In this lesson you will learn to say what you can do, what you must do and what you want to do. These are some of the most useful things you can say in any language: "Can I sit here?", "I have to go", "I'd like to pay".
Hungarian does some of this with verbs, as English does, and some of it with an ending. You will also meet one new form, the personal infinitive, which you need for "I must".
Tud: can, be able to
You know tud as "to know" (a fact). With an infinitive it means "can" in the sense of "be able to" or "know how to":
Tudok Ăşszni. (I can swim.)
Tudsz főzni? (Can you cook?)
Nem tudok holnap jönni. (I can't come tomorrow.)
Tudsz segĂteni? (Can you help?)
PĂ©ter jĂłl tud angolul. (PĂ©ter speaks English well.) tud + language = can speak
Tud has both conjugations. Use the definite forms when the infinitive has a definite object. A prefix on the infinitive jumps in front of tud, just as it did with fog in Lesson 14:
Meg tudod csinálni? (Can you do it?)
Igen, meg tudom csinálni. (Yes, I can do it.)
Nem tudom kinyitni az ajtĂłt. (I can't open the door.) After nem, the prefix stays on the infinitive.
-hat, -het: may, can
Hungarian has a verb ending that means "may" or "can" in the sense of being allowed, or of something being possible. It is -hat for back verbs and -het for front verbs, and it goes straight onto the verb stem, before the personal ending:
| vár (wait) | kér (ask for) | |
|---|---|---|
| én | várhatok | kérhetek |
| te | várhatsz | kérhetsz |
| ő, Ön | várhat | kérhet |
| mi | várhatunk | kérhetünk |
| ti | várhattok | kérhettek |
| ők, Önök | várhatnak | kérhetnek |
The result is a normal verb with normal endings, and it has a definite conjugation too: várhatom, kérhetem. Its most common use is asking permission:
Bejöhetek? (May I come in?)
LeĂĽlhetek? (May I sit down?)
Kérhetek egy pohár vizet? (Could I have a glass of water?)
SegĂthetek? (Can I help?)
Itt várhatsz. (You can wait here.)
MehetĂĽnk? (Shall we go? / Can we go?)
A few common verbs have a short stem before -hat/-het. You have met most of these stems already in the past tense:
megy → mehet (may go)
jön → jöhet (may come)
eszik → ehet (may eat)
iszik → ihat (may drink)
tesz → tehet (may put, may do)
vesz → vehet (may buy, may take)
alszik → alhat (may sleep)
van → lehet (may be; it is possible)
Lehet: it is possible
Lehet is a very useful word on its own. It means "it is possible", "you can" (in general) or just "maybe":
Lehet itt parkolni? (Can you park here?) Is it allowed, in general?
Lehet, hogy holnap esik. (It might rain tomorrow.)
PĂ©ter otthon lehet. (PĂ©ter may be at home.)
Jössz? Lehet. (Are you coming? Maybe.)
Tud or -hat?
Both can be translated as "can", but they are not the same. Tud is about ability: Nem tudok jönni means "I can't come" because I am busy or ill. -hat/-het is about permission: Nem jöhetek means "I can't come" because someone won't let me. When you ask for something politely, use -hat/-het: Kérhetek egy kávét?
Kell: must, have to
For "must" or "have to", Hungarian uses kell. Kell never changes: it is always kell, whoever has to do the thing. On its own with an infinitive, it means that something has to be done in general:
Dolgozni kell. (One has to work. / There's work to be done.)
Itt jegyet kell venni. (You have to buy a ticket here.)
The personal infinitive
To say who has to do something, Hungarian puts a personal ending on the infinitive. Take the infinitive, remove the final -i, and add these endings:
| Ending | menni (to go) | beszélni (to speak) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | -om / -em / -öm | mennem kell | beszélnem kell |
| you | -od / -ed / -öd | menned kell | beszélned kell |
| he, she, Ön | -ia / -ie | mennie kell | beszélnie kell |
| we | -unk / -ünk | mennünk kell | beszélnünk kell |
| you (plural) | -otok / -etek / -ötök | mennetek kell | beszélnetek kell |
| they, Önök | -iuk / -iük | menniük kell | beszélniük kell |
These endings are almost the same as the possessive endings from Lesson 9. Mennem kell is literally something like "my going is necessary".
Mennem kell. (I have to go.)
Holnap dolgoznom kell. (I have to work tomorrow.)
Tanulnod kell. (You have to study.)
PihennĂĽnk kell. (We need to rest.)
Mennetek kell? (Do you have to go? (plural))
To name the person, add nekem, neked and so on, or the name with -nak/-nek, just as with "having":
Nekem is mennem kell. (I have to go too.)
PĂ©ternek dolgoznia kell. (PĂ©ter has to work.)
Annának tanulnia kell. (Anna has to study.)
Some verbs have a linking vowel in the infinitive, such as mondani (to say), segĂteni (to help) and Ă©rteni (to understand). They keep it: mondanom, segĂtenem. And the short verbs use their short stems: ennem (eszik), innom (iszik), aludnom (alszik), lennem (van).
SegĂtenem kell az anyukámnak. (I have to help my mum.)
Ennem kell valamit. (I need to eat something.)
HĂ©tkor otthon kell lennem. (I have to be at home at seven.) -kor = at (a time). Lesson 20.
With prefixes
A prefix on the infinitive jumps in front of kell:
Haza kell mennem. (I have to go home.)
Meg kell csinálnom. (I have to do it.)
Fel kell hĂvnom az anyukámat. (I have to call my mum.)
Not have to: nem kell
Nem kell sietned. (You don't have to hurry.)
Nem kell jönnöd. (You don't have to come.)
Holnap nem kell dolgoznom. (I don't have to work tomorrow.)
Kellett: had to
The past of kell is kellett. Everything else stays the same:
Tegnap dolgoznom kellett. (I had to work yesterday.)
Haza kellett mennĂĽnk. (We had to go home.)
Kell with a noun: need
With a noun instead of an infinitive, kell means "need". The thing you need is the subject, in its basic form:
Kell egy Ăşj telefon. (I need a new phone.) Literally "a new phone is necessary".
Mi kell? (What do you need?)
Kell segĂtsĂ©g? (Do you need help?)
Nem kell, köszönöm. (No, thank you. I don't need it.)
Muszáj
In speech you will often hear muszáj instead of kell. It is a little stronger, like "I really must". It works in exactly the same way: Muszáj mennem (I really have to go).
Akar: want
Akar means "to want". It is a regular verb with both conjugations, and it is used with an infinitive or a noun:
Haza akarok menni. (I want to go home.)
Mit akarsz csinálni? (What do you want to do?)
Nem akarok dolgozni. (I don't want to work.)
Moziba akarunk menni. (We want to go to the cinema.)
Meg akarom nézni a filmet. (I want to watch the film.) Definite, because of "the film".
Notice the last example. Akar, like tud and fog, takes the conjugation that the object of the infinitive needs. "The film" is definite, so it is akarom.
Szeretne: would like
Akar is quite direct. When you ask for something, or talk politely about what you want, use szeretne (would like) instead. It comes from szeret, and you will learn exactly how it is made in Lesson 21. For now, just learn its forms:
| Indefinite | Definite | |
|---|---|---|
| én | szeretnék | szeretném |
| te | szeretnél | szeretnéd |
| ő, Ön | szeretne | szeretné |
| mi | szeretnénk | szeretnénk |
| ti | szeretnétek | szeretnétek |
| ők, Önök | szeretnének | szeretnék |
Szeretnék egy kávét. (I'd like a coffee.)
Szeretnék fizetni. (I'd like to pay.)
Mit szeretnél inni? (What would you like to drink?)
Szeretném megnézni a lakást. (I'd like to see the flat.)
Szeretnénk egy asztalt két főre. (We'd like a table for two.)
Allowed and forbidden
Three more words are worth knowing, because you will see them on signs and hear them in shops and offices:
Szabad itt fényképezni? (Is it allowed to take photos here?)
Szabad ez a hely? (Is this seat free?)
Itt nem szabad dohányozni. (You mustn't smoke here.)
Tilos a dohányzás. (No smoking.) A sign: "smoking is forbidden".
Tilos a belépés. (No entry.)
Itt tilos parkolni. (Parking is forbidden here.)
Szabad also means "free", which is why Szabad? on its own can mean "May I?" or "Is this free?". It takes the personal infinitive too: Nem szabad elfelejtened (You mustn't forget).
Nem kell or nem szabad?
Be careful with these two, because English "must not" and "don't have to" are easy to mix up. Nem kell jönnöd means "you don't have to come" (but you can if you like). Nem szabad jönnöd means "you mustn't come".
Conclusion
You can now ask for permission, say what you have to do and what you would like. The personal infinitive is new, so spend some time with the Forms Table. Then learn the Vocabulary and try the Exercises. In the next lesson you will learn the cases for going to people, being at their place, and doing things with them.