Past Tense

Like there is only one present tense in Hungarian, there is only one past tense. The one past tense is to be translated with one of the four past tenses in English. Sometimes with the present perfect, which we’ll talk about much later.

THE ENDINGS FOR THE PAST TENSE ARE: -t, -tt

Not to be confused with the -t accusative ending attached to nouns! Here’s an example how you form the past tense:

néz + -t + -em = néztem > I watched

So the formula is:

3rd PS indefinite form + -t or -tt ending + personal suffix

Verbs in the past tense can be divided into three groups:

Group 1:
Most verbs take the one -t past tense ending with no link vowel.
néztem, féltünk, láttak, vacsoráztál…

Group 2:
-Monosyllabic verbs ending in -ít (hajítottam, merítettem)
-Monosyllabic verbs in -t (kötöttem, futottam)
-Verbs ending in two consonants (fejtettem, nyújtottam)
take the double -tt past tense with a link vowel in all numbers/persons.

Group 3:
Some other verbs in need of a more detailed explanation.
fogad, tagad, enged, szenved, téved, hív, szív, mond, küld, kezd, áll, száll, hull

And of course, we’ll have to talk about those 16 irregular verbs.

You shouldn’t worry about those three groups. Only regular and “exceptional” verbs belong to them. They’re not specifically verbs you can call irregular.

So next time, indefinite conjugation in past tense. Bye now! 🙂

Expressing Future Acts and Acts in Progress

FUTURE ACTS

It shouldn’t be a surprise for a native English speaker. You also express future acts with the present continous tense.

I’m going to school tomorrow.

The Hungarian sentence is expressed with the only present tense we have:

Holnap iskolába megyek.

The Hungarian present tense is used to express future acts more often than the paraphrased future tense. If you know the present (with all its irregularities), you know the future!

Examples:

Egy óra múlva elmegyek.
I’m leaving in an hour.

Velem jössz?
Are you coming with me?

Még két évig dolgoznak a gyárban.
They’re working at the factory for two more years.

-Jössz? -Nem lehet. Öt perc múlva találkozok a barátommal.
-Are you coming? -I can’t. I’m going to meet my friend in five minutes.

ACTS IN PROGRESS

You can give tenses a continous aspect with this adverb: ÉPPEN. It means right now, at the moment. However, it is not necessary to use it. The present, past and future tenses can express continuity by themselves. Generally speaking, Hungarian verbs have a continous aspect until you fit them with a verbal prefix that expresses completeness.

Continous: Olvasom az újságot. – I’m reading the paper.
Complete: Elolvasom az újságot. – I’ll read the paper through.

Contious: Nézi a filmet. – He’s watching the movie.
Complete: Megnézi a filmet. – He watches the movie.

You can add ‘éppen’ to the continous sentences:

Éppen olvasom az újságot. Éppen nézi a filmet.

However, sometimes you can add éppen to verbs with complete aspect, too:

A rendőr éppen megfigyeli a rablót.
The policeman is watching the robber.

It is possible because ‘megfigyel’ describes an action by itself, a new meaning is given to ‘figyel’ by ‘meg’. And it doesn’t really express completeness in this case. As I said, you don’t have to use éppen to express something in progress.

Note that when you ask a question, éppen is placed after the verb: Mit csinálsz éppen? When answering, it can be at the beginning of the sentence separated from the verb: Éppen a blogomat írom.

AND WE’RE DONE WITH THE PRESENT TENSE!

Conjugation for fő and főz

It’s nothing to worry about. It just might be a source for confusion. I’m talking about these verbs:

FŐ = TO BE COOKED, TO BOIL

FŐZ = TO COOK

Only one z is the difference. The verb fő only makes sense in 3rd PS and 3rd PP indefinite conjugation. The verb főz is a regular high verb with the -öl suffix in 2nd PS indefinite conjugation because it ends in z. It can have the definite and indefinite conjugation.

FŐ = TO BE COOKED, TO BOIL
3rd PS fő
3rd PP főnek

FŐZ = TO COOK
Indef: főzök, főzöl, főz, főzünk, főztök, főznek
Def: főzöm, főzöd, főzi, főzzük, főzitek, főzik

Note the assimilation (as usual in this kind of conjugation) in 1st PP!

Examples:

A leves már fő. – The soup is already boiling.
Főnek a húsok. – The meats are being cooked.
Főzöd az ebédet? – Are you cooking the lunch?
Teát főzünk. – We’re making tea.

All right. Only a few more explanation about present tense and we’re done with it. See ya next time.

Some Words That Might Deceive You

Now I’ll snow you a few words that are written exactly or almost exactly like some English words. So the confusion is kind of foreprogrammed. You see the Hungarian words, their actual meaning in English and the brackets show what they shouldn’t be confused with.

hat > six (and it’s not a hat on your head)

here > testicle (and it’s not like: Come here!)

van > is, there is (and it’s not a vehicle)

most > now (and it’s not like: most of them)

jog > law, right (and it’s not like: I jog every morning)

fog > tooth (and it’s not the fog on a rainy day)

hold > moon (and it’s not like: I hold something)

nap > day, sun (and it’s not like: I take a nap)

had > army (and not like: I had no idea)

Fuss! > Run! (and it’s not like: I make a fuss)

is > also, too (and it’s not the 3rd PS of ‘to be’)

dug > to hide, to stick (and it’s not like: I dug up the whole garden)

sugár > ray, beam (and it’s not like: There’s no sugar in my tea)

And some more curiosity: there are some words which you can pronounce easier if you think of these words. You see the Hungarian word, then the actual meaning in English and the brackets show words you should think of to pronounce them easier.

hét > seven, week (hate)

rét > meadow (rate)

szék > chair (sake)

fék > brake (fake)

kék > blue (cake)

tép > to tear (tape)

fém > metal (fame)

Bye now! 🙂

Mixed Verbs with High and Deep Vowels

Mixed verbs have high and deep vowels in them. Verbs ending in -ít are typical mixed verbs.

It’s the same concept as for nouns:

short i / long í / e / é + deep vowel = deep verb

short i / long í / e / é + high vowel = high verb

Examples in 1st PS:

é, í + deep vowel: szállítok (I transport), csábítok (I seduce)

é, í + high vowel: sérülök (I get hurt),  szédülök (I feel dizzy)

More verbs in -ít: lendítek (I swing), öblítek (I rinse), szakítok (I tear), ásítok (I yawn)

Monosyllabic verbs containing short i or long í are deep-vowel verbs! Examples in 3rd PP:

nyitnak (they open)
szidnak (they scold)
sírnak (they cry)
hívnak (they call)
bírnak (they endure)
nyírnak (they trim)
szívnak (they smoke sg)
híznak (they get fatter)

These rules for mixed verbs are valid for both indefinite and definite conjugation. So mixed verbs are conjugated regularly. It’s just their “highness” or “deepness” that has to be decided upon.

Next time we’ll talk about the 16 irregular verbs in present tense. Bye now! 🙂

Definite Conjugation for “Exceptional” Verbs in -s, -sz, -z

We’ve discussed verbs in -s, -sz, -z and -ik verbs for the indefinite conjugation. What about the definite conjugation for such verbs?

I write about these verbs in the same entry because as you saw they have something in common when conjugated with the indefinite suffixes. They also have something in common with the definite suffixes. And that is:

ASSIMILATION

In the Hungarian language, assimilation means that the last consonant of the first word assimilates with the first consonant of the second word and this process results in DOUBLED consonants.

For exceptional verbs, this rule is valid for the 3rd PS, 3rd PP, 1st PP, 2nd PP forms! The consonants -s, -sz, -z assimilate with the j of these suffixes: -ja, -juk, -jük, -játok, -ják. As you see, we have to deal mainly with deep suffixes (-ja, -juk, -játok, -ják) and one high suffix (-jük).

Examples:

néz (to watch), les (to peep), tesz (to put)
ráz (to shake), mos (to wash), mászik (to climb)

With mászik we also have an -ik verb.

-JÜK:
néz + -jük = nézzük
les + -jük = lessük
tesz + -jük = tesszük

-JA:
ráz + -ja = rázza
mos + -ja = mossa
mász + -ja = mássza

-JUK:
ráz + -juk = rázzuk
mos + -juk = mossuk
mász + -juk = másszuk

-JÁTOK:
ráz + -játok = rázzátok
mos + -játok = mossátok
mász + -játok = másszátok

-JÁK:
ráz + -ják = rázzák
mos + -ják = mossák
mász + -ják = másszák

It seems a little bit complicated, but all you need is practising a lot and then it will be simple. 🙂

A little exercise if you feel like doing it. Replace the question mark with the right definite conjugation form.

úsz + -ja = ?

nyúz + -ják = ?

vés + -jük = ?

olvas + -játok = ?

nyes + -jük = ?

More next time. Bye! 🙂

Definite Conjugation + -LAK, -LEK

These are special suffixes only for the definite conjugation:

-lak, -lek

They are used with transitive verbs when the 1st PS form refers to the 2nd PS or 2nd PP! Think of them as:

I + transitive verb + you (sing. OR plur.)

Examples:

Szeretlek. – I love you.
Utállak. – I hate you.
Látlak. – I see you.
Nézlek. – I watch you.
Kérlek. – I ask you.

and so on…

As -lak, -lek can refer to both 2nd PS and 2nd PP, you can use the accusative pronouns if you want.

Szeretlek téged. – I love you.
Szeretlek titeket. – I love you (guys).

Of course, you can emphase the accusative pronouns:

Téged szeretlek.

Generally speaking, it is not necessary to add these accusative pronouns unless the context is ambiguous.

More next time.

Definite Conjugation – Present Tense

The definite conjugation is easier than the indefinite one. You don’t have to deal with issues the indefinite has.

SUFFIXES:

-(o)m, -(e)m, -(ö)m
-(o)d, -(e)d, -(ö)d
-ja, -i
-juk, -jük
-játok, -itek
-ják, -ik

1st and 2nd PS: you always need a link vowel for simple verbs and for verbs in two consonants, -ít and so on…

And the rest does not require any link vowel. You just attach the 3rd PS, 1st PP, 2nd PP and 3rd PP suffixes to the verb according to vowel harmony.

NOTE! The 3rd PS form has to be conjugated in definite form unlike the indefinite form.

ATTENTION! The ö link vowel only exists in 1st PS and 2nd PS!

Examples: vezetni (to drive), ölni (to kill), fogni (to take)

VEZETNI
vezetem
vezeted
vezeti
vezetjük
vezetitek
vezetik

ÖLNI
ölöm
ölöd
öli
öljük
ölitek
ölik

FOGNI
fogom
fogod
fogja
fogjuk
fogjátok
fogják

More next time.

Indefinite Conjugation for “Exceptional” Verbs in -s, -sz, -z

I wrote exceptional verbs and not irregular verbs because the verbs we’re about to learn are not really irregular. They just suffer a small change in the indefinite conjugation. I’m talking about:

VERBS IN -S, -SZ, -Z

The difficulty arises in the 2nd PS form because the usual suffix is -sz. It would be quite difficult to pronounce such words, so here is the solution:

Verbs in -s, -sz, -z take the suffixes -OL, -EL, -ÖL in 2nd PS indefinite conjugation!

Examples: lesni (to peep), mosni (to wash), nézni (to watch), rázni (to shake), tenni (to put), mászni (to climb)

Deep verbs 2nd PS indef.: mosol, mászol, rázol
High vebs 2nd PS indef.: lesel, teszel, nézel

Note that mászni is actually an -ik verb: mászom, mászol, mászik…

-IK VERBS

The -ik verbs end with the -ik suffix in 3rd PS indefinite conjugation (hence the name). These verbs have more special features:

-They take -m in 1st PS indefinite conjugation instead of -k.
-They take -ol, -el, -öl in 2nd PS indefinite conjugation just as those verbs in -s, -sz, -z do.

Examples: mosakszik (to wash), esik (to fall), öltözik (to dress up)

1st PS: mosakszom, esem, öltözöm
2nd PS: mosakszol, esel, öltözöl
3rd PS: mosakszik, esik, öltözik

The rest of the conjugation is regular.

Note that there are real and false -ik verbs. Real-ik verbs end in -s, -sz, -z: mosakszik, esik, fázik

Example for false -ik verb: tűnik (to seem, to appear). It ends in -n, so it’s a false -ik verb. You conjugate such verbs regularly: tűnök, tűnsz, tűnik…

Summary for Indefinite Conjugation

SUMMARY: rakni (to put), félni (to fear), ülni (to sit)

1st PS: -ok, -ek, -ök (rakok, félek, ülök)

2nd PS: -sz (raksz, félsz, ülsz)

3rd PS: NO SUFFIX (rak, fél, ül)

1st PP: -unk, -ünk (rakunk, félünk, ülünk)

2nd PP: -tok, -tek, -tök (raktok, féltek, ültök)

3rd PP: -nak, -nek (raknak, félnek, ülnek)

Verbs in two consonants, verbs ending in -ít and verbs with long ű ending in -t take the 2nd PS, 2nd PP and 3rd PP indefinite suffixes with a link vowel:

2nd PS: -asz, -esz (lazítasz, fűtesz, gyújtasz)

2nd PP: -otok, -etek, -ötök (lazítotok, sejtetek, fűtötök)

3rd PP: -anak, -enek (lazítanak, sejtenek, fűtenek)

Digest this first. Then there are a couple of things about indefinite conjugation.