Category Archives: Verbs/Tenses/Moods

Modal Verbs / szabad

SZABAD – MAY, TO BE ALLOWED

It is a verb that helps you say things like: to be unbound to do sg. However, most of the time you just translate it as: may, to be allowed. The word ’szabad’ as an adjective means ’free’!

Formation:

SZABAD + INFINITIVE

As English doesn’t really have a separate word for szabad, I’ll use the expression: to be allowed to

PRESENT
Szabad nézni. – You’re allowed to look.
Nem szabad nézni. – You’re not allowed to look.

PAST
Szabad volt nézni. – You were allowed to look.
Nem volt szabad nézni. – You were not allowed to look.

FUTURE
Szabad lesz nézni. – You’ll be allowed to look.
Nem lesz szabad nézni. – You’ll be not allowed to look.

PRESENT CONDITIONAL
Szabad volna nézni. – You would be allowed to look.
Nem volna szabad nézni. – You would not be allowed to look.

PAST CONDITIONAL
Szabad lett volna nézni. – You would have been allowed to look.
Nem lett volna szabad nézni. – You would not have been allowed to look.

If you use szabad alone, it generally refers to everybody. If you talk about a specific person, you need the dative pronouns or you can omit dative pronouns and conjugate the infinitive!

Neked szabad úsznod.
You may swim / You are allowed to swim.

Nekünk nem szabad engedély nélkül elmennünk.
We’re not allowed to leave without permission.

Hát szabad ilyet mondani?
It’s not a proper way to talk!

Szabad bejönnöm?
May I come in?

Szabad (lenne) megkérdeznem…
Would you mind my asking…

If you deny szabad, then the English equivalents can be:

you can’t, you’re not allowed, you may not

Nem szabad csúnyán beszélni.
You can’t use bad language.

Nem szabad szaladgálni.
You’re not allowed to run around on the road.

–Szabad meztelenül sétálnom egy áruházba? –Nem szabad.
–May I walk around naked in a store? -No, you may not.

More about conjugating the infinitive in the next entry.

Modal Verbs / képes, képtelen

These adjectives are synonyms to ’tud, -hat, -het’. There are two ways to use them:

képes/képtelen +
lenni conjugated +
noun with suffix -ra, -re

OR

képes/képtelen +
lenni conjugated +
verb in infinitive form

Remember the predicative adjectives! It is about the same thing now. You don’t use ’lenni’ in 3rd PS and 3rd PP in present tense! The plural for these adjectives is:

képesek, képtelenek

As for these adjectives, definite and indefinite conjugation is an irrelevant issue because they require the infinitive of the verb, which refers to both definite and indefinite.

PRESENT
Képes megtenni. – He’s able to do it.
Képtelen megtenni. – He’s unable to do it.

PAST
Képes volt megtenni. – He was able to do it.
Képtelen volt megtenni.- He was unable to do it.

FUTURE
Képes lesz megtenni. – He’ll be able to do it.
Képtelen lesz megtenni. – He’ll be unable to do it.

PRESENT CONDITIONAL
Képes volna megtenni. – He would be able to do it.
Képtelen volna megtenni. – He would be unable to do it.

PAST CONDITIONAL
Képes lett volna megtenni. – He would have been able to do it.
Képtelen lett volna megtenni. – He would have been unable to do it.

Examples:

Képes vagyok rá. – I can do that.
Képtelen vagyok rá. – I can’t do that.
Képesek voltak hazudni! – They lied right to our faces!
Képtelenek voltunk megtenni. – We were incapable of that.
Képes volnál itt hagyni? – You would just leave me here?

So you can use a noun or an infinitive like in English:

-Képes vagy a feladat megoldására? -Képes vagyok rá.
-Are you capable of solving the task? -I am capable of that.

-Képes vagy megoldani a feladatot? -Képes vagyok megoldani.
-Are you able to solve the task? -I am able to solve it.

More next time.

Modal Verbs / tud

TUD = CAN, IS ABLE, IS CAPABLE

Formation: tud + infinitive

PRESENT
Indef: El tudunk olvasni mindent.
Indef: We can read everything.
Def: El tudjuk olvasni a könyvet.
Def: We can read the book.

PAST
Indef: El tudtunk olvasni mindent.
Indef: We could read everything.
Def: El tudtuk olvasni a könyvet.
Def: We could read the book.

FUTURE
Indef: El fogunk tudni olvasni mindent.
Indef: We’ll be able to read everything.
Def: El fogjuk tudni olvasni a könyvet.
Def: We’ll be able to read the book.

PRESENT CONDITIONAL
Indef: El tudnánk olvasni mindent.
Indef: We could read everything (if)…
Def: El tudnánk olvasni a könyvet.
Def: We could read the book (if)…

PAST CONDITIONAL
Indef: El tudtunk volna olvasni mindent.
Indef: We could have read everything (if)…
Def: El tudtuk volna olvasni a könyvet.
Def: We could have read the book (if)…

The main verb elolvasni has a complete aspect to it. What you learned about Hungarian phrasal verbs is also valid now. If a modal verb is inserted between the verbal prefix and its verb, everything is written separately!

There’s no such thing: eltudom olvasni = WRONG

The only correct writing is: el tudom olvasni = CORRECT

More examples:

Meg tudom csinálni. – I can do it.
El tudják mondani kívülről. – They know it by heart.
Tudok zongorázni. – I can play the piano.
Három nyelven tudok beszélni. – I (can) speak three languages.

NOTE! Meg tud + verb is not to be confused with:

megtud = to get to know!!!

Meg tudtam írni a dolgozatot.
I could write the test.

Megtudtam, hogy mégsem írunk dolgozatot.
I just learned we wouldn’t write any test.

Next time képes, képtelen. Bye! 🙂

Modal Verbs / -hat, -het

Before getting absorbed into far-fetched explanations, let’s see the English modal verbs first! Verbs like will and would are not listed here because you can see how to use them if you return to ’Future Tense’ and ’Conditional’.

 -hat, -het – can, may, to be allowed
tud – can
képes …-re – able to, capable of
képtelen …-re – unable to, incapable of
szabad – may, to be allowed
kell – have to, must, need
kellene – should, ought to
muszáj – must, have to
szükséges – necessary
tilos – forbidden

-HAT, -HET =  MAY, CAN, TO BE ALLOWED TO

USE: -hat, -het express that somebody may / is allowed to do something or something may be / is allowed to be done. It corresponds with the English ’may’ much more than ’can’! These endings are attached to the dictionary form of the verb followed by the personal suffixes: láthatok, nézhetek.

Formation:

verb 3rd PS idefinite conjugation +
-hat/-het +
personal suffixes

PRESENT
Indefinite:
Látsz egy filmet. – You see a movie.
Láthatsz egy filmet. – You may/can see a movie.

Definite:
Látod a filmet. – You see the movie.
Láthatod a filmet. – You may/can see the movie.

PAST
Indefinite:
Láttál egy filmet. – You saw a movie.
Láthattál egy filmet. – You were allowed to see a movie.

Definite:
Láttad a filmet. – You saw the movie.
Láthattad a filmet. – You were allowed to see the movie.

FUTURE with majd
Indefinite:
Látsz majd egy filmet. – You will see a movie.
Láthatsz majd egy filmet. – You will be allowed to see a movie.

Definite:
Látod majd a filmet. – You will see the movie.
Láthatod majd a filmet. – You will be allowed to see the movie.

PRESENT CODNITIONAL
Indefinite:
Látnál egy filmet. – You would see a movie.
Láthatnál egy filmet. – You would be allowed to see a movie.

Definite:
Látnád a filmet. – You would see the movie.
Láthatnád a filmet. – You would be allowed to see the movie.

PAST CODNITIONAL
Indefinite:
Láttál volna egy filmet. – You would have seen a movie.
Láthattál volna egy filmet. – You would have been allowed to see a movie.

Definite:
Láttad volna a filmet. – You would have seen the movie.
Láthattad volna a filmet. – You would have been allowed to see the movie.

Examples:

Bejöhetek? – May I come in?
Leülhetek? – May I take a seat?
Megkérdezhetem? – May I ask?
Elmehetsz. – You may leave.
Zongorázhatunk. – We may play the piano.

As you see vowel harmony is present with -hat, -het. Deep words with -hat, high words with -het.

Of course, you can say the conditional sentences in English like this, too:

You would be allowed to see the movie.
You could see the movie.

You would have been allowed to see the movie.
You could have seen the movie.

More next time.

Phrasal Verbs Part 3

HOW DO WE WRITE VERBAL PREFIXES?

Here are the grammatical situtation when you MUST write the verbal prefix together or separately from the verb.

-If the verbal prefix precedes the verb, it is written together with the verb:

megnéz, odafut, szétszed…

-If the verbal prefix follows the verb, it is written separately from the verb. Reason for this can be an imperative sense or negation!

Mondd meg! Nézzen oda! Keljenek fel!
Nem eszem meg. Nem kel fel.

-The verbal prefix is written separately if a third word is wedged between the verbal prefix and its verb:

El ne áruld! Meg is teszem. Fel szabad menni…

In this case you should deal with verbs like: megtud, leszokik, megvan. Watch their use!

1a. Megtudta, hogy átment a vizsgán. – He learned he passed the exam.
1b. Meg tudta írni a tesztet. – He could write the test.

2a. Leszokott a dohányzásról. – He gave up smoking.
2b. Le szokott menni a parkba. – Usually he goes down the park.

3a. Megvan a megoldás! – I’ve got the solution!
3b. Meg van ijedve. – He’s frightened.

1a. megtud = to get to know, to learn
1b. meg tud írni = auxiliary verb ’can’

2a. leszokik = to give up
2b. le szokott menni = auxiliary verb equivalent to ’usually’

3a. megvan = to have it; „I’ve got it!”
3b. meg van ijedve = adverbial construction derived from megijed ’to get scared’

-If a verbal prefix is repeated, it is written with a hyphen and together with the verb:

vissza-visszanéz, meg-megáll…

-If two verbal prefixes have an opposite meaning, they’re written with a hyphen and separately from the verb they refer to:

le-fel járkál, ki-be szalad, oda-vissza utazik

So much for phrasal verbs. Next time we start with modal verbs and then we’re done with verbs for good and all.

Phrasal Verbs Part 2

This part is about this prefix:

MEG-

It can’t be translated in English. In this function it has no meaning. It just expresses completeness. We could say that Hungarian verbs with no verbal prefix have a continuous aspect. Examples:

No prefix:
Írom a levelet. – I’m writing the letter.
Írtam a levelet. – I was writing the letter.

With meg-:
Megírom a levelet. – I’ll write the letter.
Megírtam a levelet. – I wrote the letter.

See the difference? That’s why Hungarian people don’t need four tenses to express all those nuances. All we need is the verbal prefix -meg. Two other verbal prefixes can also have this function: el-, le-

Tudtam a választ. – I knew the answer.
Megtudtam a választ. – I found out the answer.

Értem, mit akarsz mondani. – I see what you mean.
Megértem, mit érzel. – I know exactly how you feel.

Pirítóst eszek. – I eat toast.
Megeszem a pirítóst. – I eat up the toast.

A vonat ötkor megy. – The train leaves at five.
A vonat ötkor elmegy. – The train will have left at five.

A koncert javában zajlik. – The concert is still in progress.
A koncert hatra lezajlik. – The concert will be over by six.

ANSWERING WITH VERBAL PREFIXES

If you’re asked a question that has a verb with a verbal prefix (phrasal verb), then you have the following options:

1. You can answer with just yes or no:
-Megcsináltad a leckét?
–Igen. / Nem.

-Have you done your homework?
–Yes. / No.

2. You can answer by repeating the verb (not common):
-Megcsináltad a leckét?
–Igen, megcsináltam. / Nem, nem csináltam meg.

-Have you done your homework?
–Yes, I have done it. / No, I haven’t done it.

3. You can answer with yes + the verbal prefix. You can’t answer with the verbal prefix if the answer is no:
-Megcsináltad a leckét?
–Igen, meg. / Nem.

Have you done your homework?
–Yes, I have. / No, I haven’t.

4. You can answer with just the verbal prefix if the answer is yes. You can’t answer with the verbal prefix if the answer is no:
-Megcsináltad a leckét?
–Meg. / Nem.

-Have you done your homework?
–Yes. / No.

In part 3 we’ll take a look at how verbal prefixes are supposed to be written, together or separately.

Bye now.

Phrasal Verbs Part 1

There will be three parts on this topic to make sure we cover everything.

English has phrasal verbs, too: go out, look up, looking forward to

Hungarian phrasal verbs are called igekötős igék. The word ‘igekötő’ can be translated as verbal prefix which normally precedes the verb is written together with it:

go out – kimegy
look up – felnéz
tear apart – széttép
…

Now lets see some Hungarian phrasal verbs and their meaning!

ABBA-
No English equivalent for it. It is used with certain verbs.

abbahagy – to stop
abbamarad – to stop, to break off

Hagyd abba! – Stop it!
A földrengés abbamaradt. – The earthquake has ceased.

AGYON-
It comes from the noun agy (brain). It expresses an activity which has reached a critical stage, or is exaggerated. Sometimes it can be translated as: to death.

agyonlő – to shoot sy to death
agyondolgozza magát – to overwork oneself
agyonvág – to strike dead

A katona agyonlőtte a foglyot.
The soldier shot the prisoner to death.

Az orvos azt mondta, agyondolgozom magam.
The doctor said I’ve been overworking myself.

A szerelőt agyonvágta az áram.
The technician’s got an electric shock.

ALÁ-
Equivalent: under-

aláír – to sign
alátámaszt – to support
aláaknáz – to undermine

Az elnök holnap aláírja a dokumentumot.
The president will sign the document tomorrow.

A bizonyíték alátámasztja a gyanúmat.
The evidence affirms my suspicion.

Csapatok aláaknázták a területet.
Troops have undermined the area.

ÁT-
Equivalent: through

átmegy – to cross, to pass
átvészel – to go through, to get over
átkarol – to embrace

Átmegy a hídon. – He crosses the bridge.
Átmegy a vizsgán. – He passes the exam.
Átvészelik a telet. – They go through the winter.
Átkarolja a barátját. – She embraces/hugs her boyfriend.

BE-
Equivalent: in, inside

bemegy vhova – to enter
belát vmt – to understand, to admit
behoz vmt – to make up
berobban – to blow in; to implode; to be a big hit

Bemegy a házba. – She enters the house.
Belátom, tévedtem. – I admit/Now I see I was wrong.
Behozta a lemaradást. – He made up arrears.

Az új hip-hop szám berobbant a köztudatba.
The new hip-hop song was a big hit.

BELE-
Equivalent: in, inside

beleun vmbe – to get tired of sg
beleszól vmbe – to intervene in sg
belemegy vmbe – to be in, to agree with sg
belejön vmbe – to become better and better, to get into sg

Lassan beleunok az írásba. – I’m getting tired of writing.
Mindenbe beleszól. – He puts in his oars, no matter what.
Belemész a válásba? – Do you agree with getting divorced?
Kezdesz belejönni! – You’re getting into it.

EGYBE-
Equivalent: together. Literally: in one.

egybeír – to write together/as one word
egybeesik vmvel – to coincide with sg

A „rövidnadrágot” egybeírjuk.
The word „rövidnadrág” is written as one word.

A névnapom egybeesik a szülinapommal.
My name-day coincides with my birth-day.

EL-
Equivalent: away, off, wrong

elír vmt – to write sg wrong
eljár vhova – to frequent
elsírja magát – to burst out crying
elfut – to run away
elmond vmt – to tell (about) sg
elront vmt – to mess sg up
elalszik – to fall asleep
eltér vmtől – to differ from sg

Elírták a címet. – There’s a typo in the title.
Eljár a diszkóba. – He often goes to the discotheque.
Hirtelen elsírta magát. – All of a sudden she burst out crying.
Ijedtemben elfutottam. – I was so scared I ran away.
Elmondjuk, amit hallottunk. – We’ll tell you what we heard.
Elrontottátok a tesztet. – You guys blew the test.
Éjféltájt alszok el. – I fall asleep towards midnight.

Ez a könyv eltér az eredetitől.
This book is different from the original.

ELLEN-
Equivalent: counter-, anti-, against

ellenáll vmnek – to resist
ellenőriz vmt – to control

Ellenáll a kísértésnek. – He resists temptation.
Ellenőrizd a féket! – Check the brake please.

ELŐ-
Equivalent: the actual meaning is fore-, but it can’t be really translated.

előad – to play, to perform
előjön – to come out
elővesz – to produce

Előadják a Hamlet-et. – They play Hamlet.
Előjönnek a bokorból. – They come out the bush.
Elővesz egy tollat a zsebéből. – He produces a pen from his pocket.

ELŐRE-
Equivalent: fore-, in advance

előrelát – to foresee
előre megmond – to foretell
előrebocsát – to mention in advance

Előrelátta a halálát. – He foresaw his own death.

Előre megmondtam, hogy ez lesz.
I told you this was going to happen.

Szeretném előrebocsátani, hogy…
I’d like to mention in advance that…

FEL-, FÖL-
Equivalent: up

felmegy – to go up, to climb
felkiált – to shout out
felad – to give up sg

Felmegyünk a hegyre.
We’re going up to the mountain.

Felkiáltott: „Hajó a láthatáron!”
He shouted out loud ’Ship on the horizon!’

Soha ne add fel! – Never give up!

Felkopik az álla.
He’ll perish with hunger.

FÉLBE-
Equivalent: in two, inter-. Literally: in half.

félbehagy – to stop doing sg (but it’s not finished yet); to do half the job
félbeszakít – to interrupt

Félbehagyta a munkát.
She broke off her work.

A tanárt félbeszakította a csengő.
The teacher was interrupted by the bell.

FÉLRE-
Equivalent: aside

félreáll – to stand clear, to step aside
félreért – to misunderstand

Félreáll az ajtóból. – He steps aside from the door.
Ne érts félre! – Don’t get me wrong.

FELÜL, -FÖLÜL-
Equivalent: super-

felülmúl – to surpass
felülbírál – to supervise; to overrule

Minden várakozást felülmúl.
It’s beyond expectations.

A bíró felülbírálta a döntést.
The judge overruled the decision.

FENN-, FÖNN-
Equivalent: up

fennmarad – to survive
fennáll – to stand, to exist

A neve örökre fennmarad.
His name will be known forever.

Amióta a cégünk fennáll…
Since our firm exists…

HÁTRA-
Equivalent: backwards, over-

hátraesik – to fall back

A kisfiú hátraesett játék közben.
The little boy fell backwards while playing.

HAZA-
Equivalent: home

hazamegy – to go home

Most hazamegyek. – I’m going home now.
hazafelé menet – on my way home

HELYRE-
Equivalent: to its place, right

helyretesz – to put sg right; to haul sy over the coal

Az anyuka helyretette a lányát.
The mother reprehended her daughter.

HOZZÁ-
Equivalent: to him/her/it

hozzámegy vkhez – to marry him/her
hozzákezd vmhez – to start doing sg

Petra hozzáment Ödönhöz.
Petra married Ödön.

Holnap hozzákezdenek az építkezéshez.
Construction begins tomorrow.

IDE-, ODA-
Equivalent: here, there

ideszól – to tell, to call
odaszalad – to run up to

Ha jössz, szólj ide! – If you come, call me.

A gyerek odaszaladt az apukájához.
The child ran up to his father.

KERESZTÜL-
Equivalent: through, across. It can be used like át- except with some verbs.

keresztülmegy – to go through

Sok mindenen ment keresztül. – She’s been through a lot.

KETTÉ-
Equivalent: in two, apart

kettétörik – to break in two

Kettétört a lemez. – The disk has broken in two.

KI-
Equivalent: out

kifakad – to fulminate
kifest – to paint

Ezekre a szavakra kifakadtam.
On hearing these words I foamed with rage.

Kifestitek a szobát? – Will you paint the room?

KÖRÜL-
Equivalent: around

körülvesz – to surround
körülír – to paraphrase, to circumscribe

Idiótákkal vagyok körülvéve.
I’m surrounded by idiots.

Megpróbálom körülírni, milyen volt.
I’m trying to describe what it felt like.

KÖZBE-
Equivalent: inter-

közbevág – to interrupt

Ekkor a nő közbevágott.
And then the woman interposed a remark.

KÖZRE-
No equivalent.

közreműködik – to contribute, to participate

A másik csapat is közreműködik a filmben.
The other team will participate in the movie, too.

KÜLÖN-
Equivalent: apart

különválik – to get divorced

A házaspár különválik.
The married couple will get divorced.

LE-
Equivalent: down

lemond – to give up; to resign
lefekszik – to go to bed

Az elnök lemondott.
The president has resigned from his office.

Lefekszek aludni. – I’m going to bed.

MELLÉ-
Equivalent: mis-; by

melléfog – to make a blunder
melléáll – to stand by sy

Jól melléfogtam. – That was a huge blunder for me.
Melléd állok, ne aggódj! – I’ll stand by you. Don’t worry!

NEKI-
Equivalent: to him/her/it OR not to be translated

nekilát vmnek – to get down to

Nekilát a munkának. – He’ll get down to work.

ÖSSZE-
Equivalent: together

összejön – to be successful, to make it
összecsinálja magát – to crap one’s pants

Végül is összejött! – We made it after all!

Majd összecsinálta magát ijedtében!
He almost crapped his pants with fear.

RÁ-
Equivalent: onto him/her/it

rátalál vkre – to find sy
ráhibáz vmre – to make a lucky hit
ráfog vmt vkre – to blame sy for sg

A mentőcsapat további öt emberrel talált rá.
The rescue team have found other five people.

Ráhibáztál!
That was a lucky hit of yours!

Mindent rám fogsz.
You blame me for everything.

RAJTA-
Equivalent: on him/her/it

rajtakap – to catch sy in fault

Rajtakapták a lopáson. – He’s been caught on stealing.

SZÉT-, -SZÉJJEL- See: ketté-

SZEMBE-
Equivalent: against

szembeszáll vkvel – to fight sy
szembenéz vmvel – to face sg

Szembeszállok vele. – I’ll fight him.
Nézzünk szembe a tényekkel! – Let’s face the facts.

SZERTE-
Equivalent: everywhere, apart

szerteágazik – to fork, to diversify

A vélemények szerteágaznak. – Opinions are all different.

TELE-
Equivalent: full

teleeszi magát – to stuff oneself
telebeszéli vknek a fejét – to talk sy’s head off

Teleették magukat. – They’ve stuffed themselves.

Telebeszéled a fejem minden hülyeséggel.
You’re talking my head off with nonsense.

TOVÁBB-
Equivalent: on. This word itself can also mean ’to continue’.

továbbcsinál – to go on doing sg
továbbolvas –  to continue reading

Továbbcsinálom, akkor is, ha nem tetszik.
I’ll keep doing it even if you don’t like it.

Továbbolvassa a könyvet.
He continues reading the book.

TÖNKRE-
Equivalent: No equivalent. I could describe it as: ’until something is in ruins’.

tönkremegy – to go awry; to go bankrupt
tönkretesz – to bring sg to ruin

Tönkrement a mosógép. – The washing machine has had it.
Tönkretted az estémet. – You messed up this evening for me.

TÚL-
Equivalent: over-

túlárad – to overflow
túlbecsül – to overestimate

Túláradnak az örömtől. – They bubble over with joy.
Túlbecsültem. – I overestimated him.

ÚJJÁ-
Equivalent: re-; to become new

újjáépít – to rebuild
újjáéled – to resuscitate

Újjáépítem a házam. – I’ll rebuild my house.
A természet tavasszal újjáéled. – Nature resuscitates in spring.

ÚJRA
Equivalent: re-, again

újra csinál – to do it again

Csináld újra! – Do it again.

NOTE! This adverb is always written separately from the verb!

UTÁNA-
Equivalent: after

utánanéz – to see about, to look after

Megteszed, hogy utánanézel?
Will you do me a favour and see about it?

VÉGBE-
Equivalent: to the end

végbemegy – to take place

Elképesztő, mi megy itt végbe!
Unbelievable what kind of things are going on here.

VÉGHEZ-
Equivalent: to the end; ’to do sg so that it’s surely done’

véghezvisz – to bring to effect

Az a hegymászó nagy tettet vitt véghez.
That mountainer has made quite an achievement.

VÉGIG-
Equivalent: until the end

végigcsinál – to go through with sg, to do sg until it’s finished

Végigcsinálom a tanfolyamot.
I’m going to finish with the course.

Végigfut a hátamon a hideg tőle.
It gives me the creeps.

VISSZA-
Equivalent: back

visszamegy – to go back

Visszamegyek Budapestre.
I’m going back to Budapest.

Visszahúz a szívem.
I’m homesick.

…and some notes…

Be careful with certain verbs!

 betűz = to spell NOT EQUAL TO betűz = to stick in

kiált = to shout NOT EQUAL TO kiállt = he stood up (for)

More Examples For Passive + Passive Question

Examples for “passive voice”:

The order is: Hungarian sentence, English active sentence, English passive sentence

A leckét meg kell írni.
One must write the homework.
The homework must be written.

A törvényt tisztelni kell.
One must respect the law.
The law must be respected.

A rendőrök megtiltották a tüntetést.
The police have forbidden the manifestation.
The manifestation has been forbidden by the police.

Azelőtt jelentették fel a tanárt, hogy hallottam róla.
They had denounced the teacher long before I heard of it.
The teacher had been denounced long before I heard of it.

Három hónap után végre megvették a kocsimat.
After three month they bought my car at last.
My car was bought at last after three month.

In the the first two sentences the verbs express an action generally. Someone must do something, but we don’t know who. In this case, Hungarian uses impersonal verbs which do not require a subject. English says ‘one’ or uses passive voice.

Meg kellene neki mondani, hogy siessen.
One should tell him to hurry up.
He should be told to hurry up.

Don’t worry about such sentences. We’ll deal with them when discussing modal verbs.

PASSIVE QUESTION

Sinc there’s no passive voice in Hungarian, there’s no passive question, either. You simply form such questions with active sentences.

Ki ette meg az ebédet?
Who ate the lunch?
Who was the lunch eaten by?

Mi ölte meg a férfit?
What killed the man?
What was the man killed by?

Miért nem szóltak nekem?
Why didn’t they told me?
Why wasn’t I told?

and so on…

BY = ÁLTAL

Actually, it is possible to form somewhat passive statements when it comes to sentences like:

The solution offered by them is not achievable.
Az általuk felkínált megoldás nem megvalósítható.

So the equivalent for BY is ÁLTAL which precedes the past participle (contrary to English). The personal forms are:

by me – általam
by you – általad
by he/she/it – általa
by us – általunk
by you – általatok
by them – általuk

OR with proper names and professions:

by Peter – Péter által
by the doctor – az orvos által
…

A Péter által elmondott történet igaz.
The story told by Peter is true.

If there are more people involved, által stays singular!

A Péter és János által elmondott történet igaz.
The story told by Peter and John is true.

I think I told you everything you need about the non-existing Hungarian passive voice. If you have a question, drop me a comment and I’ll answer it. Next time phrasal verbs.

Bye! 🙂

“Passive voice”

To begin with, Hungarian stopped using passive voice a long time ago. People talked like that a hundred years ago, but not anymore. It was expressed with these suffixes: -atik, -etik. Examples:

it is said – mondatik
it is proclaimed – kihirdettetik

You can find such verbs in old texts. And what about the present time?

Hungarian expresses passive voice WITH ACTIVE SENTENCES!!!

So the formation goes like this:

3rd PP form of the verb with definite or indefinite conjugation

Examples:

The house was sold. – A házat eladták.
The soup is cooked. – A levest megfőzték.
The cars will be mended. – A kocsikat meg fogják javítani.

So Hungarian says they sold, they cooked, they will mend even if we don’t know who we’re talking about.

For a native English speaker the problem comes with Present Simple and Present Perfect if you want to translate English passive voice in Hungarian. Look at this:

to build = építeni > they built = építették
meg > verbal prefix expressing completeness

The house is built. – A házat megépítették.
The has been built. – A házat megépítették / építik.

Both sentences are translated with past tense in Hungarian. Why? Because the first Present Simple sentence says the house is built, so it is finished. And it had to be built in the past so that we can say it is built. Therefore Hungarian uses past tense.
As for the Present Perfect sentence, it can express the completeness or the continuity of an action, therefore Hungarian uses past tense for completeness and present tense for continuity.

The house has been built at last!
A házat végre megépítették!

The house has been built for a year now.
A házat már egy éve építik.

See what I mean? The first sentences refers to a house already finished, the second refers to a house still being built.

The rest of the tenses shouldn’t be a problem. You just use the same tense as in English. Examples:

Past Simple
The house was built.
A házat megépítették.

Future Simple
The house will be built.
A házat meg fogják építeni.

If it comes to a continous tense, you can put ÉPPEN before the verb, but it is not necessary. Hungarian verbs without a verbal prefix (like meg-) express continuity by themselves.

Present Simple Continuous
The house is being built.
A házat éppen építik.

Past Simple Continuous
The house was being built.
A házat éppen építették.

Future Simple Continuous
The house will be being built.
A házat éppen építeni fogják.

First digest the stuff above, and in the next entry I’ll write more examples and more stuff to learn about “passive voice”.

Reported Question

Before taking a look at reported question, let’s see some more examples for reported speech.

Examples:

‘Take my hand’, John said to Mary.
“Fogd meg a kezem!” -mondta John Mary-nek.

John told Mary to take his hand.
John azt mondta Mary-nek, hogy fogja meg a kezét.

—

‘Stop it, son, or I’ll slap you in the face.’, the mother said.
“Hagyd abba, fiam vagy pofon ütlek téged.” -mondta az anya.

The mother told his son to stop it or she would slap him in the face.
Az anya azt mondta a fiának, hogy hagyja abba vagy pofon üti őt.

You see that the pronouns changed, just as the possessive endings according to reported or direct speech. And NOTE that Hungarian uses inversion and dash instead of a comma:

,the mother said = –mondta az anya

Furthermore, Hungarian uses double quotation marks, not just something like an apostrophe:

‘Stop it.‘ = “Hagyd abba!“

But the first quotation mark used in Hungarian at the beginning of the sentence is at the bottom of the letter and not at the top of the letter. I can’t write such things on this blog. It only allows me to write it as you see “…”.

REPORTED QUESTION

It is quite the same. Examples:

“Tényleg beteg?” –kérdezte Márk.
‘Is she really ill?’, Mark asked.

Márk azt kérdezte, hogy tényleg beteg-e.
Mark asked if she was really ill.

—

“Vettél uborkát is, Béla?” –kiváncsiskodott a feleség.
‘Did you buy some cucumber, Béla?’, the wife wondered.

A feleség arról kíváncsiskodott, hogy Béla vette-e uborkát.
The wife wondered if  Béla bought some cucumber.

It is not rare that the subordinate clause is introduced by IF, WHETHER whose Hungarian equivalents are:

-e, vajon

Take a look at the use:

He asked me if I would go to school.
Azt kérdezte, hogy megyek-e iskolába.

He asked me whether I would go to school.
Azt kérdezte, vajon megyek-e iskolába.

He asked me whether to go to school.
Azt kérdezte, elmegyek-e iskolába.

So most of the time you can just use -e in such sentences. However, when English says ‘I wonder if…’, then Hungarian uses vajon. And then, usually the Hungarian sentence is a question. But vajon is not always a good solution. Sometimes it’s better to translate it with the adjective kiváncsi!

I wonder if he comes. – Vajon eljön?

She wonders if you told the truth.
Kiváncsi, hogy az igazat mondtad-e.

Note that -e is connected with a hyphen to the verb: mondtad-e

So much for reported speech. Next time I’ll write stuff about the passive voice, then phrasal verbs.

Bye now! 🙂