Hungarian with ease You! 1g the help you reach your go: aso YIM uBLIesuny i which have been be purchased. Hungarian Press Office, Paris. ==} | 35410"002102 ISBN: 2-7008-0205-1Printed by Interpress Day by day method AS, Hungarian With Ease original text by Georges KASSAL and Tamas SZENDE adapted for the use of English speakers by Kristina Jilly and Balogh Péter Illustrated by J.-L. Goussé ASS. B.P.25 94431 Chenneviéres-sur-Marne Cedex FRANCE © Assimil 1996 ISBN; 2-7005-0205-1ZS. for over sixty years, the preferred publisher of self-teaching foreign-language methods! Illustrated books, recorded on cassettes and compact discs Arabic with ease Dutch with ease French with ease German with ease Hungarian with ease Italian with ease Spanish with ease Advanced level Using French Using German Using Spanish INTRODUCTION This method offers you a means of studying Hungarian, a language spoken by more than fifteen million people not only in Hungary but around the world. The ASSIMIL method familiarises you with everyday Hungarian. Most of the texts consist of lively dialogues between Hungarians in all aspects of their daily lives: asking for information, making purchases, using the telephone, visiting the doctor, applying for jobs, moving into new apartments, etc. HOW TO USE HUNGARIAN WITH EASE Daily involvement is the key to the ASSIMIL method. You will learn Hungarian by listening and repeating passively. All it takes is 30 minutes a day! During the First Wave (the first 50 lessons), just listen, repeat and understand. Read the text aloud, compare the translation and study the explanations. No need to worry about grammar! As you proceed, you will gradually “assimilate” the basic construction of Hungarian, in the same way you learned your mother tongue. From lesson 50 onwards (the Second Wave or the active phase), the process starts all over, but this time you'll consolidate your knowledge, and the Hungarian language will become part of you!wl The more complex points of grammar are examined every seventh lesson (Revision and Notes). In the text of each lesson, the notes are indicated by a number, following the words or expressions that need explanations. Each time you come to one of these references, read the relevant note, but no more. Only when you reach the "Revision and Notes” lesson should you review the grammar in depth Trust ust No need to cover too much at once. This way you'll find your own rhythm, and you will enjay the time you ‘spend each day teaching yourself Hungarian. Good luck! "YO MUNKATE"vu ALPHABET AND PRONUNCIATION The first column gives the letters of the Hung: alphabet, the second one gives our transcription and the third one explains, how to pronounce it. a @_ is pronounced between a and o like in the English ‘what’ aoa is always long regardless of stress; ke in the English “car” the German “Zimmer” itong, like in the French “thé” f f as in English @ 9 _ like in "go" or “get” th “house” they sound the same and are orthographical variants of the same sound like “ph” and ‘f" in English k asin "book" | asin English m asin English nthe same like in the British “new" or “cognac” © isa short vowel, itis not a diphthong (there are no diphthongs in Hungarian except for the dialects), sounds a bit more rounded than the British “Rob” 6 0: the same as the previous one but itis long like in “bought” © 6 rounded short front vowel like in the German “offnen” ace 2 2 * o 2 its long pair, it's a bit more rounded than in “her” Pp asin English fis formed with the vibration of the tip of the tongue like in the Scottish, Irish or in the Welsh “Rhaeadr"? ssh ss tt asin English ty ty is the unvoiced pair of gy like in the British tune" UU isa short rounded back vowel without a “y" element at the beginning, like in “look” and eae is its long pair, the sound like in ‘woo!’ or *you" is a short rounded front vowel ike in the French une” or the German “fun?” is its long pair like in “Fahrer as in English as in English |s the voiced pair of sh, like the English “j without the explosive element; it's a fricative sound like in the French “Jean’, “beige” or “garage” ec n CORRECTION 4 Hogy 2 Készéném ~ szép dS — 3 kulonds, 4 ~ beszél 6 Te — j6t-6 = isag Congratulations. You have survived the first lesson. Now that wasn't so bad, was it? SHER IIR bid SECOND LESSON Hungary, France 4 — This [is] Europe. 2 —Here is France. 3 — There is Hungary. 4 — France is a large country. 5 —Sir (teacher), is Hungary also a large country? 6 — Yes Pete, Hungary is also a large country. NOTES (Cont) (2) Eris a demonstrative pronoun. The vero ‘or its plural \vannak (are ), which isthe third person plural the present, are ot usually needed in sentences where English uses them, ‘There are however excey English uses the construction there is, there are: Van fea az asztalon (There is some tea on the table) have got: Of lam van {I have got five sons) is commonly used in Hungarian to address a (8) Petike is a pet name for Peter.Sot 7—Magyarorszagon magyarok vannak és magyarul beszéinek. (4) (5) (6) 8—Franciaorszagban francidk vannak és francidul beszéinek. (4) (7) 9— Itt van Parizs és ott van Budapest. 10 — Périzs szép varos. (2) 11 — Tanér ur, Budapest is szép varos? (2) 12 — Igen Petike, Budapest is szép és nagy wares. (2) 13— Mi nem vagyunk magyarok. Mi franciak vagyunk és francidul beszélank. (8) (9) PRONUNCIATION 7 majarorsa:gon majarok vannak aish majaroal besaiinek 8 frantsiaorsa:gban frantsia'k vannak aish frantsia‘ool besailnek 9 itt van paisizh aish ott van boodapesht 10 pa:nizsh saip varosh 0;r boodepesht ish saip varrosh 12 igen petike Boodapeshi ‘ish naj va: rosh 13 mi nem vajunk mafarok tn frantsia:k vai frantsia:u! beside ‘GYAKORLAT 1 Itt van Petike, 2 Petike j6l beszél magyarul, 3 Mi magyarok vagyunk. 4 Parizs Eurépaban van. Igen, ez nagy varos. 6 Tanér Ur, Petike beszéI? EGESZITSE Ki 11 Australia is a beautiful country. szép hat 6 7 — There are Hungarians in Hungary and they speak Hungarian. 8 — There are French people in France and they speak French 9— Here is Paris and there is Budapest. 10 — Paris is a beautiful city. 11 — Sir (teacher), [is] Budapest a beautiful city too? 42 — Yes, Pete, Budapest is also a beautiful and big city. 13 — We are not Hungarian. We are French and we speak French. NOTES (Cont) (4) As a mule, English prepositions are expressed in Hungarian with suffixes which are added to the end of the noun, There are no logical rules governing the use of suffixes -ban-ben and -on/-en/-0n after geographical names, After countries use -bani-ben except for Magyarorszagon and some isiands like Ciprusen, I2landon, Gronlandon but Japanban and Angliéban to the noun: szép sényok (beautiful also added to an adjective when (6) -nek (in beszétnek) signifies the third person plural of the verb ‘beszél, but according to the strict rule of vowel harmony it can become -nak after a back vowel, for example vannak, (7) When the word ends with -@ or -¢ it is lengthened to -4 and ‘ending -k alma, almak (apple, apples); First person plural of the verb to speak: beszélank. EXERCISES 1 Hereis Pete. 2 Pete speaks Hungarian wel. 3 We are Hungarian. 4 Paris is in Europe. § Yes, this is a big cty. 6 Sir (teacher), is Pete speaking? 2 In Hungary there are Americans, Magyarorszég ., vannak + GA note 6, Lesson 2Thot 3° Pate is beautiful and big. Petixe: és 4 John speaks Hungarian too. . is magyar .. 5 What is new in England? Anglidban? J echicni tne i ea RARITIES IIT, HARMADIK LECKE Egy killénés csaléd Az Erd6s csalad Budapesten él (1) egy modern lakasban, (2) Erdésék otthen vannak. (3) Hol van Erdés Istvan? (4) Akonyhaban van. (5) Hol van Erdés Istvanné? (6) Aszobaban. Egy ff] a konyhaban? Egy feleség a szobaban? 40 Nem kill6nds? (7) CoOVonnans PRONUNCIATION 16) kalinds chala:d 1 az erdo:sh chala:d boodapeshten aif 2 @j modem {aka:ehban 3 ord:shaik otthon vannak 4 hof van erdo:'sh ishivan 8 a Konyhaiban van & hol van erdé'sh ishtva'anai 7 a sobarban 8 ej fairy ‘a konyhaiban 9 @j felesaig a soba:ban 10 nem kalondsh NOTES (1) For foreign cities the suifix meaning in is always -ban/-ben but Hungarian cities the suffix can be -on/en/én fegarding the suffixes and the rule for vowel harmony see and (8) in Lesson 2.) (2) Eqy'is the indefinite article: a, an. It terally means 1 (one). It ean be left out: Tanérfrendénbdn626/6rult vagyok (| am (a teacherfpoliceman /eriminalmadman) nyole 6 6 Here is Europe. Wt... Eurdpa CORRECTION 4 Ausztralia — orszig 2— on ~ amerikaiak 3 — szép ~ nagy 4 Jénos — eszél = ul 5 Mi djsag = 6 = van = THIRD LESSON An unusual family 1 The Erdés family live in Budapest 2 inamodern apartment. 3 The Erdés' are at home. 4 ~~ Where is Istvan Erdés? 5 [He] isin the kitchen 6 7 8 Where is Mrs Istvan Erdés? In the kitcher Anhusband in the kitchen? 9 Awife in the room? 40 [Is] not [that] unusual? NOTES (Cont.) (3) The plural ending -dk here refers to the family. (4) See Lesson 2. (6) The definite article a, az (he) changes ts fom lke the English 3 an: a precedes a word siating with a consonant, az precedes a ‘vowel 9, Az rc6g a pokoban lak (The devi ves in the)hel) (6) The suffix -né (Mrs) can be added to the sumame (Erddsné = Mrs Erdés) or the husband's first name, but in this case both his names must be used. However a lot of changes have taken place in the last two decades and i is just as common to call a married waman by her maiden name as itis to find a husband in the kitchen! (7) fom expresses negation, there is no difference between no and not. Lesson 39 kilene GYAKORLAT 1 Hol van a feleség? 2 Alakas nem modern. 3A fér7, a feleség és Petike egy csalad. 4 A csaladok otthon vannak, 6 Parizsban éliink. 6 Ez nem szép orszag. EGESZITSE KI 1 Lam at home. En. vagyok. 2 The apastment is modern. takas 3. The weather is nice in Budapest. soos S26. van, 4 Where are the Eras"? Hol Erd6sek? 5 [They] are.not in the room. a szobaban .. etinniiihtik bent ARR RICE NEGYEDIK LECKE Egy kivancsi rendér ivanok. Kérem az ttlevelet. 2 On kiilfoldi? Mit csinal Magyarorszagon? (1) 3 — Magyarul tanulok. PRONUNCIATION, 9) kivvarnchi randér 4 yo: napot kiva:nok kairem a7 oo:tiavelet 2 on altel mit china! majarorsa ‘gon 3 majeroo! tancofok NOTES (1) On: As you read in note 4 Lesson 1, several forms in Hungarian: i ‘everyday language between sonal pronoun has: 1nd maga is used in rm of respect ‘iz 10 EXERCISE 4 Where is the wile? 2 The apartment is not modern. 3 The husband, the wife and Pete. iy. 4 The families are at home, & Wee live in Paris. 6 This| beautiful country Fay KOLENES camp dd 6 Are you a modern husband? modern vagy? CORRECTION 1—othon - 2.A— made. 3 Budapesten ~ id6— 4— vannak — § Nem == vannak. 8 Te ~ fr — SUNOS IRE EE EEE IO OO HA FOURTH LESSON A Curious Policeman 1. — Good morning. Passport, please. 2 Are you [al foreigner? What are you doing in Hungary? 3 —1 am learning Hungarian. NOTES (Cont) ‘Ageneration ago a wife and children would address the husband ‘a8 maga and he would use fe. On is very poite and formal. The ‘second person plural also has three forms: ti, maguk, dndk (you). person suffix: Maga jon It's your tum); 6jn (He is coming or I's Fis tum), Maguk fanuinak vezetni? (Are you learning [how] to drive?) ef. 6k angola! tanuinak (They are leaming English). Lesson 411 tizenegy 4— Nehéz a magyar nyelv? 5 — Nem, kénnyé. 6 — Hol él? Parizsban? 7—Nem Parizsban élek, hanem egy francia kisvarosban. (2) 8 — Most hova megy? (3) 9 — Aszalloddba megyek. (4) 40 — Tessék az utlevél. Készéném 11 Viszontlatasra. Minden jét. (5) PRONUNCIATION 4 nehaiz a-majar nyoly & nem KEny0: 6 hol al payienban 7 nem arnzhban alk hanem ¢ frenisiaKishvavoshban & moshi hove mq] 9 2 sailiodaiba mejek 10 teshshaik ez cattievail Kosonom 4 visontia‘te'shra minden yort GYAKORLAT 4 Etdésné egy nagy varosban él. 2 Tanul franciaul? 3 Hova megy a feleség? 4 Ondk Budapesten vannak? 5 Most nem megyek a konyhaba. 6 Mi otthon tanulunk. EGESZITSE KI 1 Lam going to Alaska. megyek. 2 (s there a kitchen in the hotel? Manannrvenass ? 3 See you in Hungary. . Magyarorszagon, 4 Where does Mrs Szabé live? el 2 & Where is the foreigner going? Hova .... a 2 tizenketté 12 Hungarian language difficult? 7— | do not live in Paris, but in a small French town. 8— Where are you going now? 9— |.am going to the hotel. 40 — Here is [your] passport. Thank you. 14 Good bye. All the best. NOTES (Cont) @) Nem... hanem introduces a contrast. (8) Hova and hové both mean where to, but the second is ial We use them i we want to Know the destinatian(or tea know the location (or pe use hol? (where) e.g. Hol van Parizs? (Where is Paris (4) The sutfixes of place ~bal“be; -ra/e express direction when movement is implied. Position is expressed through -ban/ -ben; -on/-en-dn which we discussed in note 1 Lesson 2 and note 4 Lesson 3, €.9. Megyek Parizsba (I am going to Paris) ‘Londonban lakam (| ‘on the table). (6) Minden j6t (kivanok)! see note 1 Lesson 1. Viszontidtsral means See you again, used in formal si 6 The teacher is also learning. A is13 tizenharom EXERCISE 1 Mrs Erdds tives in a big city. 2 Are you leaming French? 3 Where is the wife going? 4 Are you in Budapest? 5 | am not going into the kitchen now 6 We study at Home. ERR EERIE RRR teh OTODIK LECKE A“Paprika” étteremben 1 — Pincér! Legyen szives az étlapot! (1) (2) 2 — Azonnal jvok... Tessék. (1) (3) 3 — Készonom. 4 — Kérnek italt? 5 — Igen, egy liter vorés bort. (4) 6 — Csak fehér bor van. (4) 7 — J6, De kériink vizet is. Van gulyas? (4) 8 — Igen, kérem. Van. Es paprikascsirke PRONUNCIATON paprika aiteremben 1 pintsairljen sivesh az allapo! 2 azannal yévbk teshsheaik 3 késondm 4 kaimmek ital § igen 9j iter vorosh ort 6 chak fehair bor van 7 yo: de kairdnk vies ish van gooya:sh 8 igen kairern vane aish papnkaish chirke ish NOTES (1) Try to lear the polite expressions used in common situations: legyen szives (would you] be so kind) introduces @ polite request. Tessék has several meanings. If you give someone. something, you say fessék (here you are), You can also use it when you want a person to repeat, what helshe has said. Tessék? (Parden?), You can use itas a polite but firm request or command Tessék feuinil (Please sit down). If you hear your name, your answer should also be Tessék {i am listening or Yes/What?). Kérem is the first person singular of the verb kér (3k for) Its use is much wider than that of the verb to ask in English and itis rather confusing. Kérem a djsdgot is simply a request: May/Could | have the paper? But you can address a ‘stranger lke this: Kérem, or Kérem, Uramt! Excuse me Sir As a ‘question it means: Pardon? What did you say? in anger De ‘kérem! What impudence! e.g. if you are molested in an ‘welcome, but we must admit you situation fo express your congent orto simply temper your words. [20S GS SEEN tizennégy 14 CORRECTION 1 Alaszkaba — 2 — konyha — széllodaban 3 Viszontlétasra — 4 Hol - Szaboné 5 ~ megy—kalfoldi 6 ~ tanar~ tan! FIFTH LESSON In the “Paprika” Restaurant 4— Waiter! [May | have] the menu plea: 2— (am coming immediately) [Certain| Here you are. 3— Thank you. 4— Would you like [anything] to drink? 5 — Yes, a litre of red wine. 6 — (There is) [We] only [have] white wine. 7 — Fine. But we would like [some] water too. Is there any goulash? 8 — Yes, there is. And chicken paprika too. NOTES (Cont.) (2) The object is always marked with one -fin Hungarian. If the noun ends in a consonant, @ vowel is usually added. According to vowel harmony it can be ~2,-0,-¢,-6. If the word up Every bigger dictionary gi form of the Hungarian noun and even if you make a mistake, a Hungarian will understand you. (3) First person of the verb jon (come). See point 1 in Lesson 7. (4) If you want or offer only part of something, you drop the article. It is equivalent ‘esokolidét? Do you not expected to and sentences16 tizenot 9 — Két guilyast és egy paprikascsirkét kérlink, 10 — Hozok salatat is. (4) 11 — Nem kérank salatat. 12 — Jé étvdgyat! PRONUNCIATON 9 kait gooya:sht ais e/ paprika'sh chirkat keiank 10 horok shatatat ish 11 nem kairtink shale-tat 92 yo: aitva;jat GYAKORLAT 1 Apincér a széllodaba megy. 2 Hozok bort és vizet 3 AkUHldi salatat is kér. 4 Agulyas most nem j6. § Itt van az étlap. 6 Miért kérlink csirkét? EGESZITSE KI 1 The policemen do not want [any] drink{s}. in the gap) rend6rok ... kérnek ....-t 2 The salad is good. (See note 2 Lesson 2) A 3. The Kovacs’ are bringing [some] water. vizet_hoznak, 4 Would you be so kind fas fo tell me] Sir (teacher), where Europe is? lr, legyen » hol... Eurépa? & Pate does not want [any] chicken, Petike ... ker. ES tizenhat 16 9. — Two goulashes and a chicken paprika please. 10— bring [some] salad too. 441 — We do not [want] (request) [any] salad. 12— Enjoy your meal (good appetite). EXERCISE + The waiter fs going o the hotel. 2 | [will bring some wine and water. 3 The foreigner asks for some ‘now. 5 Here is the menu, 6 Why [are we] asking [for] chicken? 6 Is there good wine in Hungary? Van .. bor Bu (niger a) A GikeeT 7 =) CORRECTION 1 — nem ~ ital ~ 2~ salata j6 3 Kovacsék — 4 Tanar— szives - van ~ 5 nem ~ esirkét 6 ~ j6 ~ Magyarorszdgon? Lesson §17 tizenhét HATODIK LECKE Erdekes konyvek 1 —Laei, j6ssz sétélni? (1) (2) (3) 2 —Nem megyek, most nines idém. 3 —Miért? Mit csindlsz? 4. —Francidul tanulok 5 — Jo a konyv? (5) (5) 6 —Nagyon érdekes. Acime: “Vérds és fekete’ 7 —J0, akkor nem sétalunk, En is olvasok. Hol a kényvemn? 8 —Tessék, itt van az asztalon. Erdekes a cime: (6) 9 “Arendér, a felesége és a paprika". (6) NOTES (1) Lact. Les, Leslie ‘of the vérb jon (come) The suffix of the infi person singular as common verbs are of course irreg ceszik inf, “enni(eat) (4) Nincs can stand alone as a sentence meaning: No, there ‘gn'Varen't any or: No, | haven't any PRONUNCIATON airdekesh kényvek 1 latsi yoss shaita-ini2 nem mejek mosht ninch ‘dé:m 3 miait mit china'is 4 frantsia:ul tanulok § yo: a kGnyv 6 najon airdekes a tsime verash ais fekete 7 yo: akkor nem shaite:tunk ain is olvashok tol @ kenyvern 8 tesshaik it van az astaaion airdekesh 2 tsime 9 a rendo:r a felesaige aish a paprika GYAKORLAT 1 Megyek sétdini, 2 Mari nagyon szép. 3 Ey kisvarosban tanulok, 4 A borom az asztalon van 5 Csak magyarul olvasok. 6 Kérek hdrom érdekes konyvet. is -ni, Dictionaries give the third most characteristic form of a Hungarian verb. jon inf. jonni, é/ inf. élni, but the most fF: megy inf, meni (go), tizennyole 18 SIXTH LESSON Interesting Books 4 —Laci are you coming [for a] walk? 2 —No, | am not going, | have not [any] time now. 3 — Why? What are you doing? 4 —I am studying French. 5 —[Is] the book good? is] very interesting. Its 7 —Okay, we [will] not walk then, my book? ware, it is on the table. Its title [is] 9 The Policeman, his Wife and the Paprika. NOTES (Cont) (5) [a6-m (my ti Possession personal prenoun superiuous, Eg, Van idéd? is there your time? but may be used as a pick uf You got the] time? In Hungarian itis not ambiguous. (6) See note 4 Lesson 2 and note 2 Lesson 6. Vowel harmony stipulates that a rounded vowel demands a rounded vowel in the suffix as well: Kony -kinyvein, hely shelyen (place) asztal eae ERDERES KEAWER. EXERCISE 1am going for] a wakk. 2 Mary is very beautiful. 3 am studying in a sr town. 4 My:wine g.on the table. § lonly read Hungarian. 6 May Ih: interesting books please? (see note 2 Lesson & and point Lesson 7) Leseon 619 tizenkilene EGEsziTse Ki (Fill in the gap) 1am reading an interesting book. OWvasok ... érdekes 2 My husband is not at home. Afériem 3) What is Pete doing in the room? csinal Pete a sn 4 We are leaming an unusual language Bay eo. myelet ink DUCT Idi bititimi nen inickenmnEnE Ke HETEDIK LECKE REVISION AND NOTES That was not a bad effort for the first week, was it? Now you know some basic Hungarian grammar. In this lesson we shall try to give your knowledge a sense of order with some added details. A few aspects of Hungarian grammar may seem strange to you, but with further Practice and with the help of the ASSIMIL method, you will eventually overcome these difficulties. However, the most important requirement is that you study for at least half an hour every day. ‘The most complicated aspect of Hungarian grammars the verb. 1 The Verb @ Every form you have learnt has been in the present tense, hasz 20 5 Why aren't you walking? & Are you reading too? is olvasnak? CORRECTION 4 ~ egy ~ kényvet 2—rines othon 3 Mit -—- sznbaban & — kalonés —tonul —5 Miért — sétalsz & Onok stand Did you think it would have been possible to read and unde a Hungarian text ike this 9 week ago? You have made considerable progress in such a short time. RR RIRRRNRI RATER RR ER ERR RRR HRA RAR SEVENTH LESSON in Hungarian is always marked with the suffix -ni (6ini = hn; jOnni = j6n-ni) c.f. note 3 Lesson 6, © As we shall see later, there are several possible onjugations, but the most used one follows the model of the verb beszéIni: . it speaks! he, she, it is speaking = we speakiwe are speaking you speakiyou are speaking = they speakithey are speaking The verb élni (to live) follows the same pattern = élek, éilsz, élete. d_ You have probably noticed that the personal pronouns (the Hungarian equivalents of |, you, he, she, it etc.) are not necessarily included when conjugating verbs. The personal pronouns are: Lesson 721 huszonegy 6n, t0, 6, mi, th, Ok They only accompany the verb if we want to accentuate who does the acton: En besz6lek = It's me who speaks. This is because the suffix -ek not only signifies the tense, but also reveals the person. The polite forms of address such as the second person personal pronoun én or maga in most cases can not be omitted: Gn beszd! (you Speakyou are speaking) because they are followed by the third person singular form of the verb, The plural Ondk beszéinek receives the third person plural suffix. Please note that tthe second person plural form is used to ‘address more than one person you are on good terms with, @ Youhave alreacy come across four irregular verbs: menni (90), 674 (come), Jenni (be) and enni(eat). Here are their Complete conjugations in the present tense. MENNI JONNE \LENNI ENNI megyek ——_jévok vagyok eszem mész jéssz vagy eszel megy ion (van) eszik megyiink — jévink vagyunk ——eszdink mentek ——_jattdk vagytok esztek mennek ——_jénnek (vannak) —_esznek f Do you remember note 2 in Lesson 2? There we saw several examples of the third person form of the verb enni (to be), thet can not be omitted. There are certain structures where its use is necessary: ~ When a place 's given itt van, oft van, ofthon vannak, hol van? hol vannak?; - Expressing existence, similar to the English there is, there are. E.g.: Csak fehér bor van; ~ Expressing possession, similar to the English have Sot. E.g. Van idém (I have got (the] time); = Some idiomatic expressions: Szép idS van (The ‘weather is nice); Hogy van/vagy? (How are you?); J6/ van (That's alright or He/shefit is fine); JO! vannak (They are alright, huszonketté 22 Nevertheless, in most cases we leave out the verb van Janka szép (Joan is beautiful; Kriszta okos (Christy is clever); 6 tandr (He/she is a teacher). 2° Suffixes Hungarian uses suffixes to state the relationship between things; this is expressed with prepositions in English. It's ‘one of the most characteristic parts of Hungarian grammar and it is different from the system of Indo-European languages. lar to that of the he suffixes. By origin, suffixes of the verbs are si That's why you can find the plu he three persons of the plural: ‘And something that is very strange to a native English speaker: you can combine suffixes and join several suffixes to the same word in a definite order: haz = hdzak — ltok h&zakat (house —houses —I see houses) kéz = kezem ~ kezemben (hand =myhand — —in my hand) részlet -részletek —_— részletekben (detail = details —in details) The adverbial suffixes of place can indicate positive and negative (c. f. point 2 Lesson 14) direction’ -ba-be (to, into) e.g. Menj a pokolba! (Go to hel) or A rendér ‘a vizbe ugrik. (The policeman jumps into the water.): Borba fojtom banatomat. (I drown my sorrows in wine.) ) -ra-re (on, onto a surface) e.g. Tedd az asztalral (Put [it] on the table.) -how/-hez/-h6: criminal goes t -or position: Sues (in) e.g. A rend6r mar a vizben van. (The policeman is already in the water.), Az ordog a részletekben lakik. (The devil dwells in the details.) Lesson7 e.g. A bin6z6 az ajtohoz megy. (The 1e door.)23. huszonhérom * on-fen/6n (on) eg. Ab criminal is standing at the d You choose the appropriate suffix forms according to vowel harmony. Other suffixes lke the plural -k or the suffix of the accusative (€. f. note 2 Lesson 5 and notes 5,7 Lesson 2) may only consist of one single consonant, but if the noun ends in a consonant, we usually add a connective vowel. The type of vowel also depends on the strict laws of vowel harmony. 328 az ajténdl All, (The 3. Vowel Harmony Vowels in Hungarian can be back (a 40 6 ud ) orfront (@ 6116600 ),Jong (4600615) or shon (aeiodua) and pronounced with rounded (0 6 ui 6 6 GG) or widened (adeéil) lips. According to the law of vowel harmony, most Hungarian words exclusively contain back or front vowels: beszé!, vérés, szélloda, konnyd. Afew words are mixed; they can contain any back vowel but only ¢, 6, i, F from the front ones. Vowel harmony doesn't apply to compound words: e.g.étlap, drhdz and words like modern, sof6r which are taken from foreign languages. SOROS ROI TI choke NYOLCADIK LECKE Latogatas a bankban (1) 1 — Nagy Ur ma délel6tt a bankba megy. ( 2 Abank a Petéfi Sandor utcaban van. (1) 3 — J6 napot kivanok. Hol van a pénztar? PRONUNCIATION lastogata'sh 8 bankban 1 naj coir ma daileléitt a bankba mej 2 a bank a peté:fi sha:ndor utsa:ban van 3 yo: napot kiv:nok hol van apainsiar huszonnégy 24 Go back and try to find three syllable words with exclusively front and back vowels (suffices do not count). When you have collected some, check yourself below. As you may have noticed most of the suffixes have two or three forms: -batbe, -ban-ben, -ra/-re have two forms. One is for words with back vowels and the other for words with front ones: ¢.g. borba, vizbe, pokolban, részictekben. Suffixes with three forms like -ho2z/-hez/-h6z, -on/en/-én have two variations for words with front vowels; one for the rounded, the other for the widened ones. E.g. asztaion (on the table), a feleségen (on the wife), a rendéron (on the policeman). As far as the words with mixed vowels are concerned, the vowel of the last syllable is crucial. If it is -e, the suffix usually contains a front vowel, If it is -€ or /, we'll find a back vowel in the suffix: E.g. oktdberben (in October), a kabaréba (to the cabaret). Monosyllabic words with a single i are unpredictable: the water) but hidom (on the bridge). These tems can only be leamt with practice. Just go on ist us — the following unit of six lessons will be At last, here are the trisyllabic words that you have probably found: feleség, fekete, érdekes, kulféld, széilode, ‘salata, azonnal. EIGHTH LESSON A Visit to the Bank (Visit in the Bank) 4. — Mr Nagy is going to the bank [this] (today) moming. 2 The bank is in Pet6fi Sandor street. 3 — Goad moming (I wish you). Where is the teller] (cashier's desk)? NOTES (1) Can you remember 0 points 2 and 3 ab rules of vewel harmony? 1 in the previous lesson in jowing the strict Lesson 8.25 huszondt 4— Ott van balra, az ablak mellett. (2) 5 — Készénom szépen. (3) 6 Itt van két csekk; pénzt kérek 7 — Uram, ezek a csekkek hamisak. 8 — Ha nem ad egymillié forintat, akkor lévok! 9 — Itt a pénz. Tessék egymillié forint. 10 — Rendben van. Nem l6vok. 11 Nagy ura bankbél hazamegy. A rendérség mar varia. (5) (6) PRONUNCIATION 4 ott van balra az ablak mellett 5 kosSném saipen 6 it van kait chek painst kairek 7 uraam ezek @ chekkek hamishak & ha nem {ad ¢j milio: forintot akkor \Gvok 9 it @ painz teshaik ej milio: forint 10 rendben van nem lovek 14 naj oo:r a bankbo-l hazamej @ rendo:rshaig macr va:rya NOTES (Cont) (2) In Hungarian there are pestpositions as follow the noun to which they relate. In En; expressed with prepositions: a fa mele ‘They always adjective: szép (beaut appears in the very (Thank you very mi énekelsz (You sing 0 kal6ndsen érdekes (especially interesting). (4), Urar (My Lord) is formed wit ar (gentteman) and the possessive suff -m of the fret person singular. It is so polte that you can often suspect some mockery in it Demonstrative pronouns ez (this) and 2z (hat) can onty join @ noun with a definite artce cf note 5 Lesson 3: ez a Kony (this book), ez az arszag (this county), In most eases the pronoun reoeives the same sufix(es) as the noun #seff so that they rhyme like verses: ezek a konyvek (these books); ezekben a konyvekben (in these books), huszonhat. 26 4— There [i] is on the left, nes 5 — Thank you [very much] 6 Here are two cheques, 7 — Sir, these cheques are fake. 8 — If [you] do not give [me] one million forints, (then) shoot, 9 — (Here is the money). Here you are. one million forints. 410 — Okay (itis in order. not shoot. 11 Mr Nagy goes home from the bank The police are already waiting for him. to the window, e [some] money. NOTES (Cont) (6) In point 2 Lesson 7 we mentioned the enigmatic expression negative direcion. We introduced the suffixes -ba/-be—ra/re {10 into, on, onto), whicl express postive direction, that is, they lead somewhere. -bGV-b6l (from, out of) suggests negative direction: approaching from somewhere. Dertlt égbéi mennykécsapés: (a thunderbolt) out of [the blue] (clear shy); Londonbdl jovek | come: from London; kutyabd! nem lesz -szalonna: there will be no bacon out of a dog = you cannat make sik purse out ofa sow's ear ldtsik, hogy 2 kocsmabeljassz:t