Hungarian verbs

This page is about verbs in Hungarian grammar.

Lemma or citation form

There is basically only one pattern for verb endings, with predictable variations dependent on the phonological context.

The lemma or citation form is always the third person singular indefinite present. This usually has a ∅ suffix, e.g. "kér" ("ask for").

"-ik" verbs

A slight variation to the standard pattern is with certain verbs which have third person singular indefinite present ending with "-ik", e.g. "dolgozik" ("work"), and 1st singular indefinite present usually with "-om/-em/-öm". The stem for this is reached by removing "-ik". These verbs explain the reason for this form being the citation form.

The "-ik" verbs were originally middle voice, reflexive or passive in meaning, which can still be seen e.g. about the pair "tör" ("s/he breaks sth") vs "törik" ("sth. breaks" / "sth gets broken"). However, most of them have lost this meaning so historically speaking they are like deponent verbs.

With these verbs, the third person singular (present, indefinite, indicative) form (i.e., the lemma) consistently uses the "-ik" form. What is more, new "-ik" words are constantly born (e.g. "netezik" "use the Internet") so their deviation needs to be followed.

However, as far as the first person singular (present, indefinite, indicative) suffix is concerned, it is often assimilated to the "normal" conjugation (as it has practically happened to the other "-ik"-specific forms) so most verbs usually take the regular form for this person (e.g. "hazudok"; *"hazudom" would be taken as hypercorrect or incorrect). Nevertheless, with some basic "-ik" verbs, the assimilated variant is stigmatized (e.g. "eszem" is expected in educated speech, rather than *"eszek"), so with these verbs, the traditional form is advised. The most important "traditional" "-ik" verbs are "eszik" "to eat", "iszik" "to drink", "alszik" "to sleep" and "dolgozik" "to work".

:"Note: Strike-through Roman numbers in the last row refer to the types which would apply if the verbs concerned were regular."

As a thumb-rule, it may be useful to learn the rules and exceptions only for Type I and Type III and use Type II otherwise because this latter type comprises the broadest range of verbs.

Regular homonymy of plain and causative forms in the same tense

Front-vowel unrounded verbs that end in consonant + "-t" may have ambiguous (coinciding, homonymous) forms between plain and causative forms. Approx. a hundred verbs are concerned that end in one of the following endings: "-jt, -lt, -mt, -nt, -rt, -st, -szt".

poradic coincidences

Front-vowel verbs in type III that end in "-t" may cause ambiguity, like between the past tense of a verb and the present tense of another. For example:

Modal and causative suffixes

Hungarian has 2 forms which can be added to the verb stem to modify the meaning. These are sometimes referred to as infixes but they are not true infixes because they are not inserted inside another morpheme.

"-hat-/-het-" has a modal meaning of permission or opportunity, eg "beszélek" "I speak", "beszélhetek" "I may speak" or "I am allowed to speak".

Note: Ability ("I can speak") is usually expressed with "tud". "See Auxiliary verbs (modal and temporal)."

"-at-/-et-" and "-tat-/-tet-" have a causative meaning. It can express "having something done" or "having/making someone do something". For example: "beszélek" "I speak", "beszéltetek" "I make sb speak". (Incidentally, it is the same form as "you [pl] spoke", analysed "beszél|t|etek", see Past tense.)

"-tat/-tet" is used if the word ends in vowel + "-t" or if the stem ends in a consonant different from "-t" but it has two or more syllables (excluding the verbal particle). In other cases, "-at/-et" is used: that is, with words ending in a consonant + "t" and with one-syllable words ending in a consonant different from "-t".

"van" (to be)

The verb "to be" in Hungarian is "van" (3rd person), "lenni" (infinitive).

Use

When the verb is used as a copula ie if one speaks about "what" someone or something is, it is omitted in the third person singular and plural of the present tense. The verb is required in all other tenses and persons, when speaking about "where" or "how" something is, or to emphasize the existence or availability of something. Examples:
* "Péter orvos ∅." – Peter is a doctor. "(present tense, third person, speaking about what someone is: no linking verb in Hungarian)"
* "Péter jól van." – Peter is well.
* "Péter itt van." – Peter is here.
* "Péter orvos volt." – Peter was a doctor.
* "Orvos vagyok." – I am a doctor.

The non-copula form of "van" is also used to express the equivalent of "There is /are":
* "Van orvos a szobában." – There is a doctor in the room.

The negation of the third person "van" (plural "vannak") as a non-copula verb is the suppletive "nincs" (plural "nincsenek"):
*"Itt van Péter." – Peter is here.
*"Nincs itt Péter." – Peter isn't here.

Hungarian has no verb which is equivalent to "to have". Instead, ownership /possession are expressed using "van" with a possessive suffix on the noun:
*"Van könyvem." ("I've got a book.", literally "There is a book-my")

Conjugation

Like the verb "to be" in most other languages, "van" is irregular. It comes from three (or four) bases: "vagy-" (or "van-"), "vol-", and "len-". These overlap to some extent with the verb "lesz" ("become"). As it cannot have an object, it doesn't have definite forms. It is the only verb in Hungarian which has a future form.

There is little difference between the two conditional forms. In theory, "lennék" etc are preferred when an option is considered as possible (eg "Ha otthon lennék", "if I were at home") and "volnék" etc are preferred when it is considered impossible (eg "Ha rózsa volnék", "if I were a rose"), but the limits are rather vague. It is probably not by chance that the former is akin to the future form ("leszek"), which might still become true, and the latter to the past form ("voltam"), which is already determined. In practice, the "lennék" series is somewhat more frequently used in both senses.

External links

* [http://www.hungarianreference.com/Verbs/ Hungarian verbs] HungarianReference.com's section on verbs.