Hungarian grammar

Hungarian grammar is the grammar of the Hungarian language, which is a Uralic language mainly spoken in Hungary and in parts of its seven neighboring countries.

Hungarian is an agglutinative language. It uses various affixes, mainly suffixes, to change a word's meaning and grammatical function. The suffixes are attached according to vowel harmony. The verbs are conjugated according to definiteness, tense, mood, person and number. The nouns can be declined with 18 case suffixes, most of which correspond to English prepositions. Hungarian is a topic-prominent language, which means that word order depends on the topic-comment structure of the sentence (e.g. what aspect is assumed to be known and what is emphasized).

Syntax

Neutral Hungarian sentences have a subject–verb–object word order, like English. Hungarian is a null subject language, meaning the subject does not have to be explicitly stated. Word order is determined not by syntactic roles, but rather by pragmatic factors. Emphasis is placed on the word or phrase immediately preceding the finite verb.

A sentence usually consists of four parts: topic, focus, verb and the rest. Any of the four parts may be empty. The topic and the rest may contain any number of phrases but the focus may contain at most one phrase.

Emphasis

The tables below contain some Hungarian variations of the English sentence "John took Peter two books yesterday." Besides the verb, the sentence contains four other elements: "John", "Peter", "two books", "yesterday".

TopicsFocusVerbThe restSpecial meaning
Jánostegnap∅elvittkét könyvet Péternek.Two books were taken by John to Peter yesterday. (It was successfully completed; no special emphasis.)
Jánostegnapkét könyvetvitt elPéternek.It was two books that John took Peter yesterday. (As far as John and yesterday are concerned, it was exactly two books that he took to Peter.)
János∅tegnapvitt elkét könyvet Péternek.It was yesterday that John took Peter two books. (John took Peter two books sometime, but it was done specifically yesterday.)
∅∅Jánosvitt eltegnap két könyvet Péternek.It was John who took Peter two books yesterday.
∅∅Péternekvitt eltegnap János két könyvet.It was Peter to whom John took two books yesterday.
JánostegnapPéternekvitt elkét könyvet.John took somebody two books yesterday, but it was specifically Peter to whom he took them, not anybody else.
∅∅∅ElvittJános tegnap két könyvet Péternek.Two books were taken by John to Peter yesterday. (The action was completed; the books are at Peter's place now.)
Két könyvettegnap∅elvittJános Péternek.Two books were indeed taken by John to Peter. (Perhaps something else was taken to him, too. However, the two books may not be the most important thing, e.g. John may have left Peter's documents at home.)
∅∅Két könyvetvitt elJános tegnap Péternek.John (only) took Peter two books, nothing else.

The topic contains a phrase or phrases which the speaker supposes as known and which is used for introducing a topic that the statement will be about (cf. "as far as X is concerned, ..."). The focus attracts the attention to an element of the event which is either supposed as unknown or it may be a refutation to a possible opposing belief. It excludes the validity of the statement for all other individuals in question ("it was X and nothing else that...").

If a focus is present, the verbal prefix will be put after the verb (vitt el instead of elvitt). If there is no verbal prefix, there may be ambiguity in writing because the phrase preceding the verb may be either a topic or a focus. For example, in the sentence Éva szereti a virágokat ("Eve likes flowers"), Éva may be a topic and the sentence may be neutral, or Éva may be a focus and the sentence may emphasise that it's Eve who likes flowers. Example sentences and their interpretations follow:

Sentence Interpretation
Éva szereti a virágokat.Eve likes flowers.
Szereti Éva a virágokat.Eve does like flowers (even if someone doubts it).
Éva szereti a virágokat.Eve likes flowers (and not someone else).
Éva a virágokat szereti. Eve likes flowers (and not something else).
A virágokat Éva szereti. It's Eve that likes flowers (and not someone else, although something else may be liked by someone else).
A virágokat szereti Éva. It's flowers that Eve likes (and not something else).

Morphology

Hungarian is an agglutinative language. Most grammatical information is given through suffixes. For example: "at the table" = az asztalnál (space relation), "at 5 o'clock" = öt órakor (time relation). There is also one grammatical prefix (leg- for superlatives).

Overview of personal endings: typical sound elements

In Hungarian, the endings are mostly common for the endings of pronouns with suffixes and postpositions, possessive endings of nouns, and the verb endings. (The accusative of pronouns is also given for comparison, though it is less regular.)

PronounCase/postposition stem NounVerbTypical element
NominativeAccusative+ personal suffix+ personal suffix+ possessive suffixIndefinite presentDefinite present
"I" etc."me"
etc.		"by/at me" etc."under me" etc."my flat /apartment" etc."I see" etc."I see it" etc.
énengemnálamalattamlakásomlátoklátom-m with link vowel -o/(-a)/-e/-ö or -a/-e
tetégednáladalattadlakásodlátszlátod-d with link vowel -o/(-a)/-e/-ö or -a/-e
őőtnálaalattalakásalátlátja-a/-e
miminketnálunkalattunklakásunklátunklátjuk-nk with link vowel -u/-ü
tititeketnálatokalattatoklakásotokláttoklátjátok-tok/-tek/-tök
őkőketnálukalattuklakásuklátnaklátják-k
"You" (formal)
Ön,
Maga 		Önt
Magát 		Önnél
Magánál 		Ön alatt
Maga alatt 		az Ön lakása
a Maga lakása 		Ön lát
Maga lát 		Ön látja
Maga látja 		(-a/-e)
Önök,
Maguk 		Önöket
Magukat 		Önöknél
Maguknál 		Önök alatt
Maguk alatt 		az Önök lakása
a Maguk lakása 		Önök látnak
Maguk látnak 		Önök látják
Maguk látják 		(-k)

Harmonic vowels in suffixes

Front-back vowel harmony is important in Hungarian morphophonology. Certain suffixes also distinguish between front unrounded vowels and front rounded vowels. See Hungarian phonology or vowel harmony for a more detailed explanation.

Note: The stem-final a and e, as well as o and ö in foreign words, are lengthened before suffixes, e.g. alma → almát, mese → mesét, piano → pianót, Malmö → Malmőt. (Short o and ö cannot occur at the end of Hungarian words.) Short i, u, ü retain their length, e.g. ami → amit, kapu → kaput, menü → menüt.

The vowels which form parallel pairs or triads in harmonic suffixes are:

Back Front
variant
oe/ö
ae
áé
uü
úű
óő

As it is shown, the members of these pairs/triads mostly agree in height and length but differ in backness. (An exception is the pair á/é where á (open front unrounded vowel) is categorised as back.)

In the case of o vs. e and ö and the case of a vs. e there appears a difference in roundedness, too.

Notes:

Suffix typology

The suffixes can be categorised into the following phonological types:

  1. Initial consonant and no change depending on the stem ending, e.g. -ban/-ben, -hoz/-hez/-höz
  2. Initial v with complete preservative consonant assimilation, only for -val/-vel and -vá/-vé
  3. Initial vowel and no change depending on the stem ending, e.g. -ul/-ül, -ás/-és
  4. Link vowel o/e/ö on stems ending with a consonant, with link vowel a for certain back-vowel noun stems, e.g. -om/(-am)/-em/-öm/-m
  5. Link vowel a/e on stems ending with a consonant, e.g. -ak/-ek/-k
  6. Link vowel u/ü on stems ending with a consonant, e.g. -unk/-ünk/-nk
  7. Link consonant -j on stems ending with a vowel, and on certain stems ending with a consonant, only for -a/-e/-ja/-je and -uk/-ük/-juk/-jük
  8. Invariant, e.g. -kor, -ig

Minor variations:

Note: The long vowels á/é, ú/ű and ó/ő are not used as link vowels.

Citation form of suffixes

EndingSample wordSuffix variation
ConstantDifference by vowel qualityDifference by vowel quality and ending
-ig-ban/-ben-hoz/-hez/-höz-unk/-ünk/-nk-om/-am/-em/-öm/-m
Consonant lakás lakásig
házig
szemig
körig
fürdőig		 lakásban
házban		 lakáshoz
házhoz		 lakásunk
házunk		 lakásom
ház házam
szem szemben
körben
fürdőben*		 szemhez szemünk
körünk		 szemem
kör körhöz
fürdőhöz*		 köröm
Vowel fürdő fürdőnk fürdőm
*: Its suffix may agree with any of the preceding variants, e.g. fürdőben but autóban, fürdőhöz but autóhoz and tévéhez.

Personal suffixes can have various uses in Hungarian grammar. There are two sets of them:

Therefore, their differences are:

  Type I (a/e) Type II (o/e/ö)
SingularPluralSingularPlural
1st person -am/-em/
-m		-unk/-ünk/
-nk		-om/-em/-öm/
-m		-unk/-ünk/
-nk
2nd person (informal) -ad/-ed/
-d		-atok/-etek/
-tok/-tek		-od/-ed/-öd/
-d		-otok/-etek/-ötök/
-tok/-tek/-tök
2nd person (formal or official)
and 3rd person		 -a/-e/
-ja/-je		-uk/-ük/
-juk/-jük		-a/-e/
-ja/-je		-uk/-ük/
-juk/-jük
 
  • rólam, bennem, tőlem ("cases" attached to personal pronouns)
  • alattam, felettem, mögöttem (postpositions attached to personal pronouns)
  • vártam, kértem, köszöntem (verb suffixes in the past tense)
  • várjak, kérjek, köszönjek (verb suffixes in the subjunctive)
  • házam, mézem, földem (possessive suffixes on certain nouns that require low linking vowel)
  • pirosam, szépem, zöldem (possessive suffixes on almost all adjectives)
  • ablakom, szemem, gyümölcsöm (possessive suffixes attached to nouns)
  • várok, kérek, köszönök (verb suffixes in the present tense)
  • várnom, kérnem, köszönnöm (suffixes attached to the infinitive)

This difference often disambiguates meanings, e.g. jöttek means "they came" (past) and jöttök means "you [pl.] come" (present).

An extreme example is the longest Hungarian word 'megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért' (means 'due to your repeatedly not being possible to be desecrated'). This word contains mass of inflexions, prefix, suffix, etc. The core of the word is 'szent', meaning "sacred."

Note: the accusative suffix following the stem or following other suffixes shows the same difference, except for the six different forms for the six persons:

                                    Type I (a/e) Type II (o/e/ö)
 
  • ablakokat, szemeket, gyümölcsöket
    (accusative suffixes following other suffixes)
  • ablakot, szemet, gyümölcsöt
    (accusative suffixes attached to the stem)

Noun phrase

See Hungarian noun phrase.

Postpositions

As well as the noun suffixes, which are often equivalent to English prepositions, Hungarian also has postpositions.

Amalgamation with personal pronouns

If postpositions are used with personal pronouns (cf. "to me"), most of them amalgamate with the suffixes expressing the person. Compare:

Postposition"Regular"
postpositional use		"Amalgamated" use
with personal suffixes
alatt
under		az asztal alatt
under the table		alattam
under me

For the full list of such postpositions, see postpositions with personal suffixes.

Stand-alone postpositions

The following postpositions differ from the above in that they are never suffixed with personal endings:

Spatial postpositionsTime postpositionsOther postpositions
  • át "over/across"
  • keresztül "through/via"
  • túl "beyond"
  • óta "since"
  • hosszat "for xxx time"
  • múlva "in xxx time"
  • kezdve "from xxx on"
  • közben, során, folyamán "during"
  • körül, tájt, tájban, táján "around"
  • gyanánt "as, by way of"
  • végett "in order to, with a view to"
  • esetén "in case of"
  • folytán "due to"
  • képest "as compared to"
  • nézve "regarding, considering"

Derived postpositions

Certain standard postpositions are derived from a noun + 3rd person singular possessive suffix + case ending, e.g. apám révén "by the help of my father". See their list here.

This internal structure affects how they are used with pronominal forms (see above).

Case requirements

Most postpositions govern the nominative case; the exceptions are listed below. (The genitive case below means that morphologically speaking, they can either take the nominative or the dative suffix, see Other noun endings.)

genitivevalami /
valaminek		ellenére (despite), folyamán (during), jóvoltából (thanks to), kedvéért (for the sake of), következtében (due to), mentén (along), részére (for), révén (by/through/via), számára (for/to), útján (via)
superessivevalaminalul (under/below), át (through/over), belül (inside), felül/fölül (over/above), innen (this way from X), keresztül (across), kezdve (from X on), kívül (outside/except), túl (beyond)
sublativevalamirenézve (with respect to)
allativevalamihezhasonlóan (similarly to), képest (as compared to)
adessivevalaminélfogva1 (owing to)
ablativevalamitőlfogva2 (from X on), kezdve (from X on)
instrumental-comitativevalamivelegyütt (along with), szemben (opposite)

Postpositions functioning as prepositions

Some postpositions may also precede the noun, thus functioning as prepositions: át (over/across), keresztül (through), együtt (together with), szemben (opposite), túl (beyond), e.g. át a folyón or a folyón át ("across the river").

Adjectives and adverbs

Adjective marking

Adjectives are unmarked for case. Attributive adjectives are not marked for number but predicative ones are. For example: piros almák ("red apples") but: Az almák pirosak. ("The apples [are] red.").

Adverb derivation

The suffix -an/-en/-n is used to form adverbs of manner from adjectives. -l, -lag/-leg and -ul/-ül are also used to derive adverbs from some adjectives.

There is also a suffix, -va/-ve, which is used to derive adverbs from verbs. Its nearest English equivalent is the -ing form functioning as a participle (rather than a noun). Example:

Such participles (note the adverbial usage) are referred to by term “adverbial participle” (distinguished from adjectival participle).

Use of adverbs

In Hungarian adverbs can be used predicatively with van. Examples: Korán van. ("It's early.") Nyitva van. ("It's open.")

Degree adverbs

Some degree adverbs are formed from adjectives. The suffixes which are used are ones which are usually used on nouns:

Comparative and superlative

Comparative adjectives and adverbs are formed by adding -abb/-ebb/-bb to the adjective stem, e.g. gyors ("quick"), gyorsabb ("quicker"), gyorsan ("quickly"), gyorsabban ("more quickly").

To state the thing which is being compared with (like English "than"), Hungarian uses the noun suffix -nál/-nél or the preposition mint. (Note, mint is the only preposition in Hungarian.) For example gyorsabb a szélnél or gyorsabb, mint a szél ("faster than the wind").

Superlative adjectives and adverbs are formed by adding the prefix leg- to the comparative, e.g. a leggyorsabb ("the quickest"), a leggyorsabban ("the most quickly").

Example: magas ("tall/high")
DegreeWord elementsComplete formMeaning
PrefixAdjective
stem		Suffix
Base –magas–magastall/high
Comparative –-abbmagasabbtaller/higher
Superlative leg--abblegmagasabbtallest/highest
Exaggerated legesleg--abblegeslegmagasabbthe very tallest/highest

Notes:

  1. Back-vowel adjectives use a as link vowel (as in magasabb), while front-vowel ones use e (e.g. hidegebb "colder"). The only exception is nagy ("big"), which uses o as link vowel instead of a: nagyobb, legnagyobb, legeslegnagyobb.
  2. The exaggerated measure is used for stressing the superlative adjective.

Verb

See Hungarian verbs

Expressing time

Many expressions of time use the case endings and postpositions which are also used for position, e.g.:

There are also some which are used only for time, e.g.:

There are 2 ways of expressing how long ago something happened:

Telling the time

"Hány óra (van)? Mennyi (most) az idő?" ( " What time is it? What is the time? ")

Times can be given by just the numbers, but this is not usual in speech, e.g.:

nyolc óra húsz (literally "eight hour twenty") or nyolc húsz (literally "eight twenty").

In speech the half and quarter hours are expressed by what fraction of the time to the next hour has elapsed.

These can be written using fractions, e.g.:

These are abbreviated in movie programmes as n9, f9 and h9 (with the initial letters of the fraction names).

The times in between these are expressed in relation to the next or previous quarter hour, e.g.:

...or fél kilenc lesz tíz perc múlva (literally "it will be 8.30 in 10 minutes' time")

These are different when they refer to a time in the past or future:

Duration structures

For a period of time extending up to the present:

For a period of time in the past, present or future:

These two structures are often interchangeable.

Negation

Verbs are negated with nem, except in the subjunctive when ne is used.

Double or multiple negative is mandatory with negative pronouns (like nobody, nothing, never, nowhere), see the article "Double negative" about Hungarian.

Questions

Question words

ki? is the basic question word for a person (cf. "who?") and mi? is the basic question word for a thing (cf. "what?"). Where meaningful, these can take the full range of case and noun suffixes, e.g. kit?, miben?, miképp? mi + ért ("for the purpose of") gives the question word miért? ("why?").

milyen? is used to ask for a description. It can be used to ask about a whole noun phrase, e.g. Milyen a tanárod? ("What's your teacher like?") or as a determiner, e.g. Milyen lakást akarsz? ("What kind of flat do you want?"). Although there is no case suffix -lyan/-lyen, this ending also occurs in ilyen ("this kind of"), olyan ("that kind of"), valamilyen ("some kind of") and semmilyen ("no kind of").

The strict three-way distinction in direction which occurs in the positional suffixes also occurs in the question words: hol? ("where?"), hova? /hová? ("where to?") and honnan? ("where from?").

hány? is used to ask questions about numbers (cf. "how many?") and mennyi? about quantities (cf. "how much?"). Where meaningful, these can take the full range of case and noun suffixes, e.g. hánnyal?, hánykor?, mennyibe?, mennyiért? hány? can also take the full range of suffixes used for numbers and quantity expressions, e.g. hányadik?, hányas?

Yes/no questions

Yes/no questions are expressed by intonation not by any modification to syntax or morphology.

A short positive answer to a yes/no question is often given by repeating the verb particle (or the full verb, if it has no particle) rather than by using the words Igen ("Yes"). Examples:

The negative answer to a yes/no question may include the word Nem ("No") or the negation of the requested part of the sentence or both.

Tag questions

Tag questions are made by adding ugye to the beginning or end of a statement. E.g. Elment, ugye? or Ugye elment? ("He has left, hasn't he?"). The latter form more strongly suggests the positive answer.

Subordinate and relative clauses

Subordinate clauses are often used with an antecedent in the main clause, e.g. Kabátot hozott, mert fázott. /Azért hozott kabátot, mert fázott. ("She fetched a coat because she was cold.")

Relative clauses usually have an explicit antecedent in the main clause, e.g. Attól félek, nem mehetek el. ("I'm afraid [of the fact that] I can't go.") However, Attól tartok, (hogy) nem mehetek el. is also correct.

References

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Hungarian_phrasebook.
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