Language/Hungarian/Grammar/Verbs-and-tenses
As a Hungarian language teacher with 20 years of experience, I can safely say that verbs and tenses are some of the most crucial aspects of the Hungarian language. In this lesson, you will discover the different Hungarian tenses and how to use them to express past, present, or future actions.
Once you've mastered this lesson, take a look at these related pages: Conditional Mood & Personal Pronouns.
Verbs in Hungarian
In Hungarian, verbs are tricky because their endings can change based on the tense, mood, and person of the sentence. Unlike in English or other languages, the Hungarian verb stays in the infinitive form, so you must add suffixes to the base form to indicate the tenses.
Here are some examples:
| Hungarian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Szeretni | /'sɛrɛtni/ | To love |
| Eszik | /'eʃik/ | To eat |
| Beszél | /'bɛse̝ːl/ | To speak |
As you can notice, the suffixes indicating the verb tense have been added to the base form of the verb.
The Hungarian Tenses
The Hungarian language has four main tenses: Present, Past Continuous, Future, and Past Definite.
Present Tense
The present tense indicates an action happening in the present. In Hungarian, the present tense is quite simple. Just add the personal ending to the stem of the verb, depending on the person.
Example:
| Person | Verb |
|---|---|
| Én (I) | Szeretem (I love) |
| Te (You) | Szereted (You love) |
| Ő (He/She) | Szereti (He/She loves) |
Past Continuous Tense
The Past Continuous tense in Hungarian indicates that an action was happening in the past, but it was not completed. To form the Past Continuous tense in Hungarian, use the imperfect form of the verb volt (was/were) and add the present participle of the main verb.
Example:
| Person | Verb |
|---|---|
| Én (I) | Szerettem (I was loving) |
| Te (You) | Szerettél (You were loving) |
| Ő (He/She) | Szeretett (He/She was loving) |
Future Tense
The future tense is used to indicate an event that will happen in the future. To form the future tense in Hungarian, use the word fog (will) and add the present tense of the main verb without the personal ending.
Example:
| Person | Verb |
|---|---|
| Én (I) | Szeretni fogok (I will love) |
| Te (You) | Szeretni fogsz (You will love) |
| Ő (He/She) | Szeretni fog (He/She will love) |
Past Definite Tense
The past definite tense indicates a completed action in the past. To form the past definite tense in Hungarian, use the suffix -t/-tt/-ott/-ett, depending on the verb group, and add the personal ending.
Example:
| Person | Verb |
|---|---|
| Én (I) | Szerettem (I loved) |
| Te (You) | Szerettél (You loved) |
| Ő (He/She) | Szerette (He/She loved) |
Conclusion
In this lesson, you have learned about the Hungarian verb structure and the four main tenses used in the Hungarian language. The purpose of Hungarian grammar is to help you express yourself correctly, so when you are using these tenses, pay attention to the context of the sentence as well as the person and tense indications.
Remember, practice makes perfect! Try to create your own sentences using verbs in different tenses. You will find that the more you practice, the more comfortable you will become with Hungarian verb conjugation.
Sources
- Hungarian verbs - Wikipedia
- A Beginner-Friendly Guide to Hungarian Verb Conjugation
- The Hungarian past tense [HungarianReference.com > Grammar ...
Well done on mastering this lesson! Don't miss these related pages to expand your knowledge: Forming Plurals & Questions.
Videos
Hungarian lesson: Hungarian Verbs I. - YouTube
Learn the Top 25 Hungarian Verbs - YouTube
Other Lessons
- Passive voice and indirect speech
- 0 to A1 Course
- Aspect and mood combinations
- Imperative and gerund forms
- Possessor
- Plural
- Adjectives
- Future Tense
- Plurals
- How to Use Be