Language/Hungarian/Grammar/Pronouns-and-possessives

Hungarian Grammar → Introduction to Hungarian grammar → Pronouns and possessives

As a Hungarian language teacher with 20 years of experience, I can guarantee you that mastering pronouns and possessives is a crucial part of learning Hungarian. In this lesson, we will dive into the different types of pronouns and possessives in Hungarian and how to use them in sentences.

Pronouns

Pronouns are used to replace nouns in a sentence. In Hungarian, there are several types of pronouns:

Personal pronouns

Personal pronouns replace a person or animal noun in a sentence. In Hungarian, there are seven personal pronouns:

Hungarian	Pronunciation	English
Én	['e:n]	I
Te	[tɛ]	You (informal)
Ön	[øn]	You (formal)
Ő	[ø:]	He/She/It
Mi	[mi]	We
Ti	[ti]	You (plural)
Ők	[ø:k]	They

Example sentences with personal pronouns:

• Szeretem őt. (I love him/her.)
• Holnap találkozom veled. (I will meet you tomorrow.)
• Az Ön neve? (What is your name?)
• Ő a kutyám. (He/She/It is my dog.)
• Mi tanulunk magyarul. (We are learning Hungarian.)
• Ti hova mésztek? (Where are you guys going?)
• Ők dolgoznak a projektünkön. (They are working on our project.)

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are used to replace a noun and indicate its position in relation to the speaker. In Hungarian, there are three demonstrative pronouns:

• Ez - "this" (for objects or people that are close to the speaker)
• Az - "that" (for objects or people that are far from the speaker)
• A - "that" (for objects or people that are emphasized)

Example sentences with demonstrative pronouns:

• Ez a könyv nagyon jó. (This book is very good.)
• Az a ház nagyon nagy. (That house is very big.)
• A boltban voltam. (I was in THAT store.)

Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions. In Hungarian, there are three interrogative pronouns:

• Ki - "who"
• Mi - "what"
• Hogy - "how"

Example sentences with interrogative pronouns:

• Ki az a nő? (Who is that woman?)
• Mit csinálsz? (What are you doing?)
• Hogy vagy? (How are you?)

Indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns are used to refer to nonspecific people or things. In Hungarian, there are several indefinite pronouns:

• Valaki - "someone"
• Valami - "something"
• Mindenki - "everyone"
• Minden - "everything"

Example sentences with indefinite pronouns:

• Valaki várt rám az ajtónál. (Someone was waiting for me at the door.)
• Valami nagyon büdös van itt. (Something smells really bad here.)
• Mindenki szereti a sültkrumplit. (Everyone loves French fries.)
• Minden érdekel engem. (Everything interests me.)

Possessives

Possessives indicate ownership of something. In Hungarian, possessives are formed by adding a suffix to the noun.

Hungarian	Pronunciation	English
Az én ...-em/-öm	['ɒz 'e:n ...'ɛm]	My ...
A te ...-ed/-öd	[ɒ tɛ ...'ɛd]	Your ... (informal)
Az ön ...-e/-a	[ɒz øn ...'ɛ]	Your ... (formal)
Az ő ...-e/-a/-ja	[ɒz ø: ...'ɛ/jɒ]	His/Her/Its ...
A mi ...-nk	[ɒ mi ...'ŋk]	Our ...
A ti ...-tok/-tök	[ɒ ti ...'tok]	Your ... (plural)
Az önök ...-eik/-aik	[ɒz ønøk ...'ɛik]	Their ... (formal)
Az ők ...-eik/-aik/-jaik	[ɒz ø:k ...'ɛik/jɒik]	Their ... (informal)

Example sentences with possessives:

• Az én könyvem nagyon érdekes. (My book is very interesting.)
• A te autód nagyon gyors. (Your car is very fast.)
• Az ön neve? (What is your name?)
• Az ő háza nagyon szép. (His/Her/Its house is very beautiful.)
• A mi kutyánk aranyos. (Our dog is cute.)
• A ti gyerekeitek nagyon aranyosak. (Your kids are very cute.)
• Az önök cégének nagyon jó a hírneve. (Your company has a very good reputation.)
• Az ők laptopjaik nagyon prémium kategóriásak. (Their laptops are very high-end.)

That's it for this lesson! I hope you gained a better understanding of Hungarian pronouns and possessives. Keep practicing, and soon you'll be speaking Hungarian like a native!

Sources

• Hungarian Pronouns
• Possessives and Reflexive Possessives

Table of Contents - Hungarian Course - 0 to A1

• Course Presentation

  ---

Greetings and Introductions

• Basic Greetings
• Introducing Yourself

  ---

Pronouns and Verb Conjugation

• Personal Pronouns
• Present Tense Verb Conjugation

  ---

Numbers and Time

• Numbers 1-100
• Telling Time

  ---

Questions and Negation

• Asking Questions
• Negation

  ---

Family and Relationships

• Family Members
• Relationships

  ---

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Descriptive Adjectives
• Adverbs of Time and Frequency

  ---

Food and Dining

• Common Foods and Drinks
• Ordering at a Restaurant

  ---

Prepositions and Location

• Common Prepositions
• Expressing Location

  ---

Travel and Transportation

• Modes of Transportation
• Asking for Directions

  ---

Hungarian Customs and Traditions

• Holidays and Celebrations
• Traditional Foods

  ---

Possessive Pronouns and Plurals

• Possessive Pronouns
• Forming Plurals

  ---

Hobbies and Leisure Activities

• Common Hobbies
• Discussing Interests

  ---

Hungarian History and Geography

• Important Historical Events
• Geography of Hungary

Related Lessons

• Passive voice and indirect speech
• Verbs and tenses
• Plural
• How to form the feminine
• Complex sentence structures
• How to Use Have
• Comparisons and superlatives
• Questions
• Definite and indefinite articles
• Adjectives