Tag Archives: magyar nyelvtan

Tag Questions and Wondering If

TAG QUESTION, I WONDER

TAG QUESTION:
You’ll come, won’t you?
You’re not sleeping, are you?

Tag questions are translated with these words in Hungarian:

ugye? igaz? jó? nem? mi?

Tudsz hegedülni, ugye?
You can play the violin, can’t you?

Szerelmes vagy belém, nem?
You’re in love with me, aren’t you?

Szép vagyok, nem?
I’m beautiful, aren’t I?

Te nem iszol, ugye?
You don’t drink, do you?

Menj aludni, jó?
Go to bed, will you?

Együnk pizzát, jó?
Let’s eat pizza, shall we?

WONDERING:
When English uses the verb wonder or the conjunctions if, whether, then Hungarian only uses two words:

vajon, -e

The rule is this: use the particle -e when English says if/whether. Use vajon when English says Someone’s wondering if.

-e = if/whether
vajon = wondering if

Nem tudom, el jön-e.
I don’t know if he’s coming.

Nem figyeltük, hazudik-e.
We didn’t pay attention to whether he’s lying.

Nem tudja, elmegy-e vagy sem.
He doesn’t know whether or not to go.

Vajon eljön? – I wonder if he’s coming.

Vajon meg tudja csinálni?
I’m wondering whether he can do it.

NOTE! Fundamentally, the verb to wonder is expressed with an adjective in Hungarian:

kíváncsi = curious

So you can also say in positive sentences:

Kíváncsi vagyok, eljön-e.
Kíváncsiak vagyunk, meg tudja-e csinálni.

I put emphasis on positive sentences because kíváncsi in negative sentences might have a pejorative meaning.

Nem vagyok kíváncsi arra, hogy eljön-e.
I don’t really care if he’s coming.

Purpose Clause

PURPOSE CLAUSE

English says:

to, so as to, in order to, in order that, so that

Hungarian equivalent:

Azért…, hogy

Azért megyek más nővel, hogy féltékennyé tegyem.
I’m going with another woman in order that I make her jealous.

Azért dolgoztam keményen, hogy megvehessem a kocsit.
I’ve been working hard in order to buy the car.

Kivasaltam az inget, hogy ne legyen gyűrött.
I’ve ironed the shirt so that it would not crumpled.

Azért üvöltesz, hogy az idegeimre menj?
Are you shouting to get on my nerves?

Csak azért ne gyere el, hogy duzzogj egész idő alatt!
You shouldn’t come only to be sulking all the time.

Sometimes it is better to translate the Hungarian sentence in a different way:

Azért nem jön el, hogy ne lássa a lányt.
He’s not coming because he doesn’t want to see the girl.

Negation can be done like this: azért…, hogy ne = not to, so as not to, in order not to

Azért sietek, hogy el ne késsek.
I’ll hurry up so as not to be late.

Azért dorgáltalak meg, hogy többet ne csinálj ilyet.
I’ve reprimanded you so that you wouldn’t do anything like that again.

Note that verbs with prefixes can behave in two ways. In the first sentence you see ‘hogy el ne késsek’. You can also say ‘hogy ne késsek el’. The latter sounds neutral, whereas the first puts emphasis on your feelings. In the following examples the first sentence is neutral, the second expresses much more concern.

Azért kiabáltam az emeletről, hogy ne dobd ki a konzervdobozt.
Azért kiabáltam az emeletről, hogy ki ne dobd a konzervdobozt.
I shouted from upstairs so that you wouldn’t throw the tin can away.

Azért hazudok, hogy ne tudd meg az igazat.
Azért hazudok, hogy meg ne tudd az igazat.
I’m lying to you so that you wouldn’t know the truth.

The One Who

THE ONE WHO = AZ,  AKI…, …

As you see, the Hungarian equivalent is:

Az, aki…,… OR
Aki…, az…

Examples:

Aki délben napozik, az hamar leég.
Az, aki délben napozik, hamar leég.
The one who sunbathes at noon, will get a sunburn soon.

’Az’ and ’aki’ can vary depending on the sentence:

Aki embert öl, annak börtönbe kell mennie.
Annak, aki embert öl, börtönbe kell mennie.
The one who kills people has to go to jail.

Of course you can write different sentences similar to English:

The one who learns Hungarian is likely to be pretty ambitious.
Az, aki magyarul tanul, eléggé törekvő lehet.

He who learns Hungarian is likely to be pretty ambitious.
Az, aki magyarul tanul, eléggé törekvő lehet.

The person who learns Hungarian is likely to be pretty ambitious.
Az az ember, aki magyarul tanul, eléggé törekvő lehet.

The people who learn Hungarian are likely to be pretty ambitious.
Azok az emberek, akik magyarul tanulnak, eléggé törekvőek lehetnek.

Those who learn Hungarian are likely to be pretty ambitious.
Azok, akik magyarul tanulnak, eléggé törekvőek lehetnek.

Suffixes -vá, -vé – Translative Case

SUFFIXES -VÁ, -VÉ

The name of the grammatical case for these suffixes is: translative case

You already know how -val, -vel behaves when attached to a word ending with a consonant. > COMPLETE ASSIMILATION

gyerek + –vel = gyerekkel (with child)
asztal + –val = asztallal (with table)

The same happens to these suffixes: -vá, -vé. Take a look at it:

gyerek + –vé = gyerekké
asztal + –vá = asztallá

And what do these suffixes express? A simple answer would be: it is equivalent to the English preposition into. However, it has nothing to do with going into a place.

It indicates:
-a change
-someone/something turns into something else

Examples with the words above:

Szeretnék megint gyerekké válni.
I’d like to become a child again.

A hercegnő hirtelen asztallá változott.
The princess suddenly turned into a table.

As you see, English doesn’t always reflect the Hungarian method. There is no preposition equivalent to -vé in the first sentence. I guess you see the point, so more examples on the way:

Porrá zúzták az épületet.
The building has been smashed to dust.

A fiú férfivá érett.
The boy has become a man.

A lakberendező széppé varázsolta a lakásomat.
The decorator changed my flat into a beautiful place.

Kővé dermedtem az ijedtségtől.
I was petrified with fear.

Tedd magad hasznossá!
Do something useful.

–Mivé változott a herceg? –Békává.
-What did the prince become? –A frog.

The suffixes -vá, -vé are not to be confused with -va, -ve for condition!!!

Vocabulary – Playing with Words

Let’s play around with words now. I wrote the sentences below (however awkward they sound) to show you how stupid sentences you can say with homonyms. But not only homonyms. I also give the explanation where necessary.

A követ követ követ.
The ambassador is following a rock.

a követ = the ambassador > noun
kő = rock > accusative case = követ
követ = follows / is following > 3rd PS indefinite form
 ————————————————————————————————-
Annyi vitamint eszem, hogy jól működjön az eszem.
I eat much vitamin so that my mind works well.

eszem = I eat / I’m eating
eszem = my mind > plural of ész
————————————————————————————————-
Az állam intézkedéseitől leesik az állam.
The measures the state takes makes me drop my teeth.

Literally: Due to the measures of the state my chin falls.

állam = state > noun
állam = my chin > base word is áll = chin
————————————————————————————————-
„Azt akarom, hogy légy légy!” –mondta a varázsló.
’I want that you be a fly’, the wizard said.

légy = be > imperative mood, 2nd PS indefinite form
légy = fly > noun (animal, not the verb)

English can do the same joke with bee: Be a bee. LOL
————————————————————————————————-
A varázsló szavaira ott termett egy varázs ló.
On the wizard’s words a magic horse appeard.

varázsló = wizard > noun
varázs = magic > noun and adjective
ló = horse
————————————————————————————————-
A vár mindig ott lesz és vár.
The castle will always be there waiting.

vár = castle > noun
vár = (he/she/it) waits > 3rd PS indefinite form
————————————————————————————————-
A hegy hegye rendkívül hegyes.
The peak of the mountain is extremely sharp.

hegy = mountain; point, tip
hegyes = sharp, pointed

Actually the noun peak is csúcs, not hegy because hegy means the point of a knife or the tip of your nose. Everything for awkward sentences!
————————————————————————————————-
A legyező a földre esett, a szolga is, így már nem legyez ő.
The fan fell to the ground, so did the servant, and so he will no longer fan.

legyező = fan > noun
legyez ő = he’s fanning
————————————————————————————————-
Ha elkésel, megkésel.
If you’re late, he’ll stab you with a knife.

elkésel = you’re late > 2nd PS indefinite form of elkésik
megkésel = to stab sy with a knife > verb derived from kés = knife
————————————————————————————————-
A szerelem úgy nyilvánul meg az autóm felé, hogy szerelem.
Love shows itself to my car by my repairing it.

szerelem = love > noun
szerelem = I repair > 1st PS indefinite form of szerel = to repair
————————————————————————————————-
Ez a terem nem kert, így itt gyümölcs nem terem.
This room is not a garden, so no fruit grows in here.

terem = room
terem = grows / is growing (fruits, vegatables)
————————————————————————————————-
Hová mész? Nekem kell az a vödör mész!
Where are you going? I need that bucket of whitewash.

mész = you’re going
mész = whitewash, lime
————————————————————————————————-
-Holnap megmásszuk a hegyet! –Másszuk meg most!
-Tomorrow we’re going to climb the mountain. –Let’s climb it now.

másszuk = we climb / let’s climb
————————————————————————————————-
A szám ötöst formál, ami egy szám.
My mouth forms five which is a number.

szám = my mouth > possessive form of száj
szám = number
————————————————————————————————-
A fog akkor fog, ha egészséges.
The tooth grabs if it’s healthy.

fog = tooth
fog = to take, to grab
————————————————————————————————-
A hatalom nem egyenlő a hat alommal.
Power is not the same as six litters.

hatalom = power, authority
hat alom = six litters
————————————————————————————————-
A javítási ár attól függ, mekkora az ár.
The price of repair depends on how big the flood is.

ár = price; flood
————————————————————————————————-
Az esernyő nem ugyanaz, mint a képernyő.
An umbrella is not the same as a screen.

esernyő = umbrella
képernyő = screen, display, monitor
————————————————————————————————-
Tette tette őt tettessé!
His deed made him an offender.

tette = his deed > possessive form of tett = deed
tette = made > past tense of tesz
————————————————————————————————-
Hogy mennyit ér az ép ér, csak akkor tudod meg, ha már nincs benned vér.
You only know how much a healthy vein is worth when there’s no blood in you anymore.

ér = vein
ér = is worth

By the way, ér also means these: brooklet, to reach
————————————————————————————————-
-És ő mit mondott? –Azt, hogy…ő…már nem emlékszem.
-What did he say? –Well…erm… I don’t remember.
————————————————————————————————-
Az idei év tele tele volt meglepetésekkel.
The winter of this year was full of surprises.

tele = the winter of > possessive form of tél
tele = full of
————————————————————————————————-
Ősz volt, amikor észrevette, hogy ősz lett.
It was aumtumn when he realized he turned grey.

ősz = autumn
ősz = grey
————————————————————————————————-
Hova lett az a kedves lett nő?
Where’s that nice Latvian woman gone?

lett = became (in this case: gone, disappeared)
lett = Lettish, Latvian
————————————————————————————————-
A mentő a partra ment, mert ott valaki életet ment.
The ambulance went to the shore because someone is saving a life there.

ment = went > past tense of megy
ment = saves > 3rd PS indefinite form
————————————————————————————————-
Ily remek íj már nem is létezik.
Such a great bow doesn’t exist anymore.

ily = such a
íj = bow

They’re not homonyms, but sound alike. The pronoun ily is an old form of ilyen.
————————————————————————————————-
A lét a pénztől függ, szóval adj egy kis lét!
Existence depends on money, so give me some green stuff.

lét = existence
lét = sland for money > accusative case of lé
————————————————————————————————-
Kora reggel aggódik a színésznő a kora miatt.
Early in the morning the actress is worried about her age.

kora = early > synonym for korán
kora = her age
————————————————————————————————-
A ügyfél fél, hogy csak fél végkielégítést kap.
The client is afraid of only getting half severance pay.

ügyfél = client
fél = is afraid
fél = half
————————————————————————————————-
Akkora a dugó, hogy egy dugó sem férne el a kocsik között.
The jam is so big that not even a stopper couldn’t have room between the cars.

dugó = traffic jam
dugó = stopper (for the bath-tub)
————————————————————————————————-
A tér még tele van, mert a tömeg nem tér haza.
The square is still full because the crowd won’t return home.

tér = square
tér = to return
————————————————————————————————-
A jobboldali kormány nem akarja balra tekerni a kormányt.
The right-wing government will not turn the steering wheel to the left.

kormány = government
kormány = steering wheel > accusative = kormányt
————————————————————————————————-
Az ír férfi jól ír japánul.
The Irish man is good at writing in Japanese.
————————————————————————————————-
A női nem gyakran az mondja: Nem!
The gentle sex often says: No!

nem = sex, gender, species
nem = no
————————————————————————————————-
A nő összezárta a lábát, hogy a méh nem csípje meg a méhét.
The woman closed her legs so that the bee doesn’t sting her womb.

méh = bee
méh = womb > possessive in accusative = méhét

Causation – Műveltetés

CAUSATION

The Hungarian term for causation is: műveltetés. This word is a causation in itself! Watch this:

művel + -tet + -és = műveltetés
to do + to cause + -ation = causation

Hungarian verbs are made causative with the suffixes. These suffixes do not require any link vowel.

-at, -et, -tat, -tet

English expresses causation with these verbs: to make, to cause, to get, to have sg done.

Now the question arises: Is there a difference between -at, -et and -tat, -tet? Sure there is! 🙂

GROUP 1
-Generally speaking, all Hungarian verbs
–Verbs ending in two consonants
-The V-verb lő
> take the suffixes -AT, -ET in causation.

rakat – get sy to put
mondat – make sy say
várat – keep sy waiting
ölet – get sy to kill sy
sejtet – suggest, foreshadow
lövet – to bomb (literally: have sg shot OR make sy shoot sg)

NOTE! The verbs lövet and sejtet are NOT CAUSATIVE verbs in English!

GROUP 2
-The verbs vesz, hisz, visz
-The -ik verbs
> take the suffixes -TAT, -TET in causation.

eszik – etet > to feed
iszik – itat > to give sg to drink
alszik – altat         > to put sy to sleep
nyugszik – nyugtat > to calm sy down
fekszik – fektet > to get sy to bed; to lay down
tűnik – tüntet > to make a demonstration
vesz – vetet > to get sy to buy
hisz – hitet > make sy believe
visz – vitet > to get sy to bring

GROUP 3
-The verb tesz
> can take both the suffixes -ET and -TET in causation! It is because tesz has two different meanings: to put, to do

If it means to put, it takes: -et > tetet = to get sy to put
If it means to do, it takes: -tet > tettet = to pretend

John odateteti Ádámmal a széket. – John has Adam put the chair over there.
John tetteti, hogy beteg. – John pretends to be ill.

GROUP 4
-Two verbs not in need of causation in Hungarian:

elejt = to let sg fall
elenged = to let sy go

Elejtettem a tollam. – I let my pen fall.
Engedje el a túszokat! – Let the hostages go.

GROUP 5
rávesz = to persuade
kényszerít = to force

A fiú rávette a lányt egy csókra.
The boy persuaded the girl to kiss him.

Emiatt a lány arra kényszerítette a fiú arcát, hogy az öklébe essen.
That made the girl force the boy’s face to fall in her fist.

These sentences show two Hungarian verbs in causation, but English can have three in the case of ’that made’. The expression ’that made’ is translated as:

emiatt = because of this

The words emiatt, amiatt, miatt can also be translated in English as: to cause sy to. However, it is not always a good solution.

His anger caused him to strangle the woman.
Dühében megfojtotta a nőt.

The literal Hungarian translation is: In his anger he strangled the woman.

GROUP 6
Verbs that definitely CANNOT SUFFER CAUSATION:
-the substantive verbs: van, lesz
-these two verbs expressing motion: jön, megy
-V-verbs: nő, sző, ró (except lő!)

IMPORTANT! I’ve mentioned before that the verb rí is an almost extinct verb because sír is used instead. That statement is still as true as it can be. However, when it comes to causation, rí is used in this form: ríkat = make sy cry

It’s important since sír also has a causative form: sirat = to bewail, to mourn

A szerelmes történetek megríkatják a nőket.
Love stories make women cry.

Az anya siratja a fiát.
The mother is mourning his son.

Of course, causative verbs can be conjugated in indefinite and/or definite conjugation depending on what the verb means. They can be put in past tense, conditional mood, imperative mood, as well.

When in imperative mood, the final t of the suffixes -at, -et, -tat, -tet becomes double ss!

sirassa, etesse, lövesse, tetesse / tettesse, altassa…

The person you get to do something is in instrumental case in Hungarian, that is you use the suffixes -val, -vel.

Megcsináltatom vele a kocsit. – I’ll have him repair the car.
Idehozatja velük a bort. – He has the wine brought by them over here.

Verbal Noun – Condition – Határozói igenév

”CONDITION” PARTICIPLE

This is a typical Hungarian form of expressing a condition. It can be translated with past participle, or the -ing ending. It expresses a mood, condition of some sort. Formation:

High-vowel: van/vannak + 3PS indefinite conjugation + -ve
Deep-vowel: van/vannak + 3PS indefinite conjugation + -va
Negation only with NINCS/NINCSENEK in present tense!!!

Meg vagyok fázva.
I have a cold.

A bolt nyitva/zárva van.
The shop is open/closed.

A dolog még nincs elintézve.
The matter hasn’t been settled yet.

Nevetve szaladt a barátaihoz.
He was running up to his friends laughing.

Sírva mondta el, mi történt vele.
She told what happened to her crying.

Be careful! English would say ’The shop is closed”, that is it uses past participle.

Don’t use Hungarian past participle in such sentences!

Unfortunately, the media are full of this crap. They use past participle instead of the proper Hungarian condition form (adverbial noun) due to the influence of foreign languages. The most common mistakes:

1. A bűnössége még nem bizonyított.
His guilt is not proved yet.

2. …melynek ténye még nem igazolt.
…the fact of which is not verified yet.

3. Az ügy még nem elintézett.
The matter is not settled yet.

As you see, there’s no problem with the English sentences. The problem is the Hungarian sentences using past participle like English. Why is it a huge problem? Because it sounds unnatural. Typical sentences for those who think they’re really smart and they prove not to be by saying nonsense like that. We understand what they’re getting at, but the actual meaning of the Hungarian sentences above is:

1. His guilt hasn’t proved anything yet.
2. …the fact of which hasn’t verified anything yet.
3. (I would say it can’t be even translated, complete nonsense)

The proper Hungarian sentences should be as follows:

1. A bűnössége még nincs bizonyítva.
2. …melynek ténye még nincs igazolva.
3. Az ügy még nincs elintézve.

Or you can use 3rd PP form as ”passive sentence”.

1. A bűnösségét még nem bizonyították.
2. …melynek tényét még nem igazolták.
3. Az ügyet még nem intézték el.

These sentences can be said in the wrong way because we don’t really feel them as a condition, so the media make their mistakes. But take a look at these sentences:

1. A bolt nyitva van. – The shop is open.
2. A bolt nyitott. – The ship is opened.

Nobody would make the mistake saying the second one: A bolt nyitott.

1. A bolt nyitva van. > it means that it is time to go shopping, you can enter the building because the doors are open. = CONDITION

2. A bolt nyitott. > it means maybe the shop has a roof that can be opened. = The shop is opened = QUALITY, CHARATERISTIC, FEATURE of the shop

Verbal Nouns – Future Participle – Beálló melléknévi igenév

FUTURE PARTICIPLE

The origins of this method reaches back to the old times of the Hungarian language. Originally, it was used to express future tense, but during the centuries it had lost its true function. Nowadays people use it when something is yet to be done. It has an adjectival or subjective function. English equivalent: to be + past participle. Formation:

High-vowel: 3PS indefinite conjugation present tense+ -endő
Deep-vowel: 3PS indefinite conjugation present tense+ -andó

Examples:

elolvas + -andó = elolvasandó
tesz + -endő = teendő (IRREGULAR!)
kidob + -andó = kidobandó
lesz + -endő = leendő (IRREGULAR!)

az elolvasandó könyv – the book to be read
Mi a teendő? – What is to be done?
Az árú egy év után kidobandó. – The goods are to be thrown away after a year.
A leendő férjem gazdag. – My future husband is rich.

IRREGULAR VERBS IN FUTURE PARTICIPLE

lesz – leendő > future, to-be
tesz – teendő > (things) to be done
vesz – veendő > (things) to be bought
jön – jövendő > coming, (things) to come

Verbal Nouns – Past Participle – Múlt idejű melléknévi igenév

PAST PARTICIPLE

Hungarian past participle is formed like this:

sétált – walked
látott – seen
evett – eaten

Summary:

High-vowel: 3PS indefinite conjugation + -t, -tt
Deep-vowel: 3PS indefinite conjugation + -t, -tt
+ plural suffix -k if needed + accusative suffix -t if needed
If you need a link vowel: -ett, -ött, -ott

AS ADJECTIVES

számozott házak – numbered houses
az étteremben megevett étel – the food eaten in the restaurant
az űrbe fellőtt rakéta – the rocket launched in space
múlt idő – past tense (literally: passed tense)

AS NOUNS

A meghívottak jól szórakoztak.
The invited were having a great time.

A látottak alapján nem lesz ünneplés.
From what I saw there will be no celebration.

A hallottakból ítélve kedveli Japánt.
Judging from what I heard he likes Japan.

REPLACING VERBS

A diákok által látogatott iskola…
The school attended by the students…
Az iskola, amit a diákok látogatnak…
The school the students are attending…

Az eladó által eladott áruk…
The goods sold by the shop assistant…
Az áruk, amiket az eladó eladott…
The goods the shop-assistant have sold…

Verbal Nouns – Present Participle – Jelen idejű melléknévi igenév

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

Hungarian present participle is formed like this:

éneklő – singing
járó – going
evő – eating

Summary:

High-vowel: 3PS indefinite conjugation + -ő
Deep-vowel: 3PS indefinite conjugation + -ó

AS ADJECTIVE

helytálló meglátás – appropriate observation
kiabáló gyerek – shouting child
szenvedő szerkezet – passive voice
bejövő hívás – incoming call

Sometimes it is not possible to translate a present participle verb with -ing: helytálló – appropriate.

AS NOUN

A futó nagyon gyors. – The runner is very fast.
A bemondó mindig késik. – The announcer is always late.
A vevő szüntelenül panaszkodik. – The customer keeps complaining.

REPLACING VERBS

kutyát ábrázoló kép
a photo illustrating a dog
A kép, ami a kutyát ábrázolja…
The photo that illustrates the dog…

az iskolát látogató diákok
the students attending the school
A diákok, akik az iskolát látogatják…
The students who are attending the school…

a környéken lakó emberek
the people living in the neighbourhood
Az emberek, akik a környéken laknak…
The people who live in the neighbourhood…

a versenyben résztvevő játékosok
the contestants joining the race
A játékosok, akik a versenyben részt vesznek…
The contestants who join the race…

NOTE! You can make a present participle verb accusative, dative, plural and so on if needed.

Látom a vevőt.
I see the customer.

A tanulónak ötöst adok.
I give the student an A.

A látogatókkal beszélgetünk.
We’re talking to the visitors.

A lakók tele vannak gonddal.
The tenants have a lot of problems.

A résztvevőkben nem csalódtam.
I wasn’t disappointed in the contestants.