The Accusative

Hungarian Grammar 2

Chapter 2 · The Accusative

🎯 The Accusative — A tárgyeset

The accusative marks the thing an action is done to: I see the house, she reads a book. In Hungarian it is the suffix -t, sometimes with a linking vowel in front of it. This chapter shows which form to expect, which stems change before it, and how it behaves with plurals, possessives and pronouns.

The rule in one box The direct object takes -t. After a vowel the -t is added directly (autó → autót). After most consonants a linking vowel comes first (-ot / -at for back words, -et for front, -öt for rounded front). A group of common endings (-l, -r, -n, -s, -sz, -z in longer words) takes -t directly: asztal → asztalt.

1. Which form: the three groups

Stem ends in…	Accusative	Examples
A vowel	-t	autó → autót · fiú → fiút · kávé → kávét
Final a or e	-t, with the vowel lengthened	alma → almát · kefe → kefét · szoba → szobát
Most consonants, especially k, g, t, d, p, b, v, m, h and short stems	-ot / -at / -et / -öt	ablak → ablakot · kert → kertet · könyv → könyvet · szék → széket
Longer stems ending in l, r, n, ny, s, sz, z, zs	-t directly	asztal → asztalt · telefon → telefont · orvos → orvost · ember → embert · kábel → kábelt

The choice among -ot, -at, -et, -öt follows the harmony rules from Hungarian Grammar 1, chapter 2: back stem, back vowel; front stem, front vowel; rounded front stem, usually -et (könyvet) or -öt when the stem keeps its rounding (tükröt).

Short words are the unpredictable ones One-syllable stems ending in l, r, z often take a linking vowel, even though the longer words in the same group do not: fal → falat, hal → halat, ház → házat, but kör → kört and sör → sört. Treat the accusative as part of learning each short word, as you learned its plural in Chapter 1. A dictionary entry or a quick search settles any doubt.

2. Stems that change before -t

Some stems change in the accusative, just as they do before the plural (Hungarian Grammar 1, chapter 4). Learn the stem once and every suffix after it works.

Change	Nominative	Accusative	English
Long vowel shortens	kéz	kezet	hand
Long vowel shortens	víz	vizet	water
Long vowel shortens	nyár	nyarat	summer
Long vowel shortens	út	utat	road
A v appears	ló	lovat	horse
A v appears	tó	tavat	lake
A v appears	fű	füvet	grass
A v appears	kő	követ	stone
Stem vowel drops	tükör	tükröt	mirror

3. The accusative of plurals

The plural of Chapter 1 comes first, and the accusative follows it. After the plural -k the accusative always has a linking vowel: -at for back stems and -et for front stems.

Singular	Plural	Plural accusative	English
ablak	ablakok	ablakokat	the windows (object)
ház	házak	házakat	the houses
kábel	kábelek	kábeleket	the cables
alma	almák	almákat	the apples
autó	autók	autókat	the cars
tükör	tükrök	tükröket	the mirrors

Numbers keep the singular After a number the noun stays singular, and the accusative goes on that singular form: két autót (two cars), három könyvet (three books), sok kábelt (many cables). Use the plural accusative only when the object has no number or quantity word in front of it: a könyveket.

4. The accusative of possessed nouns

A noun that carries a possessive ending (my house, your book) takes the accusative too. Chapter 8 teaches the possessive endings; for now notice the shape, which is predictable: -t goes straight after the vowel of the third-person ending, and after the other persons it takes a linking vowel (-at / -et).

Possessed noun	Accusative	English
házam (my house)	házamat	my house (object)
könyvem (my book)	könyvemet	my book (object)
barátod (your friend)	barátodat	your friend (object)
háza (his/her house)	házát	his/her house (object)
könyve (his/her book)	könyvét	his/her book (object)

5. Pronouns and question words

Personal pronouns have their own accusative forms, which you must learn. A pronoun object is usually left out, because the verb ending already carries it (Hungarian Grammar 1, chapter 9: látlak, "I see you"). The accusative pronoun appears for emphasis or contrast.

Nominative	Accusative	English
én	engem	me
te	téged	you (singular, informal)
ő	őt	him, her
mi	minket	us
ti	titeket	you (plural, informal)
ők	őket	them
ez / az	ezt / azt	this / that
mi?	mit?	what?
ki?	kit?	whom?

6. The accusative and the two conjugations

The accusative is also the signpost for the definite and indefinite conjugations from Hungarian Grammar 1, chapters 6 to 8. A definite object (a házat, a barátomat) calls for the definite endings, and an indefinite object (egy házat, két autót) calls for the indefinite endings.

Hungarian	English	Object
Látok egy házat.	I see a house.	indefinite → látok
Látom a házat.	I see the house.	definite → látom
Mit látsz?	What do you see?	question word → indefinite → látsz

7. The accusative for time and measure

Besides the object, the accusative also expresses how long something lasts and how much something measures.

Hungarian	English	Use
Három órát vártam.	I waited for three hours.	duration
Két hetet maradok.	I'm staying for two weeks.	duration
A csomag két kilót nyom.	The parcel weighs two kilos.	weight

Watch out: no accusative after van "I have a house" is Van egy házam, with the nominative. Van and nincs do not take an accusative object, because the thing "being there" is the subject. Chapter 8 returns to this.

🗣️ In Use — Használatban

The accusative in short exchanges. Find the -t in each one, and see which conjugation the verb picks.

① What do you see?

A: Mit látsz? What do you see?

B: Egy házat és két autót látok. I see a house and two cars.

A: És engem látsz? And do you see me?

B: Téged is látlak! I see you too!

② Who are you looking for?

A: Kit keresel? Who are you looking for?

B: A barátomat keresem. És a telefonomat is. My friend. And my phone as well.

③ At the café

A: Mit kér? What would you like?

B: Egy kávét és két sört, kérem. A coffee and two beers, please.

📋 Quick Reference — Gyorstábla

Stem	Accusative	Example
Vowel	-t (a, e lengthen)	autót · almát · kefét
Most consonants	-ot / -at / -et / -öt	ablakot · házat · kertet
Longer stems in l, r, n, s, sz, z	-t	asztalt · orvost · telefont
Changing stems	learn the stem	kezet · lovat · tükröt
Plural	-k + -at / -et	házakat · kábeleket
Possessed	-at / -et or -át / -ét	házamat · házát
Pronouns	own forms	engem · téged · őt

✏️ Try It Yourself — Gyakorlás

Say the answer first, then click to check.

1. Put ablak (window) in the accusative.

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ablakot. Back stem, consonant k: linking vowel -o-.

2. Put kert (garden) in the accusative.

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kertet. Front stem: -et.

3. Put orvos (doctor) in the accusative.

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orvost. A longer stem ending in s takes -t directly.

4. Put alma (apple) in the accusative.

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almát. The final a lengthens.

5. Put kéz (hand) in the accusative.

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kezet. The long vowel shortens.

6. Put ló (horse) in the accusative.

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lovat. The stem gains a v.

7. Put the plural házak in the accusative.

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házakat. Plural + -at.

8. Put könyvem (my book) in the accusative.

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könyvemet. Possessed noun + -et.

9. Translate with emphasis: "You see me."

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Engem látsz. The accusative pronoun engem carries the emphasis.

10. Translate: "I waited for three hours."

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Három órát vártam. Duration takes the accusative, and the noun stays singular after the number.

Coming up in Chapter 3: The Dative and "Of". The -nak / -nek ending for the receiver, the possessor in Péternek a könyve, verbs that take the dative, and the -é of "Peter's".