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Noun Case Summary |
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- Nominal - the base form of the noun (no suffixes)
- Accusative
-t,-at,-ot,-et,-öt- expressing the direct object - Dative
-nak,-nek- expressing the indirectobject
Locatives - referencing location (like some postpositions)
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Illative
-ba,-be- into a hollow box -
Inessive
-ban,-ben- inside a hollow box -
Elative
-ból,-ből- out of a hollow box -
Sublative
-ra,-re- onto a surface -
Superessive
-en,-on,-ön,-n- on a surface -
Delative
-ról,-ről- off of a surface -
Allative
-hez,-hoz,-höz- towards a solid -
Adessive
-nál,-nél- by a solid -
Ablative
-tól, -től- away from a solid
Adding this on the noun gives the meaning until or for a length of time, i.e. whenever the action terminates. In English, we would say:
- He worked from 9 to 5 today.
- I only studied for 10 minutes before you came.
- They stayed in Hungary for three weeks.
And if we translate these to Hungarian
- Ma 9-től 5-ig dolgozott.
- Csak tíz percig tanultam mielőtt jöttél.
- Három hétig Budapesten maradtak.
We can add the case onto ez and az to form eddig and addig. The word addig is often paired with amíg meaning while.
- A városig elgyaloglunk. - (We walked to the city.)
- Eddig kedvelem a filmet. - (So far I like the movie.)
- Addig üsd a vasat, amíg meleg. - (Idiom: strike the iron while it is hot.)
Challenge!
Stay (only) for as long as you want.
Adding this on to the noun gives the meaning of at the time of. Naturally this is mostly added to nouns that are related to time. With this case, ez and az become ekkor and akkor.
Ekkor translates to at this point, something that can be used in a narrative.
- 7-kor reggelizek. - (I have breakfast at 7.)
- Holnap találkozunk, ebédkor. - (We're meeting tomorrow, at lunchtime.)
- Karácsonykor mindig hideg van. - (It's always cold at Christmas time.)
- Ekkor meglátott egy pókot, és sikoltozva kirohant a házból. - (At this moment he caught sight of a spider, and ran out of the house, screaming.)
- Akkor kapcsol fel a lámpa, amikor kész. - (Then the lamp turns on when it's ready.)
Alex: Mikor indul a vonat? - (When does the train live?)
Barnabás: Fél tízkor. - (At 9:30.)
Whenever you do something for the purpose of something, this case is used. This case can also be used with ez and az to form ezért and azért to explain motives. When asking for the reason behind something, use miért?.
- Miért vagyunk még mindig itt? Csak azért, hogy szenvedjünk? - (Why are we still here? Just to suffer?)
- Nem vagyok felelős érte - (I'm not responsible for him/her)
- Az unokahúgom kétnyelvű, ezért lehet, hogy meg fogok tanulni még egy nyelvet. - (My niece is bilingual, thus I might learn another language.)
- Lement a boltba kenyérért. - (I went down to the store for bread.)
Barnabás: Miért nem mentél el a buliba? - (Why didn't you go to the party?)
Alex: Azért, mert túl beteg voltam. - (Because I was too sick.)
Using this, can be thought of as using mint for most things. It is used to describe the literal state of something. In English, we could say:
- I work as a secretary.
- I wrote a sentence as an exercise.
- The news spread like wildfire.
- Otherwise.
And in Hungarian:
- Titkárnőként dolgozom.
- Gyakorlásként írtam egy mondatot.
- Futótűzként terjedt el a hír.
- Egyébként
Alex: Ne egyél annyi egészségtelen kaját! - (Don't eat so much junk food!)
Barnabás: Mi..? - (What..?)
Alex: Mindig ezt csinálod. Nem orvosként mondom, hanem a barátodként. Legalább gondolj rá. - (You always do this. I'm not saying this as a doctor, but as your friend. Think about it at least.)
When ever you want to use the word with, use the instrumental case. In Hungarian, you also use the instrumental case to describe your means of transport. If the noun ends in a vowel, use -val,-vel otherwise the ending becomes assimilated. E.g. ez + -vel = ezzel and az + -val = azzal
- Mehetek veletek? - (Can I go with you guys?)
- Ezzel a játékkal nem fogok többet játszani - (I will not play this game anymore.)
- Metróval megyek suliba . - (I go to school by metro.) suli is slang
- És mit csináljak ezzel? - (And what should i do with this?)
- Milyen ceruzával rajzol? - (What kind of pencil does he/she/it draw with?)
- Kivel táncoltál? - (Who did you dance with?)
Challenge!
Yesterday I was at the movies with my friends.
This case represents the change of state physically or metaphorically. Have a look at these examples to see what I mean, oh and by the way the endings become assimilated just like with the instrumental (i.e. ezzé and azzá).
- Mi tesz téged boldoggá? - (What makes you happy?) Remember this?
- A herceg békává változott. - (The prince turned into a frog.)
- A vér nem válik vízzé. - (Idiom: Blood does not become water lit. People don't change.)
- Mivé lett a világ? - (What has the world become?)
Challenge!
The lightning split the rock into two. (Original image, merging free images together)
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This story uses all the noun cases. All formal conversation has been simplified to informal using the second person.
Éva: Nem emlékszel Istvánra?
Barnabás: Dehogynem! Minap éjszaka sörözőben voltunk, a munkáinkról beszéltünk. Azt mondta nekem, hogy bármikor bement az irodába, átnéztek rajta az emberek, mintha levegőből lett volna, kivéve a főnökét. Mindig jó volt beszélgetni vele.
Éva: Várj csak, nem azt kértem, hogy meséld el mesemondóként!
Barnabás: Tudom.
Barnabás: Szóval, az épülettől jobbra ahol dolgozott, egy park volt. Mindennap munka után, ott ült a padon a fáknál a biciklijével. Egy nap ahogy ott ült és színes madarakat nézett megpróbált emlékezni az utolsó dologra, ami boldoggá tette, de semmi sem jutott az eszébe. Ekkor hirtelen meglátta, hogy a főnöke közeledik. - Miért vagy itt? kérdezte István.
- Ezt otthagytad az asztaladon, felelt, átadva egy kék palackot Istvánnak.
- Köszönöm szépen, motyogta István.
- Azt is akartam mondani, hogy fizetésemelést kapsz a folyamatos kemény munkádért. Itt ültél egy óráig, 5 óra van és péntek is, menj haza a családodhoz, bíztatott a főnöke.
Folytatjuk...
Translation ClearBarnabás: Of course I do! The other night we were in a beer house talking about our work. He said to me that whenever he went into the office, the people stared past him as if he was made out of air, except for his boss. It was always good to chat with them.
Éva: Wait, I didn't ask you to recite this like a storyteller!
Barnabás: I know.
Barnabás: So there was a park to the right of the building where he worked. Everyday after work he sat there on the bench by the trees with his bicycle. One day, while sitting and watching colourful birds, he tried to remember the last thing that made him happy, but nothing came to mind. At this moment he suddenly caught sight of his boss approaching him. "Why are you here?" asked István.
"You left this behind on your desk", he/she replied, handing a blue bottle to István.
"Thank you very much" mumbled István.
"I also wanted to say that you're getting a raise for your non-stop hard work.
You've sat here for an hour, it's five o' clock and it's Friday as well, go home to your family" encouraged his boss."
To be continued...