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The Dative Case & Possession |
Recall that the accusative case marks the direct object.
Whenever something/someone does
something/someone else, thesomething/someone elsebecomes the direct object.
The dative case marks the indirect object. Whenever something/someone does something to/for something/someone else, now this something/someone else becomes the indirect object. Here are some examples in English:
- I gave a book to the boy. (The boy is the indirect object).
- Mother cooked food for us. (The pronoun us is the indirect object).
- Did you write a letter to Joe? (Joe is the indirect object).
The conjugation is -nak,-nek depending on whether the noun is front or back.
Similar to how azt,ezt is the accusative of that and this, annak, ennek is the dative form.
- Adtam egy könyvet a fiúnak. - (I gave a book to the boy)
- Virágokat veszek Hajninak. - (I'm buying flowers for Hajni.)
- Kinek írsz levelet? - (Who are you writing a letter to?)
- Csokit hoztam a gyerekeknek. - (I brought chocolate for the kids.)
- Hála Istennek! - (Thank God! lit. Gratitude to God!)
Challenge!
Ezt a folyót Dunának hívják.
They call this river the Duna.
Just like with the accusative case, pronouns change if they are in the dative case.
| Pronoun | Dative |
|---|---|
| én | nekem |
| te | neked |
| ő | neki |
| mi | nekünk |
| ti | nektek |
| ők | nekik |
- Megígértem anyukámnak, hogy segítek neki. - (I promised mother, that I (would) help her.)
- Boldog szülinapot! Tessék, hoztam neked egy apróságot. - (Happy Birthday! Here, I brought you a little something.)
- Úgy tűnik nekem, hogy ő szerelmes beléd. - (It appears/seems to me that he/she is in love with you.)
In Hungarian, the possessive is marked with a suffix, and goes on the possessed noun. The vowel harmony is a tad more in-depth than other cases.
| Pronoun | Single possession | Multiple possessions |
|---|---|---|
| én | -am, -em, -om, -öm, -m | -aim, -eim, -jaim, -jeim, -im |
| te | -ad, -ed, -od, -öd, -d | -aid, -eid, -jaid, -jeid, -id |
| ő | -a, -e, -ja, -je | -ai, -ei, -jai, -jei, -i |
| mi | -nk,-unk, -ünk | -aink, -eink, -jaink, -jeink, -ink |
| ti | -atok, -etek, -otok, -ötök, -tek, -tok, -tök | -aitok, -eitek, -jaitek, -jeitek, -itek, -itok |
| ők | -uk, -ük, -juk, -jük | -aik, -eik, -jaik, -jeik |
Here are some examples:
- Álmodtam egy világot magamnak, itt állok a kapui előtt. - (I dreamt a world for myslef, here I stand infront of its gate.)
- Milyen napod volt? - (How was your day? lit. What kind of day did you have?)
- A Csend Hangja. - (The Sound of Silence).
- Az időnk mint a tenger. - (Our time is like the sea, this is an expression, meaning our time is flexible).
- A kutyáim szomorúak, mert nincs több kajájuk. - (My dogs are sad because they have no more dog-food.)
- Az egyik hobbim az olvasás. - (One of my hobbies is reading.)
Things to note:
- Possessions are usually referred to with the definite article.
- Multiple possessions is almost the same, just with an addied
-i. - Because of this, plural case is not used with the possessive.
- There are some similarities with indicative verb conjugation. E.g.
-nkendings match 1st person plural indef present conjugation-nk. - Some nouns will change with possessives. E.g. In the 3rd person
idő --> ideje. - There is no rule as to when to use the endings that start with
-j.
It is ok to drop the accusative if the possessive is the direct object, but this can lead to ambiguity if there is not enough context.
- A kutyám üldözi a macskám. - Either animal could be chasing the other.
The dative case can be added to the possessor to emphasise who the owner is/stress the point.
- Az egész életüket ennek szentelték. - (They dedicated their whole lives to this.)
- Dániel kutyájának a lába - (Daniel's dog's leg.)
- Ennek semmi értelme. - (This makes no sense. lit. This has no sense.)
- Bátyámnak volt. - (It was my brother's.)
- A falnak is füle van! - (Idiom: Even the walls have ears!)
Challenges!
- Nem ezek a könyveid?
Are these not your books?
Barnabás: Kit láttál?
Alex: A Zöld Bagoly Óvónőit.
Who did you see?
The Kindergarten Teachers of the Green Owl
In Hungarian, there is no verb to have, instead you state what belongs to you through the verb van. So it follows that you can state what does not belong to you with nincs,sincs
- Van egy macskám. - (I have a cat.)
- Bárcsak lenne egy kutyám! - (I wish I had a dog!)
- Egyszer volt egy madaram. - (I had a bird once.)
- Nincs kedved moziba jönni? - (Are you in the mood to go to the movies? lit. Do you not have the mood to come to the movies?)
Alex: Van barátnőd? (barátnő - girlfriend)
Barnabás: Nincs
Alex: Nekem sincs
Shifu Mester and Tai Lung are talking, try to work out what they are saying!
S: Ez már nem az otthonod, és én már nem vagyok a mestered.
T: Á igen, akadt egy új kedvenced. És hol van ez a Po? Elijesztettem?
S: Ez a harc, kettőnk közt fog eldőlni.
T: Szóval, így fog megtörténni...
S: Így kell történnie!
S: This is not your home anymore, and I am not your master anymore.
T: Oh yes, a new favourite of yours occured. And where is this Po? Have I scared him away?
S: This fight will be settled between us.
T: So this is how it will happen...
S: This is how it has to happen!
You can use pronouns with posessions to stress that the noun belongs to you.
| Pronoun |
|---|
| Az én könyvem |
| A te könyved |
| Az ő könyve |
| A mi könyvünk |
| A ti könyvetek |
| Az |
Naturally, there are pronouns for the possessives as well, these are equivalent to mine, yours, etc.
| Pronoun | Single Possession | Multiple Possessions |
|---|---|---|
| én | az enyém | az enyéim |
| te | a tiéd | a tieid |
| ő | az övé | az övéi |
| mi | a mienk | a mieink |
| ti | a tietek | a tieitek |
| ők | az övék | az övéik |
- Petőfi Rádió, a te slágered. - (Petőfi Radio, your hit.)
- Ez a toll az enyém - (This pen is mine.)
Challenge!
- Mikor tanulod már meg végre? Mikor tanulod már meg végre, hogy a tetteidnek következményei vannak?
When will you learn? When will you learn that your actions have consequences?
Recall the introduction to postpositions. If the relationship involves pronouns, then you attach the pronoun-possession ending onto the pronoun.
There are also pronouns not pertaining to location, and so they only have one form alongside pronoun endings. Here are some examples:
| Postposition | Helyett (instead of) | Miatt (due to) | Szerint (according to) |
|---|---|---|---|
| én | helyettem | miattam | szerintem |
| te | helyetted | miattad | szerinted |
| ő | helyette | miatta | szerinte |
| mi | helyettünk | miattunk | szerintünk |
| ti | helyettetek | miattatok | szerintetek |
| ők | helyettük | miattuk | szerintük |
- ...de nem Alex. Szerinte ez a legviccesebb dolog, amit valaha látott. - (...but not Alex. According to him, this is the funniest thing he's ever seen.)
- Azt akarod, hogy én vigyem ki helyetted? - (Do you want me to carry it instead?)
- Tegnap kutyákat láttunk a parkban, lehet, hogy miattuk vannak ott azok a lyukak - (Yesterday we saw holes in the park, this could be due to those dogs there.)
- Ha nem melletem állsz, az ellenségem vagy! - (If you don't stand with (lit. next to) me, you are my enemy!)
ki-andmeg-, el-demonstrate directionality and telicity respectivelykellis used for expressing need