Tag Archives: hungarian language

Modal Verbs / kell

KELL = HAVE TO, MUST, NEED TO

If it takes the infinitive form, then it is a general reference to someone, something. If it takes the infinitive with personal suffixes, it specifically refers to someone, something. Anyway, it expresses obligation.

Formation: This verb may require the dative pronouns, but it is not mandatory. It takes the main verb in its infinitive form either with personal suffixes or not:

 NEKEM + KELL + INFINITIVE VERB

 Present: kell Past: kellett Future: kell majd

PRESENT
Ennyi munka után enni kell.
After so much work one has to eat.
Ennyi munka után enned kell.
After so much work you have to eat.

PAST
Ennyi munka után enni kellett.
After so much work one had to eat.
Ennyi munka után enned kellett.
After so much work you had to eat.

FUTURE
Ennyi munka után enni kell majd.
After so much work one will have to eat.
Ennyi munka után enned kell majd.
After so much work you will have to eat.

See the difference? If there’s a simple infinitive of the main verb, it refers to something generally. With an infinitive conjugated, it refers to something/somebody specifically. I know I keep saying the same, but I think it is important.

Look at the diversity of the English use when it comes to obligation:

Tudnom kell. – I need to know.
Mennem kell. – I must go.
Enned kell valamit. – You should eat something.

Korán kell kelnünk, hogy el ne késsünk.
We have to get up early so that we’re not late.

NOTE! It’s important that you don’t conjugate kell like in English. You conjugate the infinitive of the main verb and leave kell as it is.

If you talk about a specific person or thing, you have to use the suffixes -nak, -nek! Example:

A barátomnak tízkor meg kell érkeznie.
My friend should arrive at ten.

Ahogy látom, a kutyának sürgősen orvoshoz kell mennie.
As I see, the dog must go to a doctor urgently.

I didn’t mention the conditional form of kell because it is translated with should in English. More about that next time.

Modal Verbs / More About Lehet

We’ve seen how lehet takes the infinitive when talking about general statements.

Le lehet ülni a padra is .
One can sit down on the bench, too.

What if you want to specify the person with lehet? Then you can do this:

To specify the person, you should use something you already know: -hat, -het.

Leülhetek a padra. – I can/may sit down on the bench.
Leülhetünk a padra. – We can/may sit down on the bench.

However, lehet has another function, as well. It has a meaning equal to maybe, perhaps. It is expressed with hogy-clauses. The conjunction hogy is equal to the English that.

Lehet, hogy később kelek fel.
Maybe I’ll get up later.

Lehet, hogy nincs otthon.
Perhaps he’s not at home.

The synonyms are: talán (which really means maybe) and lehetséges, hogy (possible)

Talán nincs otthon. – Maybe he‘s not at home.
Lehetséges, hogy nincs otthon. – It is possible that he‘s not at home.

If you deny lehet, hogy it simply becomes: nem lehet, hogy. Take a look at these sentences:

Nem lehet, hogy otthon van.
It is not possible that he’s at home.

Nem lehet, hogy nincs otthon.
It is not possible that he‘s not at home.

NOTE! Since talán literally means maybe, perhaps, it doesn’t require hogy. And so it is simply denied like this:

Talán nem/nincs…

Talán nem tud róla.
Maybe he doesn’t know about it.

Talán nincs Internet a munkahelyén, és ezért nem írt.
Maybe there’s no Internet where he works and that’s why he didn’t write.

So far we’ve been talking about modal verbs that express permission, possibility. Next time we’ll deal with kell, kellene.

Bye now 🙂

Modal Verbs / lehet

LEHET

Equivalent: may, might, to be allowed, maybe. It requries the infinitive.

However, it can be translated or even not translated depending on certain idiomatic expressions. Take a look at the Present Tense example:

is to be had = lehet kapni

Hungarian literally says: one can get

PRESENT
Lehet kapni még azt a könyvet?
Is that book still to be had?

PAST
Lehetett beszélni a főnökkel is.
One could talk even to the director.

FUTURE
Lehet majd napozni a strandon.
You can sunbathe on the beach.

PRESENT CONDITIONAL
Lehetne többet tudni a filmről?
May I know more about the movie?

PAST CONDITIONAL
Lehetett volna szebb szekrényt is rendelni.
A nicer cupboard could have been ordered.

More examples:

Akkoriban nem lehetett ilyesmit mondani.
At that time you weren’t allowed to say things like that.

Hogy lehetne elérni, hogy békén hagyjon?
How can we get him to leave us alone?

As you see it is not mandatory for the infinitive to follow lehet. You can insert the rest of the information between lehet and the infinitive or not. Topic-prominent aspect, that is it’s your choice. Take a look at this example whose English translation is:

One can/may say counter-arguments, too.

Ellenérvet is lehet mondani.
Lehet mondani ellenérvet is.
Lehet ellenérvet is mondani.

Next time I’ll write more about lehet because it has more functions than what you see above. Bye now 🙂

Modal Verbs / Conjugating The Infinitive

I bring up this topic in this part of the grammar because you (might) need to conjugate the infinitive with certain modal verbs: szabad, kell, kellene, tilos. These verbs and adjectives have an impersonal aspect to them, meaning they don’t refer to anything/anyone specifically, but only in general sense.

That’s why you need to conjugate the infinitive. The infinitive itself refers to things/people generally. By conjugating it, you can specify who/what it should refer to.

NOTE! The conjugation for both definite and indefinite aspect is the same with the infinitive.

Suffixes for deep verbs:
-om
-od
-ia
-unk
-otok
-iuk

Suffixes for high verbs:
-em, -öm
-ed, -öd
-ie
-ünk
-etek, -ötök
-iük

You just remove the i from the infinitive form and add the suffixes above: látni > látnom

DEEP VERB: látni
látnom
látnod
látnia
látnunk
látnotok
látniuk

HIGH VERB: nézni, ülni
néznem, ülnöm
nézned, ülnöd
néznie, ülnie
néznünk, ülnünk
néznetek, ülnötök
nézniük, ülniük

Furthermore, you can add the dative pronouns if you want. When talking about people, things, you (might) need the suffixes -nak, -nek.

Examples:

Meg szabad nézni a filmet.
One is allowed to watch the movie.
(Nekünk) Meg szabad néznünk a filmet.
We are allowed to watch the movie.

Mindig meg kell mondani az igazat.
One always has to tell the truth.
(Neked) Mindig meg kell mondanod az igazat.
You always have to tell the truth.

Aludni kellene, késő van.
One should sleep. It’s late.
(Nekik) Aludniuk kellene, késő van.
They should sleep. It’s late.

Tilos az öltözőbe bemenni.
One must not enter the dressing-room.
(Neki) Tilos az öltözőbe bemennie.
He must not enter the dressing-room.

A kisgyerekeknek tilos ilyen filmet nézniük.
Small children must not watch such movies.

A bicikliknek a járdán kell parkolniuk.
Bycycles have to park on the sidewalk.

Keep learning. Bye now! 🙂

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.