Tag Archives: verb

Word Formation – Verbs

VERB FROM VERB

-at, -et, -tat, -tet = causative
iszik – to drink > itat – to give sy to drink
elhisz – to believe > elhitet – to make believe

-kodik, -kedik, -ködik = reflexive
mos – to wash > mosakodik – to (have a) wash
ver – to beat > verekedik – to fight with

-kozik, -kezik, -közik = reflexive
épít – to build > építkezik – to have a house built
ajánl – to offer > ajánlkozik – to offer oneself for

-ódik, -ődik = reflexive
vonz – to attract > vonzódik – to feel attracted

-ó(d)zik, -ő(d)zik = reflexive
fenyeget – to threaten > fenyegető(d)zik – to keep threatening

-hat, -het = to be allowed to
eszik – to eat > ehet – he/she can eat
áll – to stand > állhat – he/she can stand

-gat, -get, -gál, -gél = frequentative
húz – to drag > huzogat – to keep dragging
nevet – to laugh > nevetgél – to laugh heartily

-dos, -des, -dös = frequentative
lök – to push > lökdös – to jostle
csap – to hit > csapdos – to keep hitting

-kod, -ked, -köd = frequentative
lép – to step > lépked – to go stepwise
csap – to hit > csapkod – to keep beating

-dogál, -degél, -dögél = frequentative
ül – to sit > üldögél – to be sitting around
áll – to stand > álldogál – to be standing around

-ál = frequentative
mászik – to climb > mászkál – to roam about 

-n, -an, -en = momentary
villan – to flash
zörren – to rattle

-ll = momentary
szökell – to caper

-int = momentary
suhint – to flick

-d, -dul, -dül = momentary
mozog – to move > mozdul – to make a move
forog – to turn > fordul – to turn around

-l = inchoative
szédül – to feel dizzy

Word Formation – Verbs from Nouns and Adjectives

VERB FROM NOUN

-oz(ik), -ez(ik), -öz(ik) = verbs in z, -ik verbs
név – name > nevez – to name, to call
hab – foam > habozik – to hesitate

-kodik, -kedik, -ködik = -ik verbs
kertész – gardener > kertészkedik – to work in one’s garden
jogász – lawyer > jogászkodik – to work as a lawyer

-ász(ik), -ész(ik) = -ik verbs
vadász – hunter > vadászik – to hunt
egér – mouse > egerészik – to hunt mice

-ít = to get into action
tan – doctrine > tanít – to teach
béke – peace > békít – to conciliate

-l, -ol, -el, -öl = to act somehow
gáncs – obstacle > gáncsol – to trip sy up
szék – chair > székel – to reside
böjt – fast > böjtöl – to (keep) fast

VERB FROM ADJECTIVE

-kodik, -kedik, -ködik = -ik verbs
érzelgős – sentimental > érzelgősködik – to be sentimental
bátor – brave > bátorkodik – take the liberty of

-ít = to turn sg into sg
kék – blue > kékít – to (paint) blue
ronda – ugly > rondít – to make sy ugly

-l, -ol, -el, -öl = to act somehow
helyes – right, proper > helyesel – to approve of

-ll, -all, -ell = to act somehow
rossz – bad > rosszall – to disapprove of

Word Formation – Adjective from Verb

ADJECTIVE FROM VERB

-(a)tlan, -(e)tlen = the lack of sg
enged – to allow > engedetlen – disobedient
árt – to harm > ártatlan – innocent

-talan, -telen = the lack of sg
szűnik – to cease > szüntelen – unceasing
nyugszik – to rest > nyugtalan – unquiet, uneasy

-ékony, ékeny = characterizing an action
változik – to change > változékony – variable
félt – to fear for sy > féltékeny – jealous

-atag, -eteg = characterized by action
pöffeszkedik – to be conceited > pöfeteg – conceited
hallgat – to keep silence > hallgatag – taciturn

-ós, -ős = has an active sense to it
kap – to get > kapós – popular, much in demand
fél – to fear > félős – timid

ADVERB OF MANNER FROM ADJECTIVE

-n, -on, -en, -ön = mode, condition
csúnya – ugly > csúnyán – nastily
ügyes – clever > ügyesen – adetply

-lag, -leg = mode, condition
baráti – friendly > barátilag – in a friendly way
elvi – of principle > elvileg – theoretically

-l, -ul, -ül = mode, condition
jó – good > jól – well
német – German > németül – in German
rossz – bad > rosszul – badly

Word Formation – Nouns from Adjectives and Verbs

NOUN FROM ADJECTIVE

-ság, -ség = collective noun
szép – beautiful > szépség – beauty
bátor – courageous > bátorság – courage

NOUN FROM VERB

-ás, -és; -at, -et = (result of an) action
gyanakszik – to suspect > gyanakvás – suspicion
emel – to lift > emelet – floor, storey

ADJECTIVE FROM ADJECTIVE

-i + -s, -os, -es, -ös = quality, characteristic
pesti – (characteristic of ) Budapest > pesties – (typical to) Budapest
harci – war- > harcias – warlike

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 – Infinitive – Főnévi igenév

INFINITIVE

You already know how to form the infinitive of a Hungarian verb: menni, látni, fogni. Sometimes you need a link vowel, especially with verbs in two consonants: mondani, gyűjteni

Now we’ll deal with possibilities allowing us to use infinitive:

IMPERSONAL VERBS AND EXPRESSIONS

Impersonal verbs and expressions are to be followed by the infinitive of the main verb. Impersonal verbs are: kell, kellene, szabad, lehet. Impersonal expressions are:

könnyű – easy
nehéz – difficult
ideje, hogy – it’s time to
épp ideje, hogy – it’s high time to
jó / rossz, hogy – it’s good / wrong to
jobb / rosszabb, hogy – it’s better / worse to
tilos – it’s forbidden to
szégyen – it’s a shame
helyes – it’s right to
helytelen – it’s wrong to

Könnyű nyelveket tanulni. – It’s easy to learn languages.
Nehéz nyelveket tanulni. – It’s difficult to learn languages.
Ideje aludni. – It’s time to sleep.
Épp ideje elmenni. – It’s high time to leave.
Jó magyarnak lenni. – It’s good to be Hungarian.
Jobb gazdagnak lenni. – It’s better to be rich.
Tilos az állatokat etetni. – It’s forbidden to feed the animals.
Szégyen ilyen ruhában kimenni. – It’s a shame to go out in these clothes.
Helyes elítélni a bűnözőket. – It’s right to condemn criminals.
Helytelen elítélni az ártatlanokat. – It’s wrong to condemn the innocent.

SUBJECT

Futni egészséges. – To run is healthy.
Reggelizni nagyon fontos. – To have breakfast is very important.

VERBS REQUIRING THE INFINITIVE OF PRÓBÁL, MEGY, JÖN

Megpróbálom elkerülni, hogy találkozzak vele.
I’ll try to avoid meeting him.
Elmegyünk focizni. – We’re going play football.
Jöttök teniszezni? – Will you come play tennis?

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! 🙂

“Passive voice”

To begin with, Hungarian stopped using passive voice a long time ago. People talked like that a hundred years ago, but not anymore. It was expressed with these suffixes: -atik, -etik. Examples:

it is said – mondatik
it is proclaimed – kihirdettetik

You can find such verbs in old texts. And what about the present time?

Hungarian expresses passive voice WITH ACTIVE SENTENCES!!!

So the formation goes like this:

3rd PP form of the verb with definite or indefinite conjugation

Examples:

The house was sold. – A házat eladták.
The soup is cooked. – A levest megfőzték.
The cars will be mended. – A kocsikat meg fogják javítani.

So Hungarian says they sold, they cooked, they will mend even if we don’t know who we’re talking about.

For a native English speaker the problem comes with Present Simple and Present Perfect if you want to translate English passive voice in Hungarian. Look at this:

to build = építeni > they built = építették
meg > verbal prefix expressing completeness

The house is built. – A házat megépítették.
The has been built. – A házat megépítették / építik.

Both sentences are translated with past tense in Hungarian. Why? Because the first Present Simple sentence says the house is built, so it is finished. And it had to be built in the past so that we can say it is built. Therefore Hungarian uses past tense.
As for the Present Perfect sentence, it can express the completeness or the continuity of an action, therefore Hungarian uses past tense for completeness and present tense for continuity.

The house has been built at last!
A házat végre megépítették!

The house has been built for a year now.
A házat már egy éve építik.

See what I mean? The first sentences refers to a house already finished, the second refers to a house still being built.

The rest of the tenses shouldn’t be a problem. You just use the same tense as in English. Examples:

Past Simple
The house was built.
A házat megépítették.

Future Simple
The house will be built.
A házat meg fogják építeni.

If it comes to a continous tense, you can put ÉPPEN before the verb, but it is not necessary. Hungarian verbs without a verbal prefix (like meg-) express continuity by themselves.

Present Simple Continuous
The house is being built.
A házat éppen építik.

Past Simple Continuous
The house was being built.
A házat éppen építették.

Future Simple Continuous
The house will be being built.
A házat éppen építeni fogják.

First digest the stuff above, and in the next entry I’ll write more examples and more stuff to learn about “passive voice”.

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 🙂

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!