Putting It Together

Hungarian Grammar 4

Chapter 10 · Putting It Together

🎯 One Sentence, All the Parts — Minden egy helyen

Nine chapters have given you the parts: the prefix map, aspect, prefix meanings, prefix position, the participles, the verbal forms, word order, focus, and clauses with comparison. This chapter puts them in one table and one procedure, then tests you on the mistakes that learners actually make. It closes the Hungarian grammar track, so it ends with a recap of all four courses.

The rule in one box Every Hungarian sentence answers four questions in order. 1. Which verb, and which prefix? (meaning and finished or ongoing). 2. Is anything focused, negated or questioned? If yes, it takes the place before the verb and the prefix moves behind. 3. Is a participle or a clause better than a main verb? 4. Is the form right? (conjugation, harmony, case, from Hungarian Grammar 1 to 3). If you work through them in that order, the sentence builds itself.

1. The whole course in one table

Topic	Key idea	Example	Chapter
Prefix map	ten main prefixes; direction against meaning	bemegy · kimegy · felmegy	1
Aspect	plain = going on; prefixed = finished; prefixed present = future	olvastam · elolvastam · Holnap megírom.	2
Prefix meanings	literal, completing, idiomatic; learn each as a unit	átmegy a vizsgán · elad	3
Prefix position	in front in a neutral sentence; behind after nem, focus, a question word or a command	Kimegyek. · Nem megyek ki. · Menj ki!	4
Participles	present -ó/-ő, past -t/-tt, future -andó/-endő; objects before them	a levelet író lány · a megírt levél · a megoldandó probléma	5
Verbal forms	-va/-ve, -ás/-és, -nivaló, -ható/-hető	nevetve · letöltés · olvasható	6
Word order	topic(s) → focus → verb → rest	Péter tegnap elolvasta a könyvet.	7
Focus	the stressed word before the verb; the answer to a question word	PÉTER vette meg.	8
Clauses and comparison	aki, ami, hogy, ha, mert; -bb, leg-	A lány, aki ír. · jobb · legjobb	9

2. A step-by-step procedure

Use the four steps on any sentence you want to build.

Step	Ask	Look at
1	Which verb and which prefix? Finished or going on?	Chapters 1 to 3
2	Is there a focus, nem, a question word or a command? Then the prefix goes behind the verb.	Chapters 4 and 8
3	Do you need a topic first? Should a participle or a clause replace a verb?	Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 9
4	Check the conjugation (definite or indefinite), the harmony and the case.	Hungarian Grammar 1, 2 and 3

Worked example A: "I will write the report tomorrow."

Verb ír; finished, so the prefix meg-: megír.
No focus, no negation: neutral, the prefix stays attached.
A time topic first: Holnap.
Definite object a jelentést, so the definite ending, and the completed present gives the future: Holnap megírom a jelentést.

Worked example B: "It was Anna who restarted the server yesterday."

Verb újraindít (restart).
Anna is the focus, so she stands before the verb and the prefix goes behind it.
A time topic first: Tegnap.
Past, definite object: Tegnap ANNA indította újra a szervert.

Worked example C: "The technician fixing the fault hasn't arrived yet."

Verb javít, a present participle takes the object before it: a hibát javító technikus.
Main verb megérkezik, negated with még nem: the prefix goes behind the verb.
Past tense: A hibát javító technikus még nem érkezett meg.

3. The error clinic

Ten typical mistakes. Find the error before you open the answer.

1. *Nem elmegyek.

Show answer

Nem megyek el. After nem the prefix goes behind the verb (Chapter 4).

2. *Ne kimenj!

Show answer

Ne menj ki! A prohibition with ne works like nem.

3. *Nem akarok menni ki.

Show answer

Nem akarok kimenni. With a blocked place, the prefix is attached to the infinitive.

4. *Kit felhívtál?

Show answer

Kit hívtál fel? A question word takes the place before the verb (Chapters 7 and 8).

5. *Csak Péter eljött.

Show answer

Csak Péter jött el. Csak takes the focus place, so the prefix moves behind the verb.

6. *A levelet írt lány. (meaning "the girl who is writing the letter")

Show answer

A levelet író lány. The present participle -ó is needed for an action in progress (Chapter 5).

7. *A lány, akit a levelet írta, itt van.

Show answer

A lány, aki a levelet írta, itt van. The girl is the subject of írta, so it is aki, not akit (Chapter 9).

8. *Azért tanulok, hogy találok munkát.

Show answer

Azért tanulok, hogy találjak munkát. After hogy of purpose, use the subjunctive.

9. *Két órán át elolvastam a könyvet. ("I read the book through in two hours.")

Show answer

Két óra alatt elolvastam a könyvet. "In" a length of time goes with alatt and the completed verb (Chapter 2).

10. *a nem megírt levél ("the letter that has not been written")

Show answer

a meg nem írt levél. The prefix stands before nem (Chapter 5).

🗣️ In Use — Használatban

The whole course in three exchanges.

① In the office

A: Elküldted az e-mailt, amelyet tegnap megírtál? Have you sent the e-mail you wrote yesterday?

B: Nem, még nem küldtem el. Ma délután elküldöm. No, not yet. I'll send it this afternoon.

② A walk in Edinburgh

A: Ki akar felmenni a Calton Hillre? Who wants to go up Calton Hill?

B: Én akarok felmenni, mert onnan a legszebb a kilátás. I do, because the view from there is the best.

③ On the support desk

A: Mit mondott a technikus? What did the technician say?

B: Azt mondta, hogy a hibát javító program letölthető. He said the program that fixes the fault can be downloaded.

📋 Quick Reference — Gyorstábla

Situation	Rule	Example
Neutral sentence	topics, then prefix + verb	Én megvettem.
Negation, focus, question word, command	prefix behind the verb	Nem vettem meg. · Ki vette meg?
Infinitive and helper	prefix before the helper, or on the infinitive if blocked	Meg akarom venni. · Nem akarom megvenni.
Completed	the prefix; completed present = future	Holnap megveszem.
Participle phrase	object and adverbials before the participle	a hibát javító technikus
Verbal noun, "can be done"	-ás/-és, -ható/-hető	letöltés · letölthető
Relative clause, hogy	aki/ami, comma, subjunctive after wanting	Azt akarom, hogy gyere.
Comparison	-bb, leg-, mint	gyorsabb, mint

🎓 Course Complete — Hungarian Grammar 4

What you can now do You can choose a verb prefix for direction, for meaning and for finished action. You can put the prefix in the right place in a neutral sentence, a negative, a question, a command and an infinitive. You can build the three participles, the adverbs in -va/-ve, the verbal nouns and the -ható adjectives. You can order a sentence by topic and focus, and join clauses with relative words and conjunctions. You can also compare things.

Chapter	Title	The key idea
1	The Verb Prefix Map	ten prefixes; direction pairs; the prefix as a separate word
2	Prefixes and Aspect	finished against going on; the completed present as future
3	Prefix Meanings	one verb, many prefixes; idioms; forty common verbs
4	Prefix Position	in front in a neutral sentence; behind after nem, focus and commands
5	Participles	-ó/-ő, -t/-tt, -andó/-endő; object before the participle
6	Verbal Forms	-va/-ve, -ás/-és, -ható/-hető
7	Word Order Basics	topic, focus, verb; neutral sentences; questions
8	Focus	the stressed place before the verb; csak, is, még
9	Clauses and Comparison	aki, ami, hogy, ha, mert; -bb, leg-
10	Putting It Together	the whole table, four steps, a clinic

The four-course grammar track

Course	What it gave you
Hungarian Grammar 1	the sound system, vowel harmony, linking vowels, the two conjugations
Hungarian Grammar 2	the cases, possession and postpositions
Hungarian Grammar 3	the tenses and moods: past, future, conditional, imperative, subjunctive
Hungarian Grammar 4	prefixes, participles, word order and focus, clauses and comparison

What comes next: The grammar track is finished. To use it in real situations, continue with Hungarian Intermediate 1 and the Hungarian Basic Conversation courses, which use prefixes, participles and focus in longer dialogues. Come back to this chapter's clinic whenever a sentence feels wrong: the answer is nearly always in the four steps.