in educated speech, ratherthan *eszek), so with these verbs, the traditional form is advised. At any rate, such non-traditional, assimilatedvariants are not rare in colloquial spoken language.Since this (3rd person singular indefinite) -ik ending coincides with the -ik ending of the 3rd person plural definiteform, only the type of the object makes it possible to identify the subject:• eszik egy almát: egy almát "an apple" is indefinite, so the verb must be a singular form, i.e. "s/he is eating an

apple;"• eszik az almát: az almát "the apple" is definite, so the verb must be a plural form, i.e. "they are eating the apple."In fact, most -ik verbs are intransitive, and the context may clarify the question even if the subject is not madeexplicit.

Regular (non-ik)

verbs

Non-traditional Traditional

-ik verbs

1st person singularindefinite

kérek hazudok eszem(*eszek)

3rd personsingular

indefinite(lemma)

kér∅ hazudik eszik

Meaning "ask"("request")

"tell a lie" "eat"

Some important "traditional" -ik verbs are the following. It may seem uneducated if someone uses the -k ending withthem for the 1st person singular form:

Hungarian verbs 3

aggódik "worry", álmodik "dream", alszik "sleep", bízik "trust", dicsekszik "brag", dohányzik "smoke", dolgozik "work", emlékszik

"remember", érdeklődik "be interested", érkezik "arrive", esküszik "swear", eszik "eat", fázik "be cold", fekszik "lie" ("recline"), foglalkozik

"deal with", gondolkodik or gondolkozik "be thinking", gondoskodik "look after", gyanakszik "suspect", gyönyörködik "delight in",

hallatszik "be audible", haragszik "be angry", hiányzik "be missing", igyekszik "strive, hurry", iszik "drink", játszik "play", jelentkezik

"apply", költözik "move (residence)", következik "follow", különbözik "differ", lakik "live" ("inhabit"), látszik "be visible", működik

"function", növekszik "grow", nyugszik "rest", öregszik "grow old", panaszkodik "complain", származik "originate from", találkozik

"meet", tartozik "owe" or "belong", tartózkodik "stay" ("reside"), törődik "care about", unatkozik "be bored", vágyik "desire", változik

"change" (refl.), verekszik "fight" (e.g. at school), veszekszik "quarrel", vetkőzik "take off clothes", viselkedik "behave" and vitatkozik

"argue".[2]

For most other verbs, the -k ending is common in the indefinite meaning, especially in casual speech. Verbs endingin -zik, which refer to using some tool, almost exclusively take the -k, such as biciklizik "ride the bicycle", gitározik"play the guitar" or mobilozik "use the mobile phone".There are a few non-traditional -ik verbs where the -m ending is impossible and ungrammatical (except in thedefinite conjugation, if meaningful). These are called "pseudo ik verbs" (álikes igék) in Hungarian. Examples:

bomlik "dissolve", (el)bújik "hide", egerészik "catch mice", érik "ripen", folyik "flow", gyűlik "assemble" (refl.), hazudik "tell a lie", hullik

"fall", illik "suit", kopik "wear off", megjelenik "appear", múlik "pass", nyílik "open" (refl.), ömlik "pour" (refl.), születik "be born",

(meg)szűnik "discontinue", telik "fill up", tojik "lay (eggs)", törik "get broken", tűnik "seem", válik "become" or "divorce", züllik "become

depraved".[3]

The regular non -ik verb könyörög "beg" has a hypercorrect first-person singular indefinite present form könyörgöm"I am begging" (used especially as an emphatic interjection to support an argument in spoken language), whichconjugation mimics that of -ik verbs. The correct form would be könyörgök. However, it is argued by some that theform könyörgöm is not unacceptable, either, and it reflects an idiomatic expression könyörgöm (magát/az Istent) "Iam begging (you/God)", which has eventually lost its object and in which the form könyörgöm actually (correctly)follows definite conjugation.

InfinitiveThe infinitive of a verb is the form suffixed by -ni, e.g. várni, kérni. There is a variant -ani/eni, which is used withthe following groups:• verbs ending in two consonants (e.g. játszani, tartani, küldeni, választani, festeni, mondani, hallani, ajánlani),• verbs ending in a long vowel + t (e.g. fűteni, véteni, tanítani, bocsátani) and• the words véd and edz (védeni and edzeni respectively).Exceptions are állni "to stand", szállni "to fly", varrni "to sew", forrni "to boil", which have -ni despite the twoconsonants. This is due to the fact that in written language, the "long" 'l' (or 'r') sound has to be marked.

Infinitive with personal suffixesWhen an infinitive is used with an impersonal verb, the personal suffixes may be added to the infinitive to indicatethe person, as in Portuguese. Except in the 3rd person singular and plural, the -i of the infinitive is dropped, e.g.Mennem kell. ("I have to go."). The person can also be indicated using -nak/-nek, e.g. Nekem kell mennem. ("I haveto go.), Jánosnak mennie kell ("János has to go.")These forms use the o/e/ö set of suffixes (Type II, like possessive suffixes do), see Personal suffixes and link vowels.

Hungarian verbs 4

Person menni (to go) látni (to see)

for me to go etc. for me to see etc.

1st Sg. mennem látnom

2nd Sg. menned látnod

3rd Sg. mennie látnia

1st Pl. mennünk látnunk

2nd Pl. mennetek látnotok

3rd Pl. menniük látniuk

TensesWith the exception of lenni ("to be"), there are 2 tenses, usually called past and present. More accurate names wouldbe past and non-past since the so-called "present" tense can also be used to refer to the future.The future can also be expressed by the auxiliary verb fog with the infinitive. Learner-oriented grammars refer to thisas the future tense although it is not a tense in a strict grammarian's use of the word.The verb to be, lenni has 3 tenses: past (volt as was), present (van as is) and future (lesz as will be).

PresentIn the present tense, only sibilant-ending verbs differ from the rest, such as verbs ending in -s, -sz, -z and -dz. Thechart below compares the conjugation of the regular kér 'ask' ("have a request") and vár 'wait' (as examples for frontand back vowels) with the sibilant-ending keres 'look for' and mászik 'climb.' Example of verbs ending in the othertwo possible sonorants, -z and -dz, are húz 'pull' and edz 'train', which similarly double their stem consonants where-s and -sz are doubled (e.g. húzzuk, eddzük in the first person plural).

Person Indefinite conjugation Definite conjugation

Regular Sibilant-ending Regular Sibilant-ending

1st Sg kérek, várok keresek, mászok* kérem, várom keresem, mászom

2nd Sg kérsz, vársz keresel, mászol kéred, várod keresed, mászod

3rd Sg kér, vár keres, mászik* kéri, várja keresi, mássza

1st Pl kérünk, várunk keresünk, mászunk kérjük, várjuk keressük, másszuk

2nd Pl kértek, vártok kerestek, másztok kéritek, várjátok keresitek, másszátok

3rd Pl kérnek, várnak keresnek, másznak kérik, várják keresik, másszák

1st > 2nd (e.g. 'I ask you') kérlek, várlak kereslek, mászlak N/A N/A

*: mászik being an -ik verb, its indefinite 1st person singular form can be mászom instead of mászok in literarystyle. The ik ending in its indefinite 3rd person singular form naturally doesn't apply to verbs without thisending.

The forms marked in bold are those where the suffix of sibilant-ending verbs differ from the suffix of other verbs:either because of the alternative 2nd person ending l (to avoid two sibilants getting next to each other), or because ofthe assimilation of j. Incidentally, the latter forms (with doubled stem consonants) coincide with the subjunctive (orimperative) forms.

Hungarian verbs 5

FuturityFuturity can be expressed in a variety of ways:1. By the auxiliary verb fog for any verb except van, expressing a strong intention of the subject or a necessity of

events brought about by circumstances (cf. English "going to")2. For the verb van only, by the use of the future tense (leszek, leszel etc.), see van (to be)3. By the present tense only when the time is clear for some other reason (e.g. explicit temporal adverbs, e.g. majd,

or verbs with perfective aspect)

Past tenseThe past tense is expressed with the suffix -t or -ott/-ett/-ött and inflects for person and number. As in the presenttense, there are special indefinite forms for transitive verbs with direct objects that are 1st or 2nd person or indefinite,while definite forms are used for intransitive verbs and transitive verbs with definite, 3rd person direct objects, andthere is a special form used just for instances where there is a 1st person subject and 2nd person direct object.As far as the two phonetic variants are concerned, there are three types:• Type I never uses link vowel (mostly those with "soft" ending consonants, i.e. sonorants)•• Type II only uses link vowel in the 3rd person singular indefinite (those that could be regarded as "middle-hard"

consonants)• Type III uses link vowel in every form (mostly those ending in the "hard" consonant t or a consonant cluster).

Conjugation Type I Type II Type III

Example Verb vár ("wait for sb/sth") mos ("wash sb/sth") tanít ("teach sb/sth")

Direct Object Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite

1st sg. vártam vártam mostam mostam tanítottam tanítottam

2nd sg. vártál vártad mostál mostad tanítottál tanítottad

3rd sg. várt várta mosott mosta tanított tanította

1st pl. vártunk vártuk mostunk mostuk tanítottunk tanítottuk

2nd pl. vártatok vártátok mostatok mostátok tanítottatok tanítottátok

3rd pl. vártak várták mostak mosták tanítottak tanították

1st person subj.,2nd person object

vártalak mostalak tanítottalak

Regular endings • -l, -r, -n, -ny, -j, -ly (e.g. tanul,ír, pihen, hány, fáj, foly|ik)

• -ad, -ed (e.g. szalad, ébred)

• -s, -sz, -z (e.g. ás, úsz|ik, néz)• -k, -g, -p, -b, -d*, -v, -f, -gy (e.g.

lak|ik, vág, kap, dob, tud, hív, döf,hagy)

• -at, -et with 2 or more syllables(e.g. mutat, nevet)

*: except for -ad/-ed, see I

• monosyllabic words ending in t (e.g.hat, vet, nyit, köt, fut, jut, süt, üt, fűt)

• long vowel + t (e.g. készít, tanít, bocsát)• two consonants (e.g. játsz|ik, tart,

választ, hall, hull|ik)

• -dz also belongs here (e.g. edz)

Exceptions(partial list)

• áll, száll, varr (III) • lát (III) and alkot• ad, enged, fogad etc. (I)• mond, kezd, küld, hord, küzd etc.

(III)

Less important exceptions:

• (meg)ér|ik (I), függ etc. (III),borzong etc. (III)

×

Note: Strike-through Roman numbers in the last row refer to the types which would apply if the verbsconcerned were regular.

Hungarian verbs 6

If the above phonetic guidelines don't help, it may be useful as a rule of thumb to learn the rules and exceptions onlyfor Type I and Type III and use Type II otherwise, because this latter type comprises the broadest range of verbs.

Regular homonymy of plain and causative forms in the same tense

Front-vowel unrounded verbs that end in consonant + -t may have ambiguous (coinciding, homonymous) formsbetween plain and causative forms. Approx. a hundred verbs are concerned that end in one of the following endings:-jt, -lt, -mt, -nt, -rt, -st, -szt.

Homoverb Meaning 1 Meaning 2

Megértette. "S/he understood it."megért ("understand") + -ette (past tense Type III, def.)

"S/he made them understand it."megért + -et- (causative) + -te (past tense Type II, def.)

Sejtette. "S/he suspected it."sejt ("suspect") + -ette (past tense type III, def.)

"S/he made them suspect it."sejt + -et- (causative) + -te (past tense type II, def.)

The past tenses of sejt ("suspect", Type III) and sejtet ("make them suspect sth.", Type II) are identical, except forthe third person indefinite form where it is sejt|ett for sejt, but sejtet|ett for sejtet. However, it usually turns out fromthe argument structure and the context which meaning is intended.This ambiguity doesn't occur with back-vowel verbs because the linking vowel is different for the normal past tenseand the causative, e.g. bontotta "s/he demolished it" (bont- + -otta) vs. bontatta "s/he had it demolished" (bont- + -at-+ -ta). The linking vowel can only be o for back-vowel verbs (as stated above: -ott/-ett/-ött) and the causative canonly have a with back vowels (-at/-et). Similarly, it doesn't occur with front-vowel verbs with a rounded vowel,either: e.g. gyűjtötte ("s/he collected them") vs gyűjtette (s/he had them collected").Below is a chart to review the conjugation differences between coinciding forms of the same verb. Ambiguous formsin the same person are marked in bold.

"I understood it" etc., past,def.

"I made them understand it" etc., past,def.

"I understood sth" etc., past,indef.

"I made them understand sth" etc., past,indef.

megértettemmegértettedmegértettemegértettükmegértettétekmegértették

megértettemmegértettedmegértettemegértettükmegértettétekmegértették

megértettemmegértettélmegértettmegértettünkmegértettetekmegértettek

megértettemmegértettélmegértetettmegértettünkmegértettetekmegértettek

Regular homonymy: other cases

Another kind of ambiguity can arise with type I verbs between the second person plural plain form and the firstperson singular causative form, e.g. beszéltetek (only indefinite forms involved):• "you [pl] spoke": beszél ("speak") + -t- (past) + -etek ("you [pl]")• "I make sb speak": beszél + -tet- (causative) + -ek ("I").It can also occur with similar back-vowel verbs, e.g. csináltatok "you [pl] did sth" or "I have sth done".beszéltek can also have two interpretations (only indefinite forms involved, again):• "you [pl] speak": beszél + -tek ("you [pl]")• "they spoke": beszél + -t- (past) + -ek ("they")This latter case is not possible with back-vowel verbs, due to the difference of the linking vowel: csináltok "you [pl]do sth" vs. csináltak "they did sth".Below is a chart to review the conjugation differences between coinciding forms of the same verb (again).Ambiguous forms in different persons are marked with asterisks.

Hungarian verbs 7

"I speak" etc.,present, indef.

"I spoke"etc.,past, indef.

"I make sb speak"etc.,present, indef.

"I do" etc.,present, indef.

"I did" etc.,past, indef.

"I have sth done"etc.,present, indef.

beszélekbeszélszbeszélbeszélünkbeszéltek*beszélnek

beszéltembeszéltélbeszéltbeszéltünkbeszéltetek*beszéltek*

beszéltetek*beszéltetszbeszéltetbeszéltetünkbeszéltettekbeszéltetnek

csinálokcsinálszcsinálcsinálunkcsináltokcsinálnak

csináltamcsináltálcsináltcsináltunkcsináltatok*csináltak

csináltatok*csináltatszcsináltatcsináltatunkcsináltattokcsináltatnak

Sporadic coincidences

Front-vowel verbs in type III that end in -t may cause ambiguity, like between the past tense of a verb and thepresent tense of another. For example:

Homonymous verb Meaning 1 Meaning 2

Féltem. "I was afraid."fél ("be afraid") + -tem (past tense type I, first person, indef.)

"I fear for him/her/it."félt ("fear for sb/sth") + -em (present tense, first person, def.)

Nem ért hozzá. "S/he didn't touch it."hozzá|ér ("touch") + -t (past tense type I, indef.)

"S/he isn't familiar with it."ért (hozzá) ("be familiar [with sth.]", present tense, indef.)

Köszönt. "S/he said hello."köszön ("say hello") + -t (past tense type I, indef.)

"S/he welcomes [you]."köszönt ("welcome", present tense, indef.)

Megbánt valamit. "S/he regretted something."megbán ("regret") + -t (past tense type I, indef.)

"S/he offends something."megbánt ("offend", present tense, indef.)

Below is a chart to review the conjugation differences between coinciding forms of unrelated verbs. Ambiguousforms in the same person are marked in bold; ambiguous forms in different persons are marked with asterisks.

"I was afraid" etc.,past, indef.

"I fear for sb" etc.,present, indef.

"I fear for him/her/it"etc., present, def.

"I am not familiar with it" etc., present,indef.

"I didn't touch it" etc., past, indef.

féltemféltélféltféltünkféltetekféltek*

féltek*félteszféltféltünkféltetekféltenek

féltemféltedféltiféltjükféltitekféltik

nem értek hozzá*nem értesz hozzánem ért hozzánem értünk hozzánem értetek hozzánem értenek hozzá

nem értem hozzánem értél hozzánem ért hozzánem értünk hozzánem értetek hozzánem értek hozzá*

MoodsHungarian verbs have 3 moods: indicative, conditional and subjunctive / imperative. The indicative has a past andnon-past tense. The conditional has a non-past tense and a past form, made up of the past tense indicative as thefinite verb with the non-finite verb volna. The subjunctive only has a single tense.

ConditionalUse of the conditional:In a sentence with "if", unlike in English, the appropriate conditional tense is used in both the "if" clause and themain clause. The present conditional is used to talk about unlikely or impossible events in the present or future, e.g.Ha találkoznál a királynővel, mit mondanál? ("If you met the Queen, what would you say?") (cf. the secondconditional in English). The past conditional is used for past events which did not happen, e.g. Ha nem találkoztunkvolna a királynővel, órákkal ezelőtt megérkeztünk volna. ("If we hadn't met the Queen, we would have arrived hoursago.") (cf. the third conditional in English).

Hungarian verbs 8

Forms of the conditional

Person Indefinite Definite

1st Sg. kérnék, várnék kérném, várnám

2nd Sg. kérnél, várnál kérnéd, várnád

3rd Sg. kérne, várna kérné, várná

1st Pl. kérnénk, várnánk kérnénk, várnánk

2nd Pl. kérnétek, várnátok kérnétek, várnátok

3rd Pl. kérnének, várnának kérnék, várnák

The front-vowel suffix at the end of the 1st person singular indefinite form of the back-vowel verb (várnék) is anapparent exception from the vowel harmony: it may serve to distinguish from the 3rd person plural definite form(várnák). (The indefinite kérnék forms still coincide, just like the 1st and 2nd person plural endings.)The only opposition between the 3rd person singular definite and indefinite forms is vowel length (although a–á ande–é differ in quality as well), which can be considered one of the rare fusional traits in Hungarian.A linking vowel is inserted into verbs with a consonant cluster or long vowel + t at the end, e.g. festenék 'I wouldpaint', tanítanék 'I would teach', analogously to the rules given for the infinitive form.

Subjunctive (imperative)Uses of the subjunctive:1.1. For a command (i.e. an imperative)2.2. For a request3. For hesitant questions with 1st singular subject (cf. English "Shall I …?")4. For suggestions for joint action with 1st plural subject (cf. English "Let's …")5.5. For wishes (3rd person singular and plural)6.6. In subordinate clauses after verbs expressing orders, requests, suggestions, wishes, permission, etc.7. In hogy subordinate clauses expressing purpose

Forms of the subjunctive

In the subjunctive or imperative mood, verbs with a sibilant or t ending differ from the rest, with two groups for the tending: those with a preceding short vowel, and those with a preceding long vowel or a consonant.Meanings of the verbs below: kér 'ask (have a request)', vár 'wait', keres 'look for', olvas 'read', fest 'paint', szeret'love', fut 'run', ment 'save', tanít 'teach', böngészik 'browse', mászik 'climb', ereszt 'let go', akaszt 'hang', néz 'look at',húz 'pull', edz 'train', lopódzik 'sneak'.

Hungarian verbs 9

INDEFINITE CONJUGATION

StemForms

kér, vár keres, olvas szeret, fut ment, tanít böngészik,mászik

ereszt, akaszt néz, húz edz, lopódzik

OriginalStem

(all but thefollowing)

-S short vowel+ T

other+ T

-SZ -SZT -Z -DZ

AlteredStem

above+ J

SS TS SSZ ZZ DDZ

1st Sg kérjek, várjak keressek,olvassak

szeressek,fussak

mentsek,tanítsak

böngésszek,másszak

eresszek,akasszak

nézzek,húzzak

eddzek,lopóddzak

2nd Sg kérj(él),várj(ál)

keress(él),olvass(ál)

szeress(él),fuss(ál)

ments(él),taníts(ál)

böngéssz(él),mássz(ál)

eressz(él),akassz(ál)

nézz(él),húzz(ál)

eddz(él),lopóddz(ál)

3rd Sg kérjen, várjon keressen,olvasson

szeressen,fusson

mentsen,tanítson

böngésszen,másszon

eresszen,akasszon

nézzen,húzzon

eddzen,lopóddzon

1st Pl kérjünk,várjunk

keressünk,olvassunk

szeressünk,fussunk

mentsünk,tanítsunk

böngésszünk,másszunk

eresszünk,akasszunk

nézzünk,húzzunk

eddzünk,lopóddzunk

2nd Pl kérjetek,várjatok

keressetek,olvassatok

szeressetek,fussatok

mentsetek,tanítsatok

böngésszetek,másszatok

eresszetek,akasszatok

nézzetek,húzzatok

eddzetek,lopóddzatok

3rd Pl kérjenek,várjanak

keressenek,olvassanak

szeressenek,fussanak

mentsenek,tanítsanak

böngésszenek,másszanak

eresszenek,akasszanak

nézzenek,húzzanak

eddzenek,lopóddzanak

DEFINITE CONJUGATION

StemForms

kér, vár keres, olvas szeret, fut ment, tanít böngészik, mászik ereszt, akaszt néz, húz edz, lopódzik

OriginalStem

(all but thefollowing)

-S short vowel+ T

other+ T

-SZ -SZT -Z -DZ

AlteredStem

above+ J

SS TS SSZ ZZ DDZ

1st Sg kérjem,várjam

keressem,olvassam

szeressem,fussam

mentsem,tanítsam

böngésszem, másszam eresszem,akasszam

nézzem,húzzam

eddzem,lopóddzam

2nd Sg kér(je)d,vár(ja)d

keres(se)d,olvas(sa)d

szeres(se)d,fus(sa)d

ments(e)d,taníts(a)d

böngészd/böngésszed,mászd/másszad

ereszd/eresszed,akaszd/akasszad

néz(ze)d,húz(za)d

edzd/eddzed,lopódzd/lopóddzad

3rd Sg kérje,=várja

keresse,=olvassa

szeresse,fussa

mentse,tanítsa

böngéssze,=mássza

eressze,akassza

nézze,=húzza

eddze,=lopóddza

1st Pl kérjük,=várjuk

=keressük,=olvassuk

szeressük,fussuk

mentsük,tanítsuk

=böngésszük,=másszuk

eresszük,akasszuk

=nézzük,=húzzuk

=eddzük,=lopóddzuk

2nd Pl kérjétek,=várjátok

keressétek,=olvassátok

szeressétek,fussátok

mentsétek,tanítsátok

böngésszétek,=másszátok

eresszétek,akasszátok

nézzétek,=húzzátok

eddzétek,=lopóddzátok

3rd Pl kérjék,=várják

keressék,=olvassák

szeressék,fussák

mentsék,tanítsák

böngésszék,=másszák

eresszék,akasszák

nézzék,=húzzák

eddzék,=lopóddzák

1st >2nd

kérjelek,várjalak

keresselek,olvassalak

szeresselek,*fussalak

mentselek,tanítsalak

böngésszelek,másszalak

eresszelek,akasszalak

nézzelek,húzzalak

eddzelek,*lopóddzalak

Note 1: Fest 'paint' is the only single example (according to the Reverse-alphabetical dictionary of the HungarianLanguage) that ends in st, and there is no -ik verb with these two ending consonants. This verb is conjugated like theszeret, fut type: fessek, fess(él), fessen, fessünk, fessetek, fessenek; fessem, fes(se)d, fesse, fessük, fessétek, fessék;fesselek.

Hungarian verbs 10

Note 2: the definite conjugation may be ungrammatical for verbs that cannot have an object, e.g. fut 'run', lopódzik'sneak'. However, these forms may occur in constructions like végigfutja a távot 'run all through the distance', orperhaps even végiglopóddza az épületeket 'sneak through the buildings'. This solution doesn't work, though, for theforms affecting the 2nd person (unless in a poetic, vocative sense), that is why they are marked with an asterisk.Forms marked with a preceding equality sign are identical with the indicative forms.Second person forms have a short and a long variant both in indefinite and definite conjugation, with minimaldifference in style.

Definite and indefinite conjugationsIn Hungarian, verbs not only show agreement with their subjects but also carry information on the definiteness oftheir direct objects. This results in two types of conjugations: definite (used if there is a definite object) andindefinite (if there is no definite object):

Verb with suffix forpresent tense, 1st person singular

Object

Intransitive verb Olvasok (I'm reading)(type 1 - suffix indicating no definite object)

∅Transitive verb with an indefinite object egy könyvet. (a book)

with a definite object Olvasom(type 2 - suffix indicating definite object)

a könyvet. (the book)

Basically, the indefinite conjugation is used if there is no definite object, that is i) if there is no object at all, or ii) ifthe object is indefinite (see details below). However, exceptionally, the indefinite conjugation is also used if theobject is a 1st or 2nd person pronoun, either stated or not (even though personal pronouns are actually definite bynature).An object is indefinite if it is:1.1. a noun with no determiner2.2. a noun with an indefinite article3.3. a noun with a numeral or an indefinite determiner (e.g. "all, some, no")4.4. an indefinite pronoun such as "something, anything, everyone" etc.5.5. an interrogative pronoun6.6. a relative pronounThe definite conjugation is used if the verb has a definite object, which can be:1.1. a noun with a definite article2. a noun with the determiners melyik, hányadik ('which') or mindegyik ('each'); the noun may be omitted in these

constructions3.3. a 3rd person pronoun, either stated or unstated4.4. a demonstrative pronoun ("this, that")5. the indefinite pronoun mind ('all [of something]')6.6. a subordinate clauseNote that a special suffix (-lak/-lek) is used if the verb has a first person singular subject AND a second person(singular or plural) object, e.g. Szeretlek. ("I love you." - singular), Szeretlek titeket. ("I love you all." - plural).Examples:

Indefinite (látsz) Definite (látod)

Hungarian verbs 11

You (can) see ∅.You can see something.You can see a book.You can see me/us. (!)You can see some/two (of them).You can't see anything/anyone.You can see everything/everyone.Who/What/how many can you see?The person/book that you can see is...

You can see the book.You can see this book.You can see him/her/it/them.You can see yourself.You can see Mary.You can see both (books).You can see all (the books).Which (person/book) can yousee?You can see (that) I'm here.

No explicit objectIf no explicit object is present, the most common interpretation of the definite verb forms is including "him/her/it". Ifan indefinite verb form semantically requires an object, "me" or "you [sg]" or – obviously – an indefinite object(third person) can be inferred. (The plural forms are generally made explicit.) This difference makes it possible forthe writer or speaker to refer to people without making them explicit. In most cases it's enough through the context todifferentiate between 3rd person and non-3rd person pronouns.Definite examples:• olvassa ("s/he is reading") – most common meaning: s/he is reading it (the book etc.)• nézi ("s/he is looking") – most common meaning: s/he is looking at him/her/it

Indefinite examples:• fut ("s/he is running") – usually can't have an object so its meaning is unambiguous• olvas ("s/he is reading") – most common meaning: s/he is reading something (the object may be omitted like in

English)• néz ("s/he is looking") – most common meaning: s/he is looking at me or you (or: gazing in the air)

Grammatical voiceHungarian uses active forms not only in the active sense (e.g. "He opened the door") and in the middle voice sense(e.g. "The door opened"), but also to express the passive (e.g. "The door was opened by Jane"), with the third personplural active form. For example Megvizsgálják a gyereket literally means "They examine the child", but it is morecommonly meant like "The child is examined". The fact that this sentence behaves like a passive voice is shown bythe fact that the above (third person plural) form can be used even when only one agent is meant (i.e., the child isexamined by one doctor).Another means to express the passive meaning is using middle voice lexical forms or unaccusative verbs, e.g. épül:"build"/ intransitive (cf. épít "build"/ transitive), alakul: "form"/ intransitive (cf. alakít "form"/ transitive). -ul/-ül is acommon ending that expresses the middle voice, as opposed to -ít which expresses the active (these are transitiveverbs). Middle voice forms can also be created from some plain verbs by adding -ódik/-ődik, e.g. íródik "get written"(from ír "write"), ütődik "get hit" (from üt "hit"). These active/middle pairs comprise a considerable part amongHungarian verbs.In the perfect, there is a third way to express passive meaning: the existential verb van (see van (to be)) plus theadverbial participle ending in -va/-ve (see Adverb derivation), e.g. meg van írva "it is written" (from megír "write").It is used when the result of the action is emphasized. It can be formed in the past perfect and future perfect, too,with the past and future forms of van. – A similar structure is used in a past meaning with lett: meg lett írva "it waswritten" or "it has been written" (sometimes "it had been written").Finally, the actual passive form does occur once in a while, formed with -atik/-etik or -tatik/-tetik. For example: születik ("be born", from szül "give birth"), adatik ("be given", from ad "give"), viseltetik ("owe sb certain feelings",

Hungarian verbs 12

from visel "bear"), foglaltatik ("be included", from (magába) foglal "include"). These can be formed by adding -ik tothe causative (see Modal and causative suffixes). Most of these forms (except for születik) are considered obsolete.

An example of a regular verbHere is a regular verb, kér ("ask", "have a request"). The personal suffixes are marked in bold.

kér ("ask")

Indefinite Definite

Indicative Mood

Present kérek kérsz kér kérünk kértek kérnek kérem kéred kéri kérjük kéritek kérik

Past kértem kértél kért kértünk kértetek kértek kértem kérted kérte kértük kértétek kérték

Conditional Mood

Present kérnék kérnél kérne kérnénk kérnétek kérnének kérném kérnéd kérné kérnénk kérnétek kérnék

Past kértemvolna

kértélvolna

kértvolna

kértünkvolna

kértetekvolna

kértekvolna

kértemvolna

kértedvolna

kértevolna

kértükvolna

kértétekvolna

kértékvolna

Subjunctive Mood

Present kérjek kérjélor kérj

kérjen kérjünk kérjetek kérjenek kérjem kérjedor kérd

kérje kérjük kérjétek kérjék

Modal and causative suffixesHungarian has 2 forms which can be added to the verb stem to modify the meaning. These are sometimes referred toas infixes, but they are not true infixes because they are not inserted inside another morpheme.-hat-/-het- has a modal meaning of permission or opportunity, e.g. beszélek "I speak", beszélhetek "I may speak" or"I am allowed to speak".Note: Ability ("I can speak") is usually expressed with "tud". See Auxiliary verbs (modal and temporal).

-at-/-et- and -tat-/-tet- have a causative meaning. It can express "having something done" or "having/makingsomeone do something". For example: beszélek "I speak", beszéltetek "I make sb speak". (Incidentally, it is the sameform as "you [pl] spoke", analysed beszél|t|etek, see Past tense.)-tat/-tet is used if the word ends in vowel + -t or if the stem ends in a consonant different from -t, but it has two ormore syllables (excluding the verbal particle). In other cases, -at/-et is used: that is, with words ending in aconsonant + t and with one-syllable words ending in a consonant different from -t.

Ending -t not -t

vowel + -t consonant + -t

One syllable süttet "to have sth baked", láttat "tomake sth seen"

gyűjtet "to have sth collected", festet "tohave sth painted"

írat "to have sth written", mosat "to have sthwashed", fürdet "to give sb a bath"Also: ki+dobat "to have sb. thrown out", el+fogat"to have sb caught"(See the exceptions below)

Severalsyllables

taníttat "to have sb taught",felszólíttat "to have sb warned"

felébresztet "to have sb woken up",halasztat "to have sth postponed"

beszéltet "to have sb speak", dolgoztat "to makesb work", olvastat "to have sb read"

The monosyllabic words which don't end in vowel + -t, but have -tat/-tet in the causative are áz|ik (áztat), buk|ik (buktat), kop|ik (koptat), szop|ik (szoptat), hány (hánytat), él (éltet), kel (keltet), lép (léptet), szűn|ik (szüntet [!]), jár

Hungarian verbs 13

(jártat), szök|ik (szöktet).

Verbal nounA noun is formed from a verb by adding -ás/-és to the verb stem (cf. gerund in English), e.g. Az úszás egészséges.("Swimming is healthy.")

ParticiplesThere are three participles in Hungarian. They are formed by adding the following suffixes to the verb stem:• -ó/-ő - present participle, e.g. író ember ("a writing person")• -ott/-ett/-ött/-t - past participle, e.g. megírt levél ("a written letter" /"the letter that has been written")• -andó/-endő - future participle, e.g. írandó levél ("a letter to be written")Since the past participle usually expresses a perfected action/event, the verb sometimes changes into its perfectivecounterpart by taking a verbal particle (igekötő) with this function, as seen in the above example (megírt levél). Thisverbal particle may, however, be replaced by a noun, e.g. Annának írt levél ("a letter written to Anna"). – See moreunder Hungarian syntax.

Verb particles /prefixes (igekötők)Hungarian verbs can have verb particles or prefixes, similar to phrasal verbs in English. The most common ones aremeg- (perfective, but some other ones, too, can take this function), fel- ("up"), le- ("down"/"off"), be- ("in"), ki-("out"), el- ("away"), vissza- ("back"), át- ("over"/"through"), oda- ("there"), ide- ("here"), össze- ("together"), szét-("apart"), "rá" ("on top").The above meanings are the literal meanings, but they all can have figurative, idiomatic meanings. Examples ofliteral meanings for the verb ír ("write"): leír ("write down"), beír ("write into") as opposed to the non-literalmeanings: leír ("declare as useless", cf "write off"), beír ("give a written warning [to a schoolchild]"). Differentprefixes can express subtle differences (e.g. meghízik "get fat" vs. elhízik "get obese") as well as independentconcepts (e.g. rúg "kick", kirúg "fire sb", berúg "get drunk"). They often serve to change the verb into perfective(along with other factors).When the particle precedes the verb without any other inserted word, they are used as one word, e.g. Leírja ("Hewrites it down"). Syntactically, the particle may go behind the verb for various reasons. It may occur due to astressed part in the sentence (the focus), e.g. Ő írja le ("It's him who writes it down") or a negation, e.g. Nem írja le("He doesn't write it down"). The inverted order is also used in the imperative, e.g. Írja le! ("Write it down!").Finally, it may also refer to continuity, like Lement a lépcsőn ("He went down the stairs") vs. Ment le a lépcsőn ("Hewas going down the stairs").If the verb with the particle is in the infinitive, the finite verb will be wedged between them, e.g. Le akarja írni ("Hewants to write it down") or Le tudja írni ("He can write it down").The particle may considerably affect the case of the complement: for example, the verb kezd ("start sth.") can takeseveral different verb particles, all expressing the same concept (with minor differences), but their complementdiffers depending on the particle:• elkezd valamit (accusative)• nekikezd valaminek (dative)• belekezd valamibe (illative)• hozzákezd valamihez (allative)It happens because certain verb particles (the latter three among the examples) come from personal pronouns in thegiven case and they require agreement.

Hungarian verbs 14

When giving a short positive answer to a yes/no question, the particle can refer back to the whole sentence, seeYes/no questions.

Cases needing attentionThere are a few words which appear to begin with a particle, but don't actually, e.g. felel ("reply"), lehel("breathe/puff"), kiált ("give a shout") and beszél ("speak") where fel-, le-, ki- and be- are parts of the wordsthemselves, rather than actual particles. The difference is important in the above-mentioned syntactic cases whenthese elements will – naturally – not function like particles do. Compare the above kiált (no compound) with kiáll("stand out", a compound): nem kiált ("he doesn't give a shout"), but nem áll ki ("he doesn't stand out"). – A similarcase is fellebbez ("appeal [in court]"), from the adverb fellebb ("upper", today: feljebb), containing no particle.A verb may occasionally be a homonym in the above sense, i.e. being a single word or containing a particle, e.g.betűz ("spell [by letters]", no compound), but betűz ("stick in" or "shine in", a compound).The other misleading cases are those verbs which were historically formed from nouns derived from verbs withparticles, so they seemingly begin with particles, but they don't behave like them. An example is befolyásol("influence", v) which derives from befolyás ("influence", n), a calque from German Einfluß, literally "in-flow",including the particle be- ("in"). This element, being part of the original noun, will not act as a particle of the derivedverb befolyásol. There are few such words, e.g. kivitelez ("implement") from kivitel ("exportation", cf "carryingout"). Kirándul ("go hiking") used to be a compound (ki + rándul), but people don't usually treat it like that any moreso they say, e.g., Kirándulni akar. ("s/he wants to go hiking") instead of Ki akar rándulni, which is obsolete and onlyused jokingly. An opposite (exceptional) case is that of feltételez ("suppose" or "assume"), which comes from feltétel("condition"), so the prefix is only part of the embedded noun, rather than of the full verb, but it is still separated: felsem tételezhetjük, fel kell tételeznünk ("we can't even assume, we must suppose"). What functions as a verbal prefixsometimes may not be one other times, e.g. ellenáll 'resist' can separate like nem állok ellen 'I don't resist', butellenőriz 'check' stays together like nem ellenőrzök 'I don't check'.

Auxiliary verbs (modal and temporal)Most Hungarian auxiliary verbs are impersonal; beside them, the suffixed infinitive is used. A few are conjugated.(Note: personal suffixes are marked in bold.)

Auxiliary verb Meaning Form Example with meaning

kell obligation impersonal kell mennem I must/ have to go

kellene /kéne advice & suggestions impersonal kellenemennemkéne mennem

I should/ought to go

muszáj strong obligation impersonal muszáj mennem I have got to go

szabad permission impersonal szabad mennem I am allowed to go

tilos prohibition impersonal tilos mennem I must not go

fog future intention conjugated fogok menni I am going to go

tud ability conjugated tudok menni I can go

Modal suffix

-hat/-het opportunity, permission conjugated mehetek I can goI may go

The suffix -hat/-het mentioned in the last row can be further conjugated, just like any verb.The verb lehet is used impersonally, e.g. oda lehet menni "one can go there".

Hungarian verbs 15

szokottThe verb szokott is conjugated like a regular past tense one (though it can have the indefinite and the definite forms,too), however, used with an infinitive, it has the meaning of a habitual action which includes the present time.Examples:• Szoktam álmodni ("I dream usually")• Meg szoktam mosni ("I usually wash it")

Irregular verbsThe verbs van ("to be"), jön ("to come") and megy ("to go") have an irregular present tense and irregular stems fordifferent tenses. jön also has irregular forms in the subjunctive. A further group of 9 verbs have irregular stems fordifferent tenses, but follow the same pattern of irregularity as each other. A few other verbs shorten or drop a vowelwith certain suffixes.

A regular verb compared to an irregular

Regular verb: él (to live) Irregular verb: megy (to go)

Past Present Past Present

éltem élek mentem megyek

éltél élsz mentél mész (sometimes also mégy)

élt él ment megy

éltünk élünk mentünk megyünk

éltetek éltek mentetek mentek

éltek élnek mentek mennek

van (to be)The verb "to be" in Hungarian is van (3rd person), lenni (infinitive).

UseWhen the verb is used as a copula i.e. if one speaks about what someone or something is, it is omitted in the thirdperson singular and plural of the present tense. The verb is required in all other tenses and persons when speakingabout where or how something is, or to emphasize the existence or availability of something. Examples:• Péter orvos ∅. – Peter is a doctor. (present tense, third person, speaking about what someone is: no linking verb in

Hungarian)• Péter jól van. – Peter is well.• Péter itt van. – Peter is here.• Péter orvos volt. – Peter was a doctor.• Orvos vagyok. – I am a doctor.The non-copula form of van is also used to express the equivalent of "There is/are":• Van orvos a szobában. – There is a doctor in the room.The negation of the third person van (plural vannak) as a non-copula verb is the suppletive nincs (plural nincsenek):• Itt van Péter. – Peter is here.• Nincs itt Péter. – Peter isn't here.

Hungarian verbs 16

Hungarian has no verb which is equivalent to "to have". Instead, ownership/possession are expressed using van witha possessive suffix on the noun:• Van könyvem. ("I have a book.", literally "There-is book-my")

ConjugationLike the verb "to be" in most other languages, van is irregular. It comes from three (or four) bases: vagy- (or van-),vol-, and len-. These overlap to some extent with the verb lesz ("become"). As it cannot have an object, it doesn'thave definite forms. It is the only verb in Hungarian which has a future form.

Indicative Mood

Present Tense vagyok vagy van vagyunk vagytok vannak

Past Tense voltam voltál volt voltunk voltatok voltak

Future Tense leszek leszel lesz leszünk lesztek lesznek

Conditional Mood

Present Tense lennékor volnék

lennélor volnál

lenneor volna

lennénkor volnánk

lennétekor volnátok

lennénekor volnának

Past Tense lettemvolna

lettélvolna

lettvolna

lettünkvolna

lettetekvolna

lettekvolna

Subjunctive Mood

Present Tense legyek legyélor légy

legyen legyünk legyetek legyenek

There is little difference between the two conditional forms. In theory, lennék etc. are preferred when an option isconsidered as possible (e.g. Ha otthon lennék, "if I were at home") and volnék etc. are preferred when it is consideredimpossible (e.g. Ha rózsa volnék, "if I were a rose"), but the limits are rather vague. It is probably not by chance thatthe former is akin to the future form (leszek), which might still become true, and the latter to the past form (voltam),which is already determined. In practice, the lennék series is somewhat more frequently used in both senses.

External links[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Hungarian_language& action=edit[2] Verbs selected from Ragozgató (http:/ / bme-tk. bme. hu/ other/ kuszob/ kuszirgz. htm)[3] Verbs are mostly selected from Ragozgató (http:/ / bme-tk. bme. hu/ other/ kuszob/ kuszirgz. htm)

• Hungarian verb conjugator (http:/ / bme-tk. bme. hu/ other/ kuszob/ kuszirgz. htm), with opportunity for testingand practising

• Online morphology charts (http:/ / corpus. nytud. hu/ cgi-bin/ e-szokincs/ alaktan) at the website of the ResearchInstitute for Linguistics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

• Hungarian verb conjugator (http:/ / www. jargot. com/ hvc/ ) Jargot.com's verb conjugator

Article Sources and Contributors 17

Article Sources and ContributorsHungarian verbs  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=612773695  Contributors: Adam78, Aetil, CDN99, ClaimJumperBill, Cserlajos, Dc197, Fadesga, Fages, Fratrep, GregorB,Hooperbloob, Innv2, Jeff G., Kitten86, Kwamikagami, Leandro81, Mild Bill Hiccup, Mona Williams, Mthoodhood, Nohat, OrenBochman, Peter Isotalo, R'n'B, Rich Farmbrough, S. Neuman,Sardanaphalus, SidoniaBorcke, Timwi, Tokeen, Wknight94, Woohookitty, Zslevi, 83 anonymous edits

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