Until now, everything you have said in Hungarian has happened in the present. In this lesson you will learn to talk about yesterday, last week and last year. And there is good news: Hungarian has only one past tense. It covers English "I waited", "I was waiting", "I have waited" and "I had waited" all at once.
The past tense is made with a -t or -tt, followed by personal endings. As always in Hungarian, there are two sets of endings, indefinite and definite, and the same rules from Lesson 10 decide which one you use.
The basic pattern
Take the verb stem, add -t, and then add the personal endings. Here is vár (to wait) in the indefinite conjugation:
| Person | Ending | vár | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| én | -tam | vártam | I waited |
| te | -tál | vártál | you waited |
| ő, Ön | -t | várt | he / she waited |
| mi | -tunk | vártunk | we waited |
| ti | -tatok | vártatok | you waited |
| ők, Önök | -tak | vártak | they waited |
And here is the front-vowel verb kér (to ask for):
kértem, kértél, kért (I asked, you asked, he / she asked)
kértünk, kértetek, kértek (we asked, you asked, they asked)
There is a nice surprise here. The past endings have only two forms, back and front. There is no separate rounded version, so verbs with ö or ü just use the front endings: köszöntem, ültem.
Tegnap sokat tanultam. (I studied a lot yesterday.)
Két órát vártunk a buszra. (We waited two hours for the bus.)
Mit csináltál a hétvégén? (What did you do at the weekend?)
Anna levelet írt. (Anna wrote a letter.)
Magyarul beszéltek. (They spoke Hungarian.)
Look at kértek. It can be "you asked" (plural) or "they asked", just as in the present kértek means "you ask". The context, or a pronoun, makes it clear.
The definite past
The definite endings are just as regular. After the -t come -am, -ad, -a, -uk, -átok, -ák for back verbs, and -em, -ed, -e, -ük, -étek, -ék for front verbs:
| Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| én | vártam | vártam | kértem | kértem |
| te | vártál | vártad | kértél | kérted |
| ő, Ön | várt | várta | kért | kérte |
| mi | vártunk | vártuk | kértünk | kértük |
| ti | vártatok | vártátok | kértetek | kértétek |
| ők, Önök | vártak | várták | kértek | kérték |
Notice that the "I" form is the same in both conjugations: vártam means "I waited" or "I waited for him / it". This makes the past a little easier than the present.
Vártam a buszt. (I waited for the bus.)
Kérted a számlát? (Did you ask for the bill?)
Péter várta Annát. (Péter was waiting for Anna.)
A gyerekek tanulták a szavakat. (The children were learning the words.)
-t or -tt?
Here is the part that takes some practice. Some verbs add -t, some add -ott/-ett/-ött (with a linking vowel and a double t), and some do one or the other depending on the person. There are three groups. The full list of common verbs is in the Past Tense Table.
Group 1: -t everywhere
Verbs ending in -l, -r, -n, -ny, -j or -ly take a plain -t in every form. These are the verbs you have seen so far in this lesson:
tanul → tanultam, tanult (I studied, he studied)
ír → írtam, írt (I wrote, she wrote)
ül → ültem, ült (I sat, he sat)
csinál → csináltam, csinált (I did, she did)
beszél → beszéltem, beszélt (I spoke, he spoke)
A few verbs break the rule. The most common is hall (to hear), which takes -ott: hallottam, hallott.
Group 2: -t, but -ott/-ett/-ött for "he, she"
Most other verbs take a plain -t, except in one form: the indefinite "he, she". There, the -t alone would be too short and hard to hear, so it becomes -ott, -ett or -ött:
| Verb | I | he, she (indefinite) | he, she (definite) |
|---|---|---|---|
| olvas (read) | olvastam | olvasott | olvasta |
| néz (watch) | néztem | nézett | nézte |
| lát (see) | láttam | látott | látta |
| kap (get) | kaptam | kapott | kapta |
| mond (say) | mondtam | mondott | mondta |
| fizet (pay) | fizettem | fizetett | fizette |
| főz (cook) | főztem | főzött | főzte |
| lakik (live) | laktam | lakott | – |
| dolgozik (work) | dolgoztam | dolgozott | – |
Tegnap egy jó könyvet olvastam. (Yesterday I read a good book.)
Péter egy filmet nézett. (Péter watched a film.)
Péter nézte a filmet. (Péter watched the film.) Definite: no -ett.
Tavaly Bécsben laktunk. (Last year we lived in Vienna.)
Ki fizetett? (Who paid?)
Look at láttam and fizettem. The stem already ends in t, so the past -t just makes it double. This is not the same as group 3, because the "he, she" form is still látott, fizetett.
Group 3: -ott/-ett/-ött everywhere
Verbs ending in -ít, and short verbs ending in -t after a consonant or a short vowel, take the long form in every person:
tanít → tanítottam, tanított (I taught, she taught)
segít → segítettem, segített (I helped, he helped)
ért → értettem, értett (I understood, she understood)
tart → tartottam, tartott (I held, it lasted)
fut → futottam, futott (I ran, he ran)
A few verbs ending in two consonants also belong here, such as játszik (to play): játszottam, játszott.
Nem értettem a kérdést. (I didn't understand the question.)
Ki segített neked? (Who helped you?)
Sokáig tartott. (It took a long time.) Literally "it lasted long".
Don't panic
Three groups sound like a lot. In practice, the only form where groups 1 and 2 differ is "he, she", and Hungarians will understand you perfectly if you get it wrong. Learn the "I" form and the "he, she" form of each new verb together, as in the table, and the groups will sort themselves out.
Irregular verbs
A handful of very common verbs are irregular. They are worth learning first, because you will use them all the time.
van → volt
The past of "to be" is volt, and it is completely regular from there:
| Present | Past | |
|---|---|---|
| én | vagyok | voltam |
| te | vagy | voltál |
| ő, Ön | van | volt |
| mi | vagyunk | voltunk |
| ti | vagytok | voltatok |
| ők, Önök | vannak | voltak |
Notice one important difference from the present. In the present, Hungarian leaves out van before adjectives: A film jó. In the past you must say it: A film jó volt (The film was good).
Hol voltál? (Where were you?)
Otthon voltam. (I was at home.)
Tegnap hideg volt. (It was cold yesterday.)
Voltál már Budapesten? (Have you ever been to Budapest?)
A gyerekek nagyon fáradtak voltak. (The children were very tired.)
nincs → nem volt
Nincs and nincsenek only exist in the present. In the past, use the normal nem with volt or voltak:
Péter nincs otthon. → Péter nem volt otthon. (Péter isn't at home. → Péter wasn't at home.)
Nincs időm. → Nem volt időm. (I don't have time. → I didn't have time.)
Nem voltak ott. (They weren't there.)
And having in the past follows straight from Lesson 9:
Volt egy kutyám. (I had a dog.)
Nem volt pénzünk. (We didn't have any money.)
Annának volt egy kis háza. (Anna had a small house.)
megy, jön and the others
| Verb | I | he, she | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| megy | mentem | ment | I went, he went |
| jön | jöttem | jött | I came, she came |
| eszik | ettem | evett | I ate, he ate |
| iszik | ittam | ivott | I drank, she drank |
| vesz | vettem | vett | I bought, he bought |
| tesz | tettem | tett | I put, she put |
| alszik | aludtam | aludt | I slept, he slept |
Tegnap moziba mentem. (I went to the cinema yesterday.)
Mikor jöttél? (When did you come?)
Már ettem, köszönöm. (I've already eaten, thank you.)
Mit ettél ebédre? (What did you have for lunch?)
Vettem egy új telefont. (I bought a new phone.)
Jól aludtál? (Did you sleep well?)
Hova tettem a kulcsomat? (Where did I put my key?)
Notice that ik-verbs have no special forms in the past. Lakik becomes laktam, just like any other verb.
Talking about the past
Here are the time words you will need most:
tegnap (yesterday)
tegnapelőtt (the day before yesterday)
tegnap este (yesterday evening, last night)
múlt héten (last week)
tavaly (last year)
régen (a long time ago; in the old days)
For "ago", Hungarian uses the "his, her" ending from Lesson 9 on the time word: "its hour", "its week". It sounds strange, but it is very simple:
egy órája (an hour ago)
két napja (two days ago)
egy hete (a week ago)
három éve (three years ago)
Egy hete érkeztem. (I arrived a week ago.)
Két éve tanulok magyarul. (I have been learning Hungarian for two years.) With the present tense, it means "for".
Questions and negatives work just as in the present. Put nem in front of the verb, or ask with rising intonation:
Láttad a filmet? (Did you see the film?)
Igen, láttam. (Yes, I did.)
Nem, nem láttam. (No, I didn't.)
Tegnap nem dolgoztam. (I didn't work yesterday.)
Conclusion
With one past tense you can now tell stories, say where you have been and what you have done. The irregular verbs and group 2 are the ones to practise. The Past Tense Table lists thirty common verbs. Then learn the Vocabulary and try the Exercises. In the next lesson you will meet the verbal prefixes, like meg- and el-, which change how a verb feels in the past and in the future.