Category Archives: Verbs/Tenses/Moods

Reported Speech

Reported speech means that you report something you heard from someone in a story-telling way. Direct speech, however, requires the speaker to quote exactly what one heard.

Examples:

DIRECT SPEECH
The Terminator said “I’ll be back“.
A Terminátor azt mondta, “Visszatérek“.

REPORTED SPEECH
The Terminator said he would be back.
A Terminátor azt mondta, hogy visszatér.

The English sentence changed its tense (will > would), but the Hungarian didn’t. This phenomenon, which doesn’t exist in Hungarian is called: SEQUENCE OF TENSES. It doesn’t exist in Hungarian because you need to have more past tenses so that you can actually apply a sequence for tenses. But Hungarian only has one past tense, so there’s nothing for the past verb in the main clause to agree with in the subordinate clause. As you see above, Hungarian used Present Tense in both sentences.

Take a look at this:

He says he is watching TV. – Azt mondja, hogy tévét néz.
He said he was watching TV. – Azt mondta, hogy tévét néz.

In the second sentence the English ‘he was watching’ refers to present tense, but it is expressed with the past tense due to the sequence of tenses. Hungarian just uses Present Tense again even if the main clause has a past tense verb. However, the second English sentence can also mean that ‘he was watching’ in the past. Look:

-What is he doing now? -He said he was watching TV.
‘was watching’ refers to present tense!

-What was he doing yesterday? -He said he was watching TV.
‘was watching’ refers to past tense!!

And then the Hungarian sentence looks like this:
Azt mondta, hogy tévét nézett.

Basically, sequence of tenses means that if the verb of the main clause is in past tense, then the verb of the subordinate clause must be in past tense, as well.

However, other elements change, too: pronouns, adverbs of place, adverbs of time. And these parts of speech also change in Hungarian.

now > then
most > akkor

today > that day
ma > aznap

tomorrow > the next day
holnap > a következő nap

the day after tomorrow > in two days
holnap > két nap múlva

yesterday > the day before
tegnap > az előző nap

the day before yesterday > two days ago
tegnapelőtt > két nappal ezelőtt

two weeks ago > two weeks before
két hete > két héttel azelőtt

last year > in the previous year
tavaly > az előző évben

next year > in the following year
jövőre > a következő évben

recently > shortly before
nemrégen > röviddel azelőtt

soon > soon after
nemsokára > nemsokára !!!

this, these > that, those
ez, ezek > az, azok

here > there
itt > ott

I think it’s enough for today. Next time we’ll see more examples and we’ll talk about reported question.

Were it not for…

This construction is expressed in Hungarian like this:

Were it nor for… = Ha nem + present/past conditional

Examples:

Were it nor for my friend, I wouldn’t pay the fine.
Ha nem a barátomról lenne szó, nem fizetném ki a bírságot.

Were it not for Peter, they wouldn’t care about it.
Ha nem Péterről volna szó, nem érdekelné őket.

Were it not for an old friend of mine, I wouldn’t have taken such a long journey.
Ha nem egy régi barátról lett volna szó, nem tettem volna meg ekkora utat.

An expression appears in such sentences many times:

szó van valamiről / valakiről = it’s about something / someone

The preposition about is equal to these suffixes: -ról, -ről (according to vowel harmony).

Were it not for you… – Ha nem rólad lenne szó…
Were it not for Peter… – Ha nem Péterről lenne szó…

So the literal translation from Hungarian would be: If it weren’t about you…

APART FROM THE TOPIC ABOVE…

English allows the speaker to put the main and subordinate clauses in different conditions. So does Hungarian.

If you hadn’t offended her, she would help us now.
Ha nem sértetted volna meg, most segítene nekünk.

English has this solution, too: Hadn’t you offended her…However, Hungarian must always say: HA!

So much for if-clauses and conditional mood.

If-Clauses

If-clauses are sentences like:

Condition 0: If you come with me, I am happy.
Condition 1: If you come with me, I will be happy.
Condition 2: If you came with me, I would be happy.
Condition 3: If you had come with me, I would have been happy.

Such sentences can be real (condition 1), possible (condition 2), impossible (condition 3). And English makes a difference between Condition 0 and Condition 1. Hungarian doesn’t. Let’s see what the Hungarian translation of those sentences look like! The Hungarian equivalent of the IF conjunction is HA.

Cond 0: Ha velem jössz, boldog vagyok/leszek.
Cond 1: Ha velem jössz, boldog vagyok/leszek.
Cond 2: Ha velem jönnél, boldog lennék.
Cond 3: Ha velem jöttél volna, boldog lettem volna.

Furthermore, we should talk about tenses and moods. English uses Past Simple or Past Perfect after the if conjunction (subordinate clause), and Present Conditional or Past Conditional in the main clause. Let’s see a summary for Hungarian use!

Condition 1
> Hungarian uses Present Tense for both main and subordinate clauses.

Condition 2
> Hungarian uses Present Conditional for both main and subordinate clauses.

Condition 3
> Hungarian uses Past Conditional for both main and subordinate clauses.

In Hungarian you can also use Future Tense in the main clause for Condition 1. That’s why there is no distinction between Cond. 0 and Cond 1.

More examples:

CONDITION 0 AND 1
Ha szeretsz, elmondod.
If you love me, you tell me.

Ha nem tanulnak, megbuknak.
If they don’t learn, they‘ll fail.

CONDITION 2
Ha szeretnél, elmondanád.
If you loved me, you would tell me.

Ha nem tanulnának, megbuknának.
If they didn’t learn, they‘d fail.

CONDITION 3
Ha szerettél volna, elmondtad volna.
If you had loved me, you would have told me.

Ha nem tanultak volna, megbuktak volna.
If they hadn’t learned, they would have failed.

NOTE! Both versions of the substantive verb can be used in conditional clauses. Examples:

Ha gazdag lennék, Ferrarit vennék.
Ha gazdag volnék, Ferrarit vennék.
If I were rich, I would buy a Ferrari.

Use whichever you want.

And finally, note that there is always a comma between the main and subordinate clause even if  the sentence begins with the main clause.

Ha nem kelsz fel, elkésel. / Elkésel, ha nem kelsz fel.
If you don’t get up, you’ll be late. / You’ll be late if you don’t get up.

Next time we’ll learn how to say “Were it not for…” in Hungarian. Bye now! 🙂

Irregular Verbs in Conditional

The fun with the conditional mood is that even irregular verbs are not that irregular. But I think we should go through them nonetheless.

LENNI = TO BE
lesz: lennék, lennél, lenne, lennénk, lennétek, lennének
van: volnék, volnál, volna, volnánk, volnátok, volnának

MENNI, JÖNNI = TO GO, TO COME
megy: mennék, mennél, menne, mennénk, mennétek, mennének
jön: jönnék,  jönnél, jönne, jönnénk, jönnétek, jönnének

ENNI = TO EAT
Indef.: ennék, ennél, enne, ennénk, ennétek, ennének
Def.: enném, ennéd, enné, ennénk, ennétek, ennék

INNI = TO DRINK
Indef.: innék, innál, inna, innánk, innátok, innának
Def.: innám, innád, inná, innánk, innátok, innák

TENNI = TO DO,  TO PUT
Indef.: tennék, tennél, tenne, tennénk, tennétek, tennének
Def.: tenném, tennéd, tenné, tennénk, tennétek, tennék

VENNI = TO TAKE, TO BUY
Indef.: vennék, vennél, venne, vennénk, vennétek, vennének
Def.: venném, vennéd, venné, vennénk, vennétek, vennék

VINNI = TO BRING
Indef.: vinnék, vinnél, vinne, vinnénk, vinnétek, vinnének
Def.: vinném, vinnéd, vinné, vinnénk, vinnétek, vinnék

HINNI = TO BELIEVE
Indef.: hinnék, hinnél, hinne, hinnénk, hinnétek, hinnének
Def.: hinném, hinnéd, hinné, hinnénk, hinnétek, hinnék

The rest of the verbs we called irregular are actually regular. And as you see the verbs above, they are not that irregular, either. I just write the conjugation for nő and alszik because then you know sző, lő, ró, fekszik, nyugszik.

NŐNI = TO GROW
Indef: nőnék, nőnél, nőne, nőnénk, nőnétek, nőnének
Def: nőnék, nőnéd, nőné, nőnénk, nőnétek, nőnék

Nőni can be definite when a phrasal verb: kinőni

ALUDNI = TO SLEEP
Indef: aludnék, aludnál, aludna, aludnánk, aludnátok, aludnának
Def: aludnám, aludnád, aludná, aludnánk, aludnátok, aludnák

Aludni can be definite when a phrasal verb: kialudni

So much for irregular verbs. As I said, conditional mood is the easiest! Bye now. 🙂

Past Conditional

We will proceed like this: we discuss past conditional in this entry. In the next entry I’ll write is about irregular verbs and then if-clauses.

P A S T   C O N D I T I O N A L

Past conditional expresses a condition in the past :). The Hungarian past conditional is easy to form if you know how to form the indicative past tense.

All you need to do is to conjugate the verb in past tense and put the auxiliary verb VOLNA after it. ‘Volna’ is the 3rd PS conditional form of the substantive verb.

néztem + volna = I would have watched

Two examples for high and deep verbs:

NÉZ – TO WATCH
Indefinite / Definite:
néztem / néztem volna
néztél / nézted volna
nézett / nézte volna
néztünk / néztük volna
néztetek / néztétek volna
néztek / nézték volna

RAK = TO PUT
Indefinite / Definite:
raktam / raktam volna
raktál / raktad volna
rakott / rakta volna
raktunk / raktuk volna
raktatok / raktátok volna
raktak / rakták volna

The auxiliary verb volna and the main verb CANNOT BE SEPARATED!

I would have seen the movie.
Láttam volna a filmet. > CORRECT
Láttam a filmet volna. > INCORRECT

H O W   W O U L D   I   H A V E   B E E N?

It is an important question because there is no compound tense in Hungarian! English has compound tense: I have seen, I had seen…

The conjugation for VAN/LESZ is the same and that’s how you form the conditional past for them:

lettem volna – I would have been
lettél volna – you would have been
lett volna – he/she/it would have been
lettünk volna – we would have been
lettetek volna – you would have been
lettek volna – they would have been

So it’s just the past tense of lesz + volna!

Next time irregular verbs. Bye! 🙂

Conditional Mood Part 2

Last time we discussed indefinite conjugation, now it’s about the definite one.

Conditional mood definite conjugation:
-(e)ném, -(a)nám !!!
-(e)néd, -(a)nád
-(e)né, -(a)ná
-(e)nénk, -(a)nánk !!!
-(e)nétek, -(a)nátok !!!
-(e)nék, -(a)nák

NOTE! The 1st PS is different in definite conjugation. The 1st PP and 2nd PP forms are the same as for the indefinite conjugation!!!

ÉLNI = TO LIVE
élném
élnéd
élné
élnénk
élnétek
élnék

SZÜLNI = TO BEAR
szülném
szülnéd
szülné
szülnénk
szülnétek
szülnék

JÁRNI = TO WALK
járnám
járnád
járná
járnánk
járnátok
járnák

Examples for verbs in two consonants:
nyújt: nyújtanám, nyújtanád, nyújtaná, nyújtanánk, nyújtanátok, nyújtanák
rejt: rejteném, rejtenéd, rejtené, rejtenénk, rejtenétek, rejtenék
költ: költeném, költenéd, költené, költenénk, költenétek, költenék

Examples for verbs in -ít and in -t with long ű:
lazít: lazítanám, lazítanád, lazítaná, lazítanánk, lazítanátok, lazítanák
hűt: hűteném, hűtenéd, hűtené, hűtenénk, hűtenétek, hűtenék

CONCLUSION! As you see the conditional mood suffixes are the easiest ones. Not only are a number of irregular verbs regular when in conditional, the suffixes are also easy to remember.

Some sentences:

Nem tudnám megmondani.
I couldn’t tell.

Megírnám a levelet, de nem tudom, hova küldjem.
I would write the letter, but I don’t know where to send it.

Kijárnám a gimnáziumot, aztán dolgoznék.
I would graduate from high-school and then I would work.

Next time we’ll discuss some verbs like ‘to want, to like, would like…

DON’T with Imperative Mood

Sorry! I forgot about NE when we were still talking about imperative mood.

Expressing the fact that something is prohibited goes like this:

Ne = Don’t

2nd PS: Don’t say that. – Ne mondd ezt!

3rd PS: He’d better not say that. – Ne mondja ezt!

1nd PP: We shouldn’t say that. – Ne mondjuk ezt!

2nd PP: Don’t say that. – Ne mondjátok ezt!

3rd PP: They’d better not say that. – Ne mondják ezt!

And the 1st PS can go like this:

Most csináljam vagy ne csináljam?
Now I should do it or I shouldn’t do it?

Ne menjek veled?
Don’t you want me to go with you?

It’s always NE!

You use NE even if you use the adverb SOHA = NEVER!!! Double negation is a must in Hungarian.

Never say that again. – Soha többet ne mondd ezt!

Conditional Mood

Verbs in conditional mood express uncertainty or a sort of condition (surprise) 🙂

Two tenses are used for that: present and past

GOOD NEWS! Exceptional verbs and some otherwise irregular verbs are regular in conditional mood. However, the rules are:

-Verbs in two consonants
-Verbs in -ít
–Monosyllabic verbs in -t with long ű
take the conditional suffixes with a link vowel!

And of course the irregular verbs are:

van/lesz, megy, jön, eszik, iszik, tesz, vesz, hisz, visz

P R E S E N T   C O N D I T I O N A L

The general ending for present conditional is: -né (= would)

Formation: fut + -né + -k = futnék > I would run

Indefinite suffixes for conditional mood:
-(e)nék, -(a)nék !!!!!!!
-(e)nél, -(a)nál
-(e)ne, -(a)na
-(e)nénk, -(a)nánk
-(e)nétek, -(a)nátok
-(e)nének, -(a)nának

IMPORTANT! There is no special suffix for verbs with ö ő ü ű. And the 1st PS indefinite form is the same for both high and deep-vowel verbs!!!!

ÉLNI = TO LIVE
élnék
élnél
élne
élnénk
élnétek
élnének

SZÜLNI = TO BEAR
szülnék
szülnél
szülne
szülnénk
szülnétek
szülnének

JÁRNI = TO WALK
járnék !!!
járnál
járna
járnánk
járnátok
járnának

Example for verbs in two consonant:
nyújt: nyújtanék, nyújtanál, nyújtana, nyújtanánk, nyújtanátok, nyújtanának
rejt: rejtenék, rejtenél, rejtene, rejtenénk, rejtenétek, rejtenének
költ: költenék, költenél, költene, költenénk, költenétek, költenének

Example for verbs in -ít and in -t with long ű:
lazít: lazítanék, lazítanál, lazítana, lazítanánk, lazítanátok, lazítanának
hűt: hűtenék, hűtenél, hűtene, hűtenénk, hűtenétek, hűtenének

Some sentences:

Nem tudnék így énekelni.
I can’t sing like that. (literally: I couldn’t sing like that)

Írnék egy levelet neki, de nem tudom, hova küldjem.
I’d write him a letter, but I don’t know where to send it.

Sétálnál velem egyet a parkban?
Would you have a walk with me in the park?

Mondanának valamit, de nem beszélnek spanyolul.
They would say something, but they don’t speak Spanish.

So much for indefinite conditional. Bye now. 🙂

When do you use imperative mood?

I mean you use it when you give an order to someone to do something. But what other situation requires it? Well, usually when English uses these constructions:

1. indirect object + to + verb: He wants me to go.

2. for + indirect object + to + verb: It’s time for me to go.

These sentences could be said (if English used that solution) with subjunctive mood:

1. He wants that I go.

2. It’s time that I go.

When it comes to subjunctive mood, you use the conjunction THAT and you put the verb in subjunctive mood. However, as English verbs has no more than three forms, there is no suffix or ending which would show us it is that mood.

Hungarian, in turn, uses this subjunctive mood-like solution by saying the conjunction HOGY (=that) and putting the verb in imperative mood. So the two sentences above sound like this in Hungarian.

1. Azt akarja, hogy menjek. = He wants that I go. (me to go)

2. Ideje, hogy menjek. = It’s time that I go. (for me to go)

Let’s see a summary from another point of view:

me to go = that I go = hogy menjek

for me to go = that I go = hogy menjek

So me…go and for me… go is equal to I go and the to preposition is equal to the conjunction that.

CONCLUSION! Hungarian uses the HOGY conjunction + imperative mood when English uses (FOR) + INDIRECT OBJECT + TO + VERB.

Usually it comes to such sentences when a verb expresses desire (want, would like, demand, order, wish…) and with impersonal expressions (time to, impossible to…). Some more examples:

It’s time for us to tell our opinion.
Ideje, hogy elmondjuk a véleményünket.

It’s impossible for him to get there in time.
Lehetetlen, hogy időben odaérjen.

We’re almost finished with imperative mood. Next time we’ll see how to say: DON’T

Irregular Verbs in Imperative Mood Part 3

FŐNI = TO BOIL, TO BE COOKED
Indef.: főjön, főjenek
Def.: fője, főjék

Főni makes sense only in 3rd PS and 3rd PP!

VERBS IN D
They take one -D in imperative mood definite conjugation 2nd PS!
fed > fedd; ad > add; mond > mondd; tagad > tagadd; enged > engedd

VERBS IN T WITH A SHORT VOWEL
They take double -SS in imperative mood in all numbers/persons for both definite and indefinite conjugation!

Examples in 2nd PS indefinite:
fut > fuss; üt > üss; nevet > nevess; kutat > kutass

MONOSYLLABIC VERBS WITH A LONG VOWEL OR IN TWO CONSONANTS (if the last consonant is T)
They take -TS for imperative mood for all numbers/persons, in both definite and indefinite conjugation! The TS is spelled like double CCS in speech. Exception to this rule is LÁT which is a regular Group 1 verb!

Examples in 2nd PS indefinite:
fűt > fűts; műt > műts; ejt > ejts; gyújt > gyújts

As for conjugating verbs, we’re finished with imperative mood.