A participle is a verb that works like an adjective or an adverb. English has a few: "a sleeping child", "a broken window". Hungarian uses participles far more than English, especially in writing, and it lets you put a whole description in front of them. Where English says "the woman who is sitting next to me", Hungarian says "the next-to-me sitting woman". Once you can read these, newspapers and books become much easier.
There are four participles to learn:
| Ending | Name | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ó/-ő | present participle | doing | alvó gyerek (sleeping child) |
| -t/-tt | past participle | done; having done | nyitott ablak (open window) |
| -andó/-endő | future participle | to be done | fizetendő összeg (amount to be paid) |
| -va/-ve | adverbial participle | in the state of; by doing | Az ajtó nyitva van. (The door is open.) |
The present participle: -ó/-ő
The present participle describes someone or something that is doing something. It is made by adding -ó (back vowels) or -ő (front vowels) to the verb stem:
olvas, olvasó (read → reading)
ül, ülő (sit → sitting)
játszik, játszó (play → playing)
dolgozik, dolgozó (work → working)
alszik, alvó (sleep → sleeping) Irregular stem.
iszik, ivó (drink → drinking) Irregular stem.
Use it in front of a noun, like an adjective:
A játszó gyerekek hangosak. (The children who are playing are noisy.)
Ne ébreszd fel az alvó kutyát! (Don't wake the sleeping dog!)
Folyó víz (running water)
Packing a clause in front of the noun
The real power of the participle is that it can take objects, adverbs and case endings, just like a verb. All of them go in front of the participle, so the whole description comes before the noun:
a mellettem ülő nő (the woman sitting next to me)
az ablaknál álló férfi (the man standing by the window)
a Budapestre induló vonat (the train leaving for Budapest)
a magyarul jól beszélő turista (the tourist who speaks Hungarian well)
When you read one of these, find the noun at the end first, then read the description backwards from the participle. With practice, you will start to read them in one go.
English usually translates these with a relative clause. Hungarian can do that too, with aki (who) or amely / ami (which). The participle is shorter and more common in writing:
a nő, aki mellettem ül (the woman who is sitting next to me) Relative clause.
a mellettem ülő nő (the woman sitting next to me) Participle.
-ható/-hető: can be done
Add -ó/-ő to the -hat/-het form (Lesson 15), and you get "able to be done", like English -able. You see these words on labels and signs everywhere:
iható (drinkable) Nem iható! = Not drinking water!
olvasható (readable, legible)
látható (visible)
kapható (available (in shops))
elérhető (available, reachable)
Háziállat nem hozható. (No pets.) Literally "a pet is not bringable". From the flat advert in Lesson 18.
The past participle: -t/-tt
The past participle has the same form as the 3rd person singular past tense (Lesson 13): írt, olvasott, nyitott. With a transitive verb (one that takes an object), it has a passive meaning, like English "written", "opened":
a megírt levél (the written letter, the letter that has been written)
a nyitott ablak (the open window)
zárt ajtó (a closed door)
használt autó (a used car, a second-hand car)
főtt tojás (a boiled egg)
sült krumpli (chips, fried potatoes)
a tegnap vett kenyér (the bread bought yesterday)
To say who did it, use által (by), which is formal:
a nagyapám által épített ház (the house built by my grandfather)
a minisztérium által kiadott rendelet (the decree issued by the ministry)
With an intransitive verb (one with no object), the past participle has an active meaning: someone who has done something.
a tegnap érkezett vendégek (the guests who arrived yesterday)
a tavaly megjelent könyv (the book that came out last year)
a leesett hó (the snow that has fallen)
Two old friends
Two very common words are really past participles. Volt (was) is also an adjective meaning "former": a volt férjem (my ex-husband), a volt iskolám (my old school). And felnőtt (adult) is the past participle of felnő (to grow up): literally "grown-up", just as in English.
Negative: -atlan/-etlen
A separate ending, -atlan/-etlen (or -tlan/-tlen), means "not done", like English "un-...-ed":
olvasatlan levél (an unread letter)
megoldatlan probléma (an unsolved problem)
váratlan (unexpected) From vár (wait): "not waited for".
ismeretlen (unknown)
The future participle: -andó/-endő
The future participle means "to be done" or "which must be done". It belongs to formal and official language: forms, instructions, school textbooks and the news.
a fizetendő összeg (the amount payable)
az elvégzendő feladatok (the tasks to be done)
a megoldandó probléma (the problem to be solved)
a megtanulandó szavak (the words to be learned)
One future participle is completely everyday: leendő, from lesz. It means "future, to-be":
Bemutatom a leendő férjemet. (Let me introduce my future husband.)
The adverbial participle: -va/-ve
The adverbial participle ends in -va or -ve. Unlike -val/-vel, it never assimilates: nyitva, zárva, ülve. It goes straight onto the stem: tanítva, mondva. It has two main uses.
A state: van + -va/-ve
With van, it describes the state something is in, as the result of an action. This is how you read most shop signs:
A bolt nyitva van. (The shop is open.)
Az ajtó zárva van. (The door is locked.)
Nyitva: hétfőtől péntekig (Open: Monday to Friday) On a door.
A levél meg van írva. (The letter is written.) The prefix stays in front of van.
Az asztal meg van terítve. (The table is laid.)
Ki van takarítva a lakás? (Has the flat been cleaned?)
Is this really correct?
Older style guides frowned on meg van írva as a German-style passive. Today it is perfectly normal, standard Hungarian for a finished state. Just remember that it describes how things are now, not the action itself.
A manner: how something is done
Without van, the -va/-ve form describes how someone does something, or what they are doing at the same time:
Ülve dolgozom. (I work sitting down.)
Állva várt a buszra. (She waited for the bus standing up.)
Mosolyogva köszönt. (He said hello with a smile.) mosolyog = to smile
Sietve elment. (He left in a hurry.)
Futva érkezett. (She arrived running.)
Az ablaknál állva hallgatta a zenét. (Standing at the window, she listened to the music.)
Some -va/-ve forms are fixed phrases you will meet all the time:
figyelembe véve (taking into account)
kivéve (except)
őszintén szólva (frankly speaking)
Literary: -ván/-vén
In literature and very formal writing you will also meet -ván/-vén. It means "having done", "since", "on doing". You don't need to use it, but you should recognise it:
Hazaérvén leült. (Having got home, he sat down.)
Ezt hallván elsápadt. (On hearing this, she turned pale.)
Lévén hétvége, sokan voltak a strandon. (It being the weekend, there were a lot of people on the beach.) lévén, from van
Participles used as nouns
Many present participles have become nouns for the person or thing that does the action. You know some of them already:
olvasó (reader)
író (writer)
tanuló (pupil, learner)
tanító (primary school teacher)
dolgozó (worker, employee)
vevő (customer, buyer)
eladó (shop assistant; for sale)
néző (viewer, spectator)
utazó (traveller)
lakó (resident)
résztvevő (participant)
kezdő (beginner)
haladó (advanced (learner))
Many objects are named the same way: mosógép (washing machine), evőkanál (tablespoon, literally "eating spoon"), ivóvíz (drinking water), and hálószoba (bedroom, from the old verb hál, "to spend the night"). Past participles can become nouns too, usually in the plural, for groups of people: a sérültek (the injured), a meghívottak (the invited guests).
Notice also jövő (future), from jön: literally "the coming (time)". It also means "next": jövő héten (next week).
Conclusion
The participles are the key to reading Hungarian newspapers and books, because they let writers pack a lot of information into one phrase. The Participle Table shows the forms of the most common verbs. Learn the Vocabulary and practise with the Exercises. In Lesson 24 you will learn the causative ("I have my car repaired") and how to write a formal letter.