THE SUFFIXES -VAL, -VEL WITH THE DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS EZ, AZ

The possibilities are two: the v in -val, -vel assimilates with the z in az, ez or vice versa.

ezzel – with this
evvel – with this
azzal – with that
avval – with that

And the plural: ezekkel – with these, azokkal – with those

According to grammatical rules evvel, avval, ezzel are pronouns, whereas azzal is a conjunction when followed with ”hogy”.

Evvel/Ezzel a tollal írok.
I’m writing with this pen.

Avval a lánnyal táncolok.
I’m dancing with that girl.

Nem segítesz azzal, hogy hazudsz nekem.
You don’t help with lying to me.

Azzal, hogy hazudsz, nem segítesz.
Since you’re lying to me, you’re not much of a help.

However, this distinctive use has faded out from the spoken language. You could also say:

Avval, hogy hazudsz…

”WITH TIME”

Now what on earth has -val, -vel anything to do with adverbs of time? The answer is: a lot of adverbs are formed with these suffixes.

I could start explaining myself with this sentence:

Idővel minden seb begyógyul. – All wounds heal in time.

You see English says ’in time’, but Hungarian prefers ’with time’! I’m getting at the fact that in Hungarian it is possible to use -val, -vel more often than the preposition with in English. And the reason for that is:

éjjel – at night
nappal – daytime, by day
reggel – in the morning
ősszel – in autumn/fall
tavasszal – in spring
egyúttal – at the same time
idővel – in time
éjjel-nappal – day and night

It’s apparent that a bunch of adverbs of time can be paired with -val, -vel. Some of them can do without: este – in the evening; éjszaka – at night. In addition, some of them behave like adverb and noun at the same time.

éjjel – night; at night
nappal – daytime; in the daytime
reggel – morning; in the morning
este – evening; in the evening
éjszaka – night; at night

Éjszaka and éjjel have the same meaning.

Éjjel/Éjszaka a baglyok huhognak.
Owls ululate at night.

Bye now! 🙂