Imperative Mood Indefinite Conjugation

The general ending for imperative mood is: -j

Formation: indefinite 3rd PS verb + -j ending + suffix

kér + -j + -él > kérjél = (you had better) ask

Indefinite conjugation suffixes:
-jak, -jek
-j / -jál, -jél
-jon, -jen, -jön
-junk, -jünk
-jatok, -jetek
-janak, -jenek

NOTE! Verbs with ö ő ü ű take the -jön suffix in 3rd PS. The 2nd PS form can be just the -j for both high and deep verbs or you can use the longer versions -jál, -jél. It’s your decision. Examples:

ÉLNI = TO LIVE
éljek
élj / éljél
éljen
éljünk
éljetek
éljenek

SZÜLNI = TO BEAR
szüljek
szülj / szüljél
szüljön
szüljünk
szüljetek
szüljenek

JÁRNI = TO WALK
járjak
járj / járjál
járjon
járjunk
járjatok
járjanak

NO LINK VOWEL IS NEEDED FOR EITHER OF THE IMPERATIVE CONJUGATION FORMS!

Some sentences:

Soká éljen a király!
May the king live long!

Járjunk egyet a strandon!
Let’s have a walk on the beach.

Nem tudom, szüljek-e gyereket.
I’m not sure if I should have a child.

Next time definite conjugation. Bye now! 🙂

Moods And Imperative Mood

So far we’ve been talking about these topics:

present tense = jelen idő
past tense = múlt idő
future tense = jövő idő

And now it’s time to talk about moods. Hungarian has three moods. Here I give you the tenses you can use with the moods.

indicative: present, past, future
imperative: present
conditional: present, past

We’ve discussed present, past and future which are in indicative mood.

IMPERATIVE MOOD

First a small introduction to imperative mood.

The Hungarian term for imperative mood is: felszólító mód. As you see above, it can be expressed with one tense: present. Words in imperative mood have suffixes attached to them in all numbers/persons. Even for the 1st PS!

Some examples for what can be imperative:

Menj el! – Go away.
Hagyjatok békén! – Leave us alone.
Menjünk!  – Let’s go!
Jöjjenek! – They should come.
Ne kiabálj! – Don’t shout.

Hungarian imperative sentences always end with an exclamation mark!

The problem comes for a Hungarian student learning English when it’s about 1st PS, 1st PP, 3rd PS, 3rd PP. These forms are paraphrased in English, but have a suffix in Hungarian. Examples:

Vegyek kenyeret? – Shall I buy some bread?
Sétáljunk! – Let’s walk.
Beszéljen! – He should talk. / He‘d better talk.
Beszéljenek! – They should talk. / They’d better talk.

As the 3rd PS and 3rd PP also express the polite forms (Remember ő, ők ön, maga, önök, maguk), Beszéljen! and Beszéljenek! can also mean: You (sir) should talk. You (gentlemen) should talk.

The 1st PS form is used when English says ‘Shall I…?’ and in the following situation:

Menjek veled? – Shall I come with you?
Legyek szerényebb? – Shall I be more humble?
Azt akarja, hogy legyek szerényebb – He wants me to be more humble.

Note that in the last sentence you see the 1st PS imperative form of the substantive verb (legyek). English, however, simplifies such sentences (me to be), but it would be possible to use subjunctive mood (He wants that I be…)

THE HUNGARIAN SOLUTION in such sentences IS MORE LIKE THE NOT REALLY USED ENGLISH SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD!

You shouldn’t worry about the two terms: subjunctive and imperative mood. Let’s just say they’re the same in Hungarian. So in the next entry we’ll learn how to conjugate verbs in imperative mood.

Bye 🙂

Majd + Present Tense = Future Tense

This word is widely used when refering to the future. The construction is:

majd + present tense

Do not use future tense with majd. Such a form doesn’t exist.

It is used when I promise I’ll do something or I offer something I’d do with pleasure. It has a more casual and friendly tone to it then the paraphrased future tense.

Paraphrased: Meg fogom csinálni.
Majd: Majd megcsinálom.

The paraphrased sentence means: I’m definitely going to do it. The majd sentence means: I’ll do it (sometime).

More examples:

-Kitakarítottad a szobát? – Did you tidy up the room?
–Majd kitakarítom. – I‘ll tidy up later.
-Inkább majd én! – I‘ll do it!

But it also has a derogatory shade sometimes:

A leckédet meg majd én írom meg helyetted, nem?
And I’m doing your homework for you, right?

That’s all about future tense. Bye 🙂

Future Tense – fogni

In Hungarian there is no specific future tense you can form with suffixes. It is paraphrased like in English:

Menni fogok – I will go

It is formed with conjugated forms of the auxiliary verb FOG in present tense and the infinitive form of the main verb.

Indefinite conjugation:
Látni fogok egy filmet. – I will see a movie.
Látni fogsz egy filmet. – You will see a movie.
Látni fog egy filmet. – He/She will see a movie.
Látni fogunk egy filmet. – We will see a movie.
Látni fogtok egy filmet. – You will see a movie.
Látni fognak egy filmet. – They will see a movie.

Definite conjugation:
Látni fogom a filmet. – I will see the movie.
Látni fogod a filmet. – You will see the movie.
Látni fogja a filmet. – He/She will see the movie.
Látni fogjuk a filmet. – We will see the movie.
Látni fogjátok a filmet. – You will see the movie.
Látni fogják a filmet. – They will see the movie.

This construction cannot be separated: Látni a filmet fogom > WRONG.
However, it can be emphased: Fogom látni a filmet.

PRESENT INSTEAD OF FUTURE

Note that you have this possibility with the auxiliary verb ‘fog’, but many times present tense is used instead.

Gramatically correct: Holnap iskolába fogok menni.
Everyday speech: Holnap iskolába megyek.

So when can you use the paraphrased future tense? More or less when you can use ‘will’ in English.
1.  if an act happens in the really far future
2. to make a promise

1. Jövő ilyenkor Floridában fogok napozni.
This time next year I’ll be sunbathing in Florida.

2. Ne aggódj, meg fogom csinálni a kocsit.
Don’t worry, I will repair the car.

Note that if the main verb is a phrasal verb like in sentence 2 (megcsinál), then the verbal prefix is separated from the verb in future tense: meg fogom csinálni

Then again, you can also say: napozok, megcsinálom in the sentences above. You choose.

More next time about an adverb we use a lot to refer to the future. Bye now. 🙂

Past Tense and -lak, -lek

The -lak, -lek suffixes express that the 1st PS does something to the 2nd PS or 2nd PP with a transitive verb. We’ve already talked about it in present tense: látlak, nézlek…

What about the past tense? Well, it goes like this:

Put the verb in 3rd PS definite past tense form and add -lak or -lek according to vowel harmony!

Examples:

Látta. > Láttalak. – I saw you.

Nézte. > Néztelek. – I watched you.

Értette. > Értettelek. – I understood you.

Várta. > Vártalak. – I‘ve been waiting for you.

NOTE! The verb VÁR (to wait) can be transitive even if you talk about a person.

All right. We’re finished with past tense. Next time future tense.

What’s between Present and Past?

The answer is: Present Perfect. At least in English because Hungarian has a clear concept about present and past, so there is no transition. However, English has a transition between present and past expressed by the above-mentioned tense. It is not quite present and not quite past. An action expressed with Present Perfect begins in the past, continues in the present and maybe goes on in the future.

Let’s take a look at these sentences so that you understand what I mean:

Positive:
Már két napja olvasom a könyvet.
I’ve been reading the book for two days now.

Negative:
Már két napja nem olvastam a könyvet.
I haven’t been reading the book for two days.

The positive Present Perfect sentence is translated with present tense in Hungarian. The negative Present Perfect sentence is translated with past tense in Hungarian.

Or another example:

Négy éve nem láttalak. – I haven’t seen you for four years.

It doesn’t make any sense using present tense in Hungarian because if I haven’t seen someone for years, then the last time I saw that person was in the past. The past tense is the right choice in Hungarian and note that the sentence is negative (nem láttalak).

Summary:

Present Perfect positive = Hungarian present tense
Present Perfect negative = Hungarian past tense

Next time I’d like to talk about the -lak, -lek suffixes in past tense because I completely forgot about it. That will be the last entry about past tense. Bye now. 🙂

Past Tense – Irregular Verbs

Let’s see these verbs:

van, lesz, megy, jön, tesz, vesz, hisz, visz, eszik, iszik, nő, sző, lő, ró, (fő)

LENNI = TO BE, WILL BE
Only indefinite forms!
voltam         lettem
voltál            lettél
volt                lett
voltunk        lettünk
voltatok       lettetek
voltak           lettek

MENNI, JÖNNI = TO GO, TO COME
Only indefinite form!
mentem         jöttem
mentél            jöttél
ment                jött
mentünk        jöttünk
mentetek       jöttetek
mentek           jöttek

TENNI = TO PUT, TO DO
Indefinite: tettem, tettél, tett, tettünk, tettetek, tettek
Definite: tettem, tetted, tette, tettük, tettétek, tették

VENNI = TO BUY, TO TAKE
Indefinite: vettem, vettél, vett, vettünk, vettetek, vettek
Definite: vettem, vetted, vette, vettük, vettétek, vették

VINNI = TO BRING
Indefinite: vittem, vittél, vitt, vittünk, vittetek, vittek
Definite: vittem, vitted, vitte, vittük, vittétek, vitték

HINNI = TO BELIEVE
Indefinite: hittem, hittél, hitt, hittünk, hittetek, hittek
Definite: hittem, hitted, hitte, hittük, hittétek, hitték

ENNI = TO EAT
Indefinite: ettem, ettél, evett, ettünk, ettetek, ettek
Definite: ettem, etted, ette, ettük, ettétek, ették

INNI = TO DRINK
Indefinite: ittam, ittál, ivott, ittunk, ittatok, ittak
Definite: ittam, ittad, itta, ittuk, ittátok, itták

NOTE! The 3rd PS indefinite form for eszik is evett, for iszik is ivott. Furthmore, iszik is a deep-vowel verb!

NŐNI = TO GROW
Indefinite: nőttem, nőttél, nőtt, nőttünk, nőttetek, nőttek
Definite: nőttem, nőtted, nőtte, nőttük, nőttétek, nőtték

NOTE! It can have the definite suffixes as phrasal verb: kinőttem, kinőtted…

SZŐNI = TO WEAVE
Indefinite: szőttem, szőttél, szőtt, szőttünk, szőttetek, szőttek
Definite: szőttem, szőtted, szőtte, szőttük, szőttétek, szőtték

LŐNI = TO SHOOT
Indefinite: lőttem, lőttél, lőtt, lőttünk, lőttetek, lőttek
Definite: lőttem, lőtted, lőtte, lőttük, lőttétek, lőtték

RÓNI = TO NOTCH
Indefinite: róttam, róttál, rótt, róttunk, róttatok, róttak
Definite: róttam, róttad, rótta, róttuk, róttátok, rótták

FŐNI = TO BE COOKED, TO BOIL
Only indefinite 3rd PS and 3rd PP makes sense!
Indefinite 3rd PS: főtt
Indefinite 3rd PP: főttek

The -ik verbs alszik, nyugszik, fekszik are regular in the past tense: aludtam, aludtál…nyugodtam, nyugodtál…, feküdtem, feküdtél…

As for verbs in the past tense, we’re finished. However, there’s another topic we’ll have to talk about. This topic is a problem due to the concept English uses for tenses. More about it next time. Bye now! 🙂

Past Tense for Group 3 Verbs

So far we’ve been talking about Group 1 and Group 2 verbs, that is:

Group 1: regular verbs (where also the verb lát belongs to)

Group 2: verbs in two consonants, verbs in -ít, monosyllabic verbs with long ű in -t

GROUP 3 VERBS

Group 3 verbs take -ott, -ett, -ött in 3rd PS indefinite conjugation. Any other form whether indefinite or definite is regular. These verbs are:

Specifically these 5 verbs in -ad, -ed:
fogad – fogadott (to receive)
tagad  – tagadott (to deny)
szenved – szenvedett (to suffer)
enged – engedett (to allow)
téved – tévedett (to be wrong)

Any other verb ending in -ad, -ed simply takes -t in 3rd PS indefinite conjugation: ragadt, dagadt, szaladt, eredt, terjedt… > the dt at the end of these verbs is pronounced as double tt!

All verbs ending in -at, -et:
kutat – kutatott (to search)
nevet – nevetett (to laugh)

The verbs hív, szív and any other monosyllabic verb containing short i or long í or ending in two consonants:
hív – hívott (to call)
szív – szívott (to smoke)
tilt – tiltott (to forbid)
nyit – nyitott (to  open)

NOTE! These verbs are DEEP-VOWEL VERBS!

These 3 verbs:
mond – mondott (to say)
küld – küldött (to send)
kezd – kezdett (to start)

Other 3 verbs:
áll – állott, állt (to stand)
száll – szállott, szállt (to fly)
hull – hullott, hullt (to fall slowly)

NOTE! These 3 verbs can have two types of the 3rd PS indefinite form: with or without a link vowel. If you take my advice, you should use állt, szállt, hullt, hullott. The past tenses állott and szállott sound a bit antiquated.

SO ONE MORE TIME! These verbs:

– tagad, fogad, szenved, enged, téved
– all verbs in -at, -et
– hív, szív + monosyllabic verbs with long í or short i and/or ending in two consonants
– mond, küld, kezd
– áll, száll, hull

take the 3rd PS indefinite past tense form with a link vowel: -ott, -ett, -ött. The verbs áll, száll, hull can take -t, as well. The monosyllabic verbs with i, í are deep-vowel verbs.

So much for today. Bye now. 🙂

Definite Conjugation in Past Tense

The definite conjugation for past tense looks like this:

Group 1:
-(ot)tam, -(et)tem, -(öt)tem
-(ot)tad, -(et)ted, -(öt)ted
-(ot)ta, -(et)te, -(öt)te
-(ot)tuk, -(et)tük, -(öt)tük
-(ot)tátok, -(et)tétek, -(öt)tétek
-(ot)ták, -(et)ték, -(öt)ték

Like with the indefinite conjugation, the extended suffix with a link vowel and one more t are for Group 2 verbs. First Group 1 verbs:

NÉZNI = TO WATCH
néztem
nézted
nézte
néztük
néztétek
nézték

MELLŐZNI = TO NEGLECT
mellőztem
mellőzted
mellőzte
mellőztük
mellőztétek
mellőzték

RAKNI = TO PUT
raktam
raktad
rakta
raktuk
raktátok
rakták

You see that the 3rd PS definite form is the same for high verbs containing ö, ő, ü, ű in the last syllable and standard high verbs: nézte, mellőzte

Now let’s see some Group 2 verbs!

Monosyllabic verbs in -t / -ít: köt (to knit), aprít (to chop)
kötöttem, kötötted, kötötte, kötöttük, kötöttétek, kötötték
aprítottam, aprítottad, aprította, aprítottuk, aprítottátok, aprították

Verbs in two consonants: sejt (to suspect), gyújt (to light)
sejtettem, sejtetted, sejtette, sejtettük, sejtettétek, sejtették
gyújtottam, gyújtottad, gyújtotta, gyújtottuk, gyújtottátok, gyújtották

You see now we used suffixes with a link vowel and one more t, which you can see in brackets at the beginning of this entry.

NOTE! The verb LÁT (to see) is the only monosyllabic verb belonging to Group 1, so it takes no link vowel in past tense. Definite conjugation:

láttam, láttad, látta, láttuk, láttátok, látták

As for -ik verbs and verbs in -s, -sz, -z, all I can say is that they are not exceptional in past tense. What’s more, you’ve already seen a verb in -z and an -ik verb while reading this and the previous entry: néz, vesződik. The definite and indefinite conjugation for them are the same as for any other regular verb.

Next time we’ll learn some exceptions. Bye now! 🙂

Indefinite Conjugation in Past Tense

Indefinite conjugation for past tense:

Group 1:
-(ot)tam, -(et)tem, -(öt)tem
-(ot)tál, -(et)tél, -(öt)tél
-ott, -ett, -ött
-(ot)tunk, -(et)tünk, -(öt)tünk
-(ot)tatok, -(et)tetek, -(öt)tetek
-(ot)tak, -(et)tek, -(öt)tek

For now don’t get all confused about the brackets. We’ll need them for Group 2 verbs. First we’ll talk about Group 1 verbs.

Be careful with the 3rd PS form! It is: -ott, -ett, -ött. The ending -ött is used with verbs containing ö, ő, ü, ű in the last syllable: kötött, vesződött…

Let’s see some examples from Group 1.

LÉPNI = TO TAKE A STEP
léptem
léptél
lépett
léptünk
léptetek
léptek

VESZŐDNI = TO STRUGGLE
vesződtem
vesződtél
vesződött
vesződtünk
vesződtetek
vesződtek

RAKNI = TO PUT
raktam
raktál
rakott
raktunk
raktatok
raktak

As you see, lépni and vesződni are high-vowel verbs, so the only difference in their indefinite conjugation is the 3rd PS form: -ett, -ött.

NOTE! Verbs ending in J L N NY R take the 3rd PS indefinite suffixes with no link vowel! Examples:

fújt, énekelt, megszánt, hányt, várt

Let’s see some examples for verbs I mentioned in the previous entry!

Group 2:
Monosyllabic verbs in -t: köt (to knit), fut (to run)
kötöttem, kötöttél, kötött, kötöttünk, kötöttetek, kötöttek
futottam, futottál, futott, futottunk, futottatok, futottak

Verbs in two consonants: sejt (to suspect), gyújt (to light)
sejtettem, sejtettél, sejtett, sejtettünk, sejtettetek, sejtettek
gyújtottam, gyújtottál, gyújtott, gyújtottunk, gyújtottatok, gyújtottak

Verbs ending in -ít: lazítottam, segítettem, and so on…

Note! The verb LÁT (to see) is the only monosyllabic verb in -t that belongs to Group 1! So no link vowel is needed with this verb, except the 3rd PS form, of course.

láttam, láttál, látott, láttunk, láttatok, láttak

So the past tense endings also stay the same with the Group 2 verbs, but with a link vowel and one more t, which you can see in brackets at the beginning of this entry.

You have something to learn, again. More next time. Bye! 🙂