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This page is about verbs in Hungarian grammar.
There is basically only one pattern for verb endings, with predictable variations dependent on the phonological context.
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").
A slight variation to the standard pattern is with certain verbs which have third person singular indefinite present ending with -ik, e.g. dolgozik ("s/he works"), and 1st singular indefinite present usually with -om/-em/-öm. The stem for this is reached by removing -ik. These verbs are one of the reasons why this form is the citation form.
The -ik verbs were originally middle voice, reflexive or passive in meaning, which can still be seen e.g. about the pair tör ("s/he breaks something") vs törik ("something breaks" / "something gets broken"). However, most of them have lost this connection (they can have active meanings) so historically speaking they are like deponent verbs. Some verb pairs only differ in the presence or absence of the -ik ending, while they are unrelated in meaning, such as ér ('be worth something' or 'arrive') and érik ('ripen').
With these verbs, the third person singular (present indefinite indicative) form (i.e., the lemma) consistently uses the -ik form. What is more, new -ik words continue to be created (e.g. netezik "use the Internet").
However, the first person singular (present indefinite indicative) suffix is often assimilated to the "normal" conjugation (as it has happened to the other -ik-specific forms), so most verbs usually take the 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, rather than *eszek), so with these verbs, the traditional form is advised. At any rate, such non-traditional, assimilated variants 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 definite form, only the type of the object makes it possible to identify the subject:
In fact, most -ik verbs are intransitive, and the context may clarify the question even if the subject is not made explicit.
| Regular (non -ik) verbs | Non-traditional | Traditional | |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ik verbs | |||
| 1st person singular indefinite | kérek | hazudok | eszem (*eszek) |
| 3rd person singular indefinite (lemma) | kér∅ | hazudik | eszik |
| Meaning | "ask" ("request") | "tell a lie" | "eat" |
Some important "traditional" -ik verbs are the following. A person may appear uneducated if s/he uses the -k ending with them for the 1st person singular form:
For most other verbs, the -k ending is common in the indefinite meaning, especially in casual speech. Verbs ending in -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 the definite conjugation, if meaningful). These are called "pseudo ik verbs" (álikes igék) in Hungarian. Examples:
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), which conjugation mimics that of -ik verbs. The correct form would be könyörgök. However, it is argued by some [3] [4] that the form könyörgöm is not unacceptable, either, and it reflects an idiomatic expression könyörgöm (magát/az Istent) "I am begging (you/God)", which has eventually lost its object and in which the form könyörgöm actually (correctly) follows definite conjugation.
The infinitive of a verb is the form suffixed by -ni, e.g. várni, kérni. There is a variant -ani/eni, which is used with the following groups:
Exceptions are állni "to stand", szállni "to fly", varrni "to sew", forrni "to boil", which have -ni despite the two consonants. This is due to the fact that, in written language, the "long" 'l' or 'r' of the stem has to be kept even in the forms where it is pronounced short.
When an infinitive is used with an impersonal verb, the personal suffixes may be added to the infinitive to indicate the 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 have to 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.
| 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 |
Most verbs have two inflected tenses, past and present, and a future form using an auxiliary verb. The verb lenni, to be, has three inflected tenses: past (volt = was), present (van = is) and future (lesz = will be).
In the present tense, only sibilant-ending verbs differ from the rest, such as verbs ending in -s, -sz, -z and -dz. The chart below compares the conjugation of the regular kér 'ask' ("have a request") and vár 'wait' (as examples for front and back vowels) with the sibilant-ending keres 'look for' and mászik 'climb.' Example of verbs ending in the other two 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 |
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 of the assimilation of j. Incidentally, the latter forms (with doubled stem consonants) coincide with the subjunctive (or imperative) forms.
Futurity can be expressed in a variety of ways:
The past tense is expressed with the suffix -t or -ott/-ett/-ött and inflects for person and number. As in the present tense, there are special indefinite forms for intransitive verbs and transitive verbs with direct objects that are 1st or 2nd person or indefinite, while definite forms are used for transitive verbs with definite, 3rd person direct objects, and there 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:
| Conjugation | Type I | Type II | Type III | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example Verb | vár ("wait for somebody/something") | mos ("wash somebody/something") | tanít ("teach somebody/something") | |||
| 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 |
|
*: except for -ad/-ed, see I |
| |||
| Exceptions (partial list) |
|
Less important exceptions:
| × | |||
If the above phonetic guidelines don't help, it may be useful as a rule of thumb to learn the rules and exceptions only for Type I and Type III and use Type II otherwise, because this latter type comprises the broadest range of verbs.
Front-vowel unrounded verbs that end in consonant + -t may have ambiguous (coinciding, homophonous) forms between plain and causative forms forms in writing because the letter 'e' represents two different vowels: ɛ IPA Number 303 and æ IPA Number 325. The syllable 'tet' always contains a closed ɛ in the meaning 1 and always contains an open æ in the meaning 2 in speech. This homonymy only exists in writing if the speaker is sophisticated. •. Approximately 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 something", Type II) are identical, except for the third person indefinite form where it is sejt|ett for sejt, but sejtet|ett for sejtet. However, it usually turns out from the 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 tense and 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 can only 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 forms in the same person are marked in bold.
| "I understood it" etc., past, def. | "I made them understand it" etc., past, def. | "I understood something" etc., past, indef. | "I made them understand something" etc., past, indef. |
| megértettem megértetted megértette megértettük megértettétek megértették | megértettem megértetted megértette megértettük megértettétek megértették | megértettem megértettél megértett megértettünk megértettetek megértettek | megértettem megértettél megértetett megértettünk megértettetek megértettek |
Another kind of ambiguity can arise with type I verbs between the second person plural plain form and the first person singular causative form, e.g. beszéltetek (only indefinite forms involved):
It can also occur with similar back-vowel verbs, e.g. csináltatok "you [pl] did something" or "I have something done".
beszéltek can also have two interpretations (only indefinite forms involved, again) in writing because the letter 'e' represents two different vowels: ɛ IPA Number 303 and æ IPA Number 325:
The syllable 'tek' always contains a closed ɛ in the meaning you [pl] (present) and always contains an open æ in the meaning third person plural past in speech. This homonymy only exists in writing if the speaker is sophisticated.
This latter case is not possible with back-vowel verbs, due to the difference of the linking vowel: csináltok "you [pl] do something" vs. csináltak "they did something". If the affix contains the back-vowel 'o' then it is the counterpart of the front-vowel 'e' which always a closed ɛ. If the affix contains the back-vowel 'a' then it is the counterpart of the front-vowel 'e' which always an open æ.
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.
| "I speak" etc., present, indef. | "I spoke" etc., past, indef. | "I make somebody speak" etc., present, indef. | "I do" etc., present, indef. | "I did" etc., past, indef. | "I have something done" etc., present, indef. |
| beszélek beszélsz beszél beszélünk beszéltek* beszélnek | beszéltem beszéltél beszélt beszéltünk beszéltetek* beszéltek* | beszéltetek* beszéltetsz beszéltet beszéltetünk beszéltettek beszéltetnek | csinálok csinálsz csinál csinálunk csináltok csinálnak | csináltam csináltál csinált csináltunk csináltatok* csináltak | csináltatok* csináltatsz csináltat csináltatunk csináltattok csináltatnak |
Front-vowel verbs in type III that end in -t may cause ambiguity, like between the past tense of a verb and the present 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 somebody/something") + -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 something.]", 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. Ambiguous forms 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 somebody" 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. |
| féltem féltél félt féltünk féltetek féltek* | féltek* féltesz félt féltünk féltetek féltenek | féltem félted félti féltjük féltitek féltik | nem értek hozzá* nem értesz hozzá nem ért hozzá nem értünk hozzá nem értetek hozzá nem értenek hozzá | nem értem hozzá nem értél hozzá nem ért hozzá nem értünk hozzá nem értetek hozzá nem értek hozzá* |
The correct pronunciation of 'féltem' "I was afraid" is 'feltæm'. The correct pronunciation of 'féltem' "I fear for him/her/it" is 'feltɛm'.
The correct pronunciation of 'féltetek' "you were afraid" is 'feltætɛk'. The correct pronunciation of 'féltetek' "you fear for somebody" is 'feltɛtɛk'.
The correct pronunciation of 'féltek' "They were afraid" is 'feltæk'. The correct pronunciation of 'féltek' "I fear for somebody" is 'feltɛk'.
These homonyms only exist in writing if the speaker is sophisticated.
Hungarian verbs have 3 moods: indicative, conditional and subjunctive / imperative. The indicative has a past and non-past tense. The conditional has a non-past tense and a past form, made up of the past tense indicative as the finite verb with the non-finite verb volna. The subjunctive only has a single tense.
Use of the conditional:
In a sentence with "if", unlike in English, the appropriate conditional tense is used in both the "if" clause and the main 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 [lit.: would meet] the Queen, what would you say?"). The past conditional is used for past events which did not happen, e.g. Ha nem találkoztunk volna a királynővel, órákkal ezelőtt megérkeztünk volna. ("If we hadn't [lit.: wouldn't have] met the Queen, we would have arrived hours ago.") (cf. the English counterfactual 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 an apparent 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 and e–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 would paint', tanítanék 'I would teach', analogously to the rules given for the infinitive form.
Uses 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 t ending: 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'.
| INDEFINITE CONJUGATION | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stem Forms | kér, vár | keres, olvas | szeret, fut | ment, tanít | böngészik, mászik | ereszt, akaszt | néz, húz | edz, lopódzik | |
| Original Stem | (all but the following) | -S | short vowel + T | other + T | -SZ | -SZT | -Z | -DZ | |
| Altered Stem | 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 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stem Forms | kér, vár | keres, olvas | szeret, fut | ment, tanít | böngészik, mászik | ereszt, akaszt | néz, húz | edz, lopódzik | |
| Original Stem | (all but the following) | -S | short vowel + T | other + T | -SZ | -SZT | -Z | -DZ | |
| Altered Stem | 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 Hungarian Language) that ends in st, and there is no -ik verb with these two ending consonants. This verb is conjugated like the szeret, fut type: fessek, fess(él), fessen, fessünk, fessetek, fessenek; fessem, fes(se)d, fesse, fessük, fessétek, fessék; fesselek.
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', or perhaps even végiglopóddza az épületeket 'sneak through the buildings'. This solution doesn't work, though, for the forms 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 minimal difference in style.
In Hungarian, verbs not only show agreement with their subjects but also carry information on the definiteness of their direct objects. This results in two types of conjugations: definite (used if there is a definite object) and indefinite (if there is no definite object):
| Verb with suffix for present 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 (I'm reading it) (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) if the object is indefinite (see details below). However, exceptionally, the indefinite conjugation is also used if the object is a 1st- or 2nd-person pronoun, either stated or not (even though the reference of personal pronouns is definite by nature).
An object is indefinite if it is:
The definite conjugation is used if the verb has a definite object, which can be:
A special suffix (-lak/-lek) is used if the verb has a first-person singular subject AND a second-person (singular or plural) object (in the informal conjugation), e.g. Szeretlek. ("I love you" ― singular), Szeretlek titeket. ("I love you all" ― plural).
Examples:
| Indefinite (látsz) | Definite (látod) |
|---|---|
| You (can) see ∅. You can see something. You can see a book. You can see me/us. (!) You can see some/two. You can't see anything/anyone. You can see everything/everyone. Who/What/How many can you see? The person/book (that/which) 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 you see? You can see (that) I'm here. |
If no explicit object is present, the most common interpretation of the definite verb forms is including "him/her/it". If an indefinite verb form semantically requires an object, "me" or "you [sg]" or – obviously – an indefinite object (third person) can be inferred: "something". (The plural forms are generally made explicit.) This difference makes it possible for the writer or speaker to refer to people without making them explicit. In most cases it is enough through the context to differentiate between 3rd-person and non-3rd-person pronouns.
Definite examples:
Indefinite examples:
Hungarian 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 person plural active form. For example, Megvizsgálják a gyereket literally means "They examine the child", but it is more commonly meant like "The child is examined". The fact that this sentence behaves like a passive voice is shown by the fact that the above (third person plural) form can be used even when only one agent is meant (i.e., the child is examined 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 a common ending that expresses the middle voice, as opposed to -ít which expresses the active (these are transitive verbs). 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 among Hungarian verbs.
In the perfect, there is a third way to express passive meaning: the existential verb van (see van (to be)) plus the adverbial 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 was written" 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 somebody certain feelings", from visel "bear"), foglaltatik ("be included", from (magába) foglal "include"). These can be formed by adding -ik to the causative (see Modal and causative suffixes). Most of these forms (except for születik) are considered obsolete.
Here is a regular verb, kér ("ask", "have a request"). The personal suffixes are marked in bold.
| 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 | kértem volna | kértél volna | kért volna | kértünk volna | kértetek volna | kértek volna | kértem volna | kérted volna | kérte volna | kértük volna | kértétek volna | kérték volna |
| Subjunctive Mood | ||||||||||||
| Present | kérjek | kérjél or kérj | kérjen | kérjünk | kérjetek | kérjenek | kérjem | kérjed or kérd | kérje | kérjük | kérjétek | kérjék |
Hungarian has 2 forms which can be added to the verb stem to modify the meaning. These are sometimes referred to as "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/making someone do something". For example: beszélek "I speak", beszéltetek "I make somebody speak". (Incidentally, it is the same form 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 or more syllables (excluding the verbal particle). In other cases, -at/-et is used: that is, with words ending in a consonant + 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 something baked", láttat "to make something seen" | gyűjtet "to have something collected", festet "to have something painted" | írat "to have something written", mosat "to have something washed", fürdet "to give somebody a bath" Also: ki+dobat "to have somebody thrown out", el+fogat "to have somebody caught" (See the exceptions below) |
| Several syllables | taníttat "to have somebody taught", felszólíttat "to have somebody warned" | felébresztet "to have somebody woken up", halasztat "to have something postponed" | beszéltet "to have somebody speak", dolgoztat "to make somebody work", olvastat "to have somebody 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), él (éltet), kel (keltet), lép (léptet), szűn·ik (szüntet [!]), szök·ik (szöktet).
Some monosyllabic words not ending in vowel + -t have both -at/-et and -tat/-tet as causative forms, with differences in meaning. For example:
A 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.")
There are three participles in Hungarian. They are formed by adding the following suffixes to the verb stem:
Since the past participle usually expresses a perfected action/event, the verb sometimes changes into its perfective counterpart by taking a verbal particle (igekötő) with this function, as seen in the above example (megírt levél). This verbal particle may, however, be replaced by a noun, e.g. Annának írt levél ("a letter written to Anna"). – See more under Hungarian syntax.
Hungarian verbs can have verb particles or prefixes, similar to phrasal verbs in English. The most common ones are meg- (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 of literal meanings for the verb ír ("write"): leír ("write down"), beír ("write into") as opposed to the non-literal meanings: leír ("declare as useless", cf "write off"), beír ("give a written warning [to a schoolchild]"). Different prefixes can express subtle differences (e.g. meghízik "get fat" vs. elhízik "get obese", literally "fatten away") as well as independent concepts (e.g. rúg "kick", kirúg "fire somebody", 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 ("He writes it down"). Syntactically, the particle may go behind the verb for various reasons. It may occur due to a stressed 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 ("He was 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 ("He wants 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 something") can take several different verb particles, all expressing the same concept (with minor differences), but their complement differs depending on the particle:
It happens because certain verb particles (the latter three among the examples) come from personal pronouns in the given case and they require agreement.
When giving a short positive answer to a yes/no question, the particle can refer back to the whole sentence, see Yes/no questions.
In literary style, articles can be reduplicated to indicate a gradual or stuttering action: ki-kijött a mὁkus ("the squirrel crept out").
There 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 words themselves, rather than actual particles. The difference is important in the above-mentioned syntactic cases when these elements will – naturally – not function like particles do. Compare the above kiált (no compound) with ki|áll ("stand out", a compound): nem kiált ("he doesn't give a shout"), but nem áll ki ("he doesn't stand out"). – A similar case 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 be|tűz ("stick in" or "shine in", a compound).
The other misleading cases are those verbs which were historically formed from nouns derived from verbs with particles, 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 derived verb befolyásol. There are few such words, e.g. kivitelez ("implement") from kivitel ("implementation, execution", cf "carrying out"). Kirándul ("go hiking") used to be a compound (ki + rándul), but people don't usually treat it like that anymore so they say, e.g., Kirándulni akar. ("s/he wants to go hiking") instead of Ki akar rándulni, which is obsolete and only used jokingly. A common error among native speakers is the case 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 often separated: ?fel sem tételezhetjük, ?fel kell tételeznünk ("we can't even assume, we must suppose"), instead of the correct forms nem is feltételezhetjük, feltételeznünk kell. What functions as a verbal prefix sometimes may not be one other times, e.g. ellenáll 'resist' can separate like nem állok ellen 'I don't resist', but ellenőriz 'check' stays together like nem ellenőrzök 'I don't check' – because the latter is derived from the noun ellenőr ("inspector").
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 | kellene mennem kéne 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 go I 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".
The verb szokik 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:
The verbs van ("to be"), jön ("to come") and megy ("to go") have an irregular present tense and irregular stems for different tenses. jön also has irregular forms in the subjunctive. A further group of 9 verbs have irregular stems for different tenses, but follow the same pattern of irregularity as each other. A few other verbs shorten or drop a vowel with 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 |
The verb "to be" in Hungarian is van (3rd person), lenni (infinitive).
When the verb is used as a copula i.e. if one speaks about what someone or something is, it is omitted in the third person singular and plural of the present tense. The verb is required in all other tenses and persons when speaking about where or how something is, or to emphasize the existence or availability of something. Examples:
The non-copula form of van is also used to express the equivalent of "There is/are":
The negation of the third person van (plural vannak) as a non-copula verb is the suppletive nincs (plural nincsenek):
Hungarian has no verb which is equivalent to "to have". Instead, ownership/possession are expressed using van with a possessive suffix on the noun:
Like the verb "to be" in many 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 does not have 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 | lennék or volnék | lennél or volnál | lenne or volna | lennénk or volnánk | lennétek or volnátok | lennének or volnának |
| Past Tense | lettem volna | lettél volna | lett volna | lettünk volna | lettetek volna | lettek volna |
| Subjunctive Mood | ||||||
| Present Tense | legyek | legyél or légy | legyen | legyünk | legyetek | legyenek |
There is little difference between the two conditional forms. In theory, lennék etc. are preferred when an option is considered as possible (e.g. Ha otthon lennék, "if I were at home") and volnék etc. are preferred when it is considered impossible (e.g. Ha rózsa volnék, "if I were a rose"), but the limits are rather vague. It is probably not by chance that the 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.
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