Chapter III · THE NOUN

Number, Case, and Person are expressed by means of Suffixes.

There are also suffixes to express place and direction.

These suffixes are joined to the root, which sometimes undergoes orthographical changes.

Place and direction are also indicated by means of postpositions, which, like the suffixes mentioned above, are equivalent to the prepositions of English grammar, but which, as their name indicates, follow the noun instead of preceding it.

Postpositions only differ from the suffixes which also indicate place and direction by being separate from the noun.

Number.

Rule.—The plural is formed by adding -k to nouns ending with a vowel, or -ak, -ok, -ek, or -ök to nouns ending with a consonant.

rigó (thrush), plural rigók

ház (house), ” házak

kert (garden), ” kertek

a and e at the end of a noun become lengthened in the plural.

fa (tree), pl. fák

eke (plough), pl. ekék

Nouns ending with a consonant preceded by á or é shorten these vowels in the plural, except those ending in -ság, -ség, -ás, or -és, and a few monosyllabic nouns.

madár (bird), plural madarak

kerék (wheel) ” kerekek

But, ritkaság (rarity) ” ritkaságok

szépség (beauty) ” szépségek

vágás (a stroke) ” vágások

vetés (a crop) ” vetések

If the final consonants of the last two syllables in polysyllabic nouns would admit of an easy pronunciation without the intervention of a vowel, the vowel of the last syllable is generally dropped in the plural. This contraction mostly takes place when the consonants m-r, k-r, k-l, or reversed, r-m, r-k, and l-k meet.

lélek (soul), plural lelkek

ökör (bull) ” ökrök

járom (yoke) ” jármok

The following monosyllabic nouns ending with a vowel take v in the plural; some of them at the same time shorten their vowel:—

kő (stone), plural kövek

lé (juice) ” levek

ló (horse) ” lovak

fű (grass) ” füvek

cső (tube) ” csövek

tó (lake) ” tavak

tő (stem) ” tövek

hó (snow) ” havak

mű (work of art) ” művek

szó (word) ” { szavak (consecutive words)

{ szók (disconnected words)

Note.—Nouns are always used in the singular when preceded by a numeral or any other word expressing quantity, and take the verb in the singular.

két ember (two men); sok fa (many trees).

három ember van a kertben, three men are in the garden.

Many nouns in Hungarian are used in the singular which are in English used in the plural; for example, the names of the various parts of the human body, and of articles of clothing, which occur in pairs—eyes, hands, gloves, boots, &c.

Szép szeme van, she has pretty eyes (literally, a pretty eye).

Fázik a kezem, my hands are cold (literally, my hand is cold).

Keztyűt, czipőt, vettem, I have bought gloves, shoes (literally, glove, shoe).

If one desires to say exactly the quantity bought, one may say, egy pár keztyűt, két pár keztyűt, &c., but if the quantity is not mentioned, it is sufficient to use the singular accusative, as in the above example. If the plural were used it would mean many pairs, and it would then be better to say how many.

It may be well here to point out how such a notion as “a pair of,” “a cup of,” “a pound of,” is expressed in Hungarian. The English “of” has no equivalent in Hungarian.

A pair of shoes = egy pár czipő (lit. a pair shoe).

A cup of coffee = egy csésze kávé (lit. a cup coffee).

A bottle of wine = egy üveg bor.

A kilogram of apples = egy kilogramm alma (lit. a kilogram apple).

In such cases, if the accusative case has to be used, it is only the second of the two nouns that takes the accusative ending -t (see below).

I have bought a bottle of wine = vettem egy üveg bor-t.

Collective nouns are used in the plural when several lots or quantities of the same genus are referred to, but in all other cases they are used in the singular. In Hungarian all generic names are collective nouns, as, for instance, the names of fruits, corn, vegetables, minerals, &c., and stand in the singular.

alma, apple or apples.

buza, wheat.

borsó, a pea or peas.

egy font alma, a pound of apples; szeretem az almát, I like apples.

két itcze borsó, two quarts of peas; borsót vettem, I have bought some peas.

But, a magyar buzá-k jobbak mint az oroszok.

Hungarian wheats (are) better than Russian.

Exercise II.

A házak magasak és a kertek nagyok. A rigók madarak. A vetések zöldek. Az ökrök erősek. A tavak kékek. A hó fehér és hideg. A ló és a kutya házi állatok. A kertben sok szép virág van. Az emberek a kertben vannak.

Apples and pears are pleasant fruits. The dog and the cat are domestic animals. Many strong horses are in the stable. Three beautiful trees are in the garden. Dogs are faithful friends.

zöld, green

erős, strong

kék, blue

fehér, white

házi, domestic

állat, animal

-ben, -ban, in

körte, pear

van, is

vannak, are

kellemes, pleasant

gyümölcs, fruit

macska, cat

istálló, stable

hű, faithful

barát, friend

Cases of the Noun.

There are four cases:—Nominative, Genitive or Possessive, Dative and Accusative.

The Nominative is the subject of the verb and is the simple word.

The Genitive.

Two different suffixes are used to indicate the genitive or possessive case.

(1) When the names of the possessor and the thing possessed are both mentioned the name of the possessor takes the suffix -nak for flat-sounding words and -nek for sharp-sounding words to indicate the possessive case.

At the same time the name of the thing possessed takes the personal suffix -a, -e or -ja, -je (see Chapter IV.).

Péter-nek kert-je, Peter’s garden.

Péter-nek a kert-je szép, Peter’s garden is beautiful.

The genitive with -nak, -nek, stands in an adjectival relation to the thing possessed. In Péternek kertje, Péternek is the attribute to kertje.

This construction, while grammatically correct, is somewhat cumbersome, and as a rule, when the possessive stands only as attribute to its object, it is not inflected, as the object is already inflected with the personal suffix, which expresses amply the relation between possessor and thing possessed.

Thus, Péter kert-je is more usual than Péter-nek kert-je; in fact, this construction is almost invariably employed.

az ember kabát-ja, the man’s coat.

Note.—When several substantives occur in succession, and all except the first and last are both possessors and things possessed, while all the things possessed take the personal suffix, only the last possessor takes the genitive suffix, which must never be omitted.

A fa lomb-ja szin-é-nek szépség-e. The beauty of the colour of the foliage of the tree.

VAN. VANNAK.

The Hungarian has no word corresponding to the English verb “to have,” but expresses possession by the possessive case with the verb van, “is,” or other parts of the verb lenni, “to be.”

Péter-nek van ház-a, Peter has a house (literally, there is a house of Peter’s).

Péter-nek vannak ház-ai, Peter has houses (literally, there are houses of Peter’s).

The form of the possessive with the verb van is called its subjective form, and is always to be translated into English by the nominative and the verb “to have.” With this construction, -nek or -nak must never be omitted if the name of the possessor is mentioned, while the thing possessed must always take the personal ending.

Note.—The name of the possessor is not always mentioned, the personal ending, or the context, being sufficient to show who the possessor is.

Tavasszal sok virág-unk lesz. We shall have many flowers in the spring.

Atyám örült, mert az ősszel sok gyümölcs-e volt. My father was glad, because he had abundant fruit in the autumn.

In this latter sentence neki is understood, but need not be expressed.

The other form, where it governs its object directly, that is, without van, is called its attributive form, and is to be rendered in English by the possessive case.

(2) When the name of the thing possessed is suppressed, the possessive case is indicated by the suffix -é or -éi; -é, if the thing possessed is a single object, -éi, when two or more objects are possessed.

Kinek a háza az? Az atyám-é.

Whose house is that? My father’s.

Kinek a házai azok? Az atyám-éi.

Whose houses are those? My father’s.

Az a ház az atyám-é.

That house is my father’s.

This sentence in full would be: Az a ház az atyám háza, but háza is suppressed and the suffix -é is substituted for it.

This suffix -é or -éi is added to the plural if there are more than one possessor.

Kinek a szobája ez? A gyermek-ek-é.

Whose is this room? The children’s.

Kinek a szobái ezek? A gyermek-ek-éi.

Whose are these rooms? The children’s.

Note.—This form of the genitive, being a contraction of both possessor and object possessed, may be used as subject or predicate, and can be inflected like an ordinary noun, except that it cannot take the genitive ending again.

Házamat eladtam és Péter-é-t megvettem, I sold my house and bought Peter’s.

Here Péter is in the genitive, and has taken also the accusative ending -t, which would be joined to the object were it expressed; thus, Házamat eladtam és Péternek ház-á-t megvettem.

Exercise III.

A madarak dala szép. A fák lombja zöld. Péter háza és kertje nagy. A háznak sok ablaka van. Az ökrök járma erős. Jánosnak négy lova van. A rózsáknak édes illata van. Kinek a kertje ez? A szomszédé.

The scent of the flowers is pleasant. Whose are those fine horses? They belong to the king. The colour of the roses of that garden is lovely. That tall house belongs to Peter. The neighbour has a large garden.

dal, song

lomb, foliage

ablak, window

négy, four

édes, sweet

illat, scent

szomszéd, neighbour

szép, fine, beautiful

szín, colour

gyönyörű, lovely

The Dative.

The dative suffix is also -nak or -nek, which corresponds to the English “to” or “for.”

Ezt Péter-nek adom, I give this to Peter.

Szénát viszek a lovak-nak, I carry hay to the horses.

N.B.—This dative suffix, unlike the genitive -nak, -nek, must never be omitted.

The Accusative.

The distinctive mark of the accusative, both in the singular and in the plural, is the ending -t.

Rule 1.—This -t is added directly to

(a) all substantives ending in a vowel.

férfi (man), acc. férfit

rózsa (rose) ” rózsát

kefe (brush) ” kefét

erdő (wood) ” erdőt

Note.—Final -a and -e become lengthened in the accusative.

(b) Substantives ending in j, l, if they are not monosyllables, ny, s (if preceded by a long vowel), dissyllables ending in sz and z, and monosyllables ending in r (except vár, a castle).

zörej (noise), acc. zörejt

asztal (table) ” asztalt

leány (girl) ” leányt

kár (damage) ” kárt

hús (meat) ” húst

vadász (huntsman) ” vadászt

vitéz (warrior) ” vitézt

Rule 2. -t is preceded by a vowel in the case of words ending with a consonant.

(a) By a (for flat words).

In monosyllabic substantives containing a long or short a (excepting those covered by the preceding rule).

száj (mouth), acc. szájat

váz (skeleton) ” vázat

vaj (butter) ” vajat

In most monosyllables containing i.

díj (salary), acc. díjat

híd (bridge) ” hidat

Also, in many nouns which shorten the long á of their last syllable.

madár (bird), acc. madarat

(b) By o (for flat words).

narancs (orange), acc. narancsot

kalap (hat) ” kalapot

(c) By e (for sharp words).

In all substantives whose roots have i, e, or é, for their radical vowels.

gyermek (child), acc. gyermeket

vitézség (bravery) ” vitézséget

In monosyllables with a final l, or with another final consonant preceded by l or r.

fül (ear), acc. fület

föld (earth) ” földet

völgy (valley) ” völgyet

(d) By ö (for sharp words).

In substantives having as their radical vowels ö, ő, ü, or ű, and not covered by the preceding rules.

ezüst (silver), acc. ezüstöt

füst (smoke) ” füstöt

köd (fog) ” ködöt

Contraction.

The rule for contraction is the same in the case of the addition of the accusative ending as in that of the addition of the plural ending (see page 8).

lélek (soul), plural, lelkek, acc. lelket

dolog (task) ” dolgok, ” dolgot

A substantive is declined in the plural in the same way as in the singular.

Nom. a házak

Gen. a házak-é

Dat. a házak-nak

Acc. a házak-at

Exercise IV.

Buzát adok a madaraknak. Képeket mutatok a gyermekeknek. Az ember vizet visz a lovaknak és az ökröknek. A hó takarót ad a földnek. A kert gyümölcsöt hoz a gazdának. A tónak a partja virágos és a vize tiszta. A kert füve zöld és fái magasak. Látok egy gazdaságot, két házat és három lovat. A munka díja nagy. A madarat a kertben látom.

The men have a beautiful garden. The king’s palace is an imposing building. I do not much admire the houses. Whose books are those? They belong to the student. I shall give this gun to the hunter. I like beautiful flowers.

kép, picture

mutatok, I show

víz, water

visz, carries

ad, gives

munka, work

látok, látom, I see

palota, palace

tekintélyes, imposing

épület, building

takaró, a covering

hoz, brings

gazda, farmer

gazdaság, farm

part, shore

virágos, flowery

nem, no, not

nagyon, much

bámulom, I admire

tanuló, student

fogom adni, I shall give

puska, gun

tiszta, clean, pure