24 Comments
My previous latin language studies picked out the conj + inf verb pairing of this sentence; is that a consistent element of Hungarian grammar, or am I finding patterns where I shouldn't be?
213
I think most European languages do this, conjugate the main verb of the sentence, and leave the rest in infinitive. Even English does this, although it's not very apparent mostly.
But yes, Hungarian is very consistent with that.
- 76
constructions with infinitive following the conjugated form of the verb with verbs for wish, desires, aspirations, affinity are pretty common, aren't they
Hello, akarok means "I want", while kérek is a much nicer way of asking, it pretty much means "I'd like". I hope it answers your question :-)
- 213
Because there is no 'there' in the Hungarian sentence. That would be designated by oda.
Which part means "I"? How do you say make a sentence first person in Hungarian?
- 213
The -ok suffix of akar. Since the verbs in Hungarian have a distinct conjugation for each of the grammatical persons, you don't need to use a pronoun. Unless you want to put stress on the fact that it's me who doesn't want it: "Én nem akarok menni."
can anybody help me with this question: "What is the difference between akarok and akarom"? 1.) nem akarom ezt 2.) nem akarok menni
?
- 213
That's a speciality of the Hungarian language. Both mean "I want" when translated, but there's a difference:
Akarok is the so-called indefinite conjugation. It is used whenever the verb doesn't have a direct object (something that has the -t suffix) or if the direct object is not a definite one, like in "I see a house" or "I hear some students". ("Látok egy házat" or "Néhány diákot hallok.")
Akarom is the definite conjugation. It is always used when the direct object is a definite one, which in most cases is designated by it having the definite article a (the). Like in "I use the car" or "I love that girl." ("Én csinálom az autót" or "Azt a lányt szeretem.") Azt, ezt, őt and a few other objects are also definite objects.
You'll learn more about the definite conjugation later on. :)
If menni means go / walk, why is "I don't want to walk" wrong? Because of implied willing to go if not walking?
- 213
Megy (which is the dictionary form of menni) is pretty clearly a general "to go". The "walk" hover hint just comes up because there are a few instances which sound awkward when translated to English as "go". For instance "Mi megyünk itt" - "We're walking here."
"To walk", the specific movement, is better translated with sétál.
Got it. Like идти in Russian, kind of? And now I know another new word in Hungarian - sétál. Thanks!
- 213
Yes, I think that pretty much covers it if I remember my Russian right. :´)
If you know Russian, you might have it a bit easier with this course. Especially with aspects/verbal prefixes.
Have fun learning. :)
Why is the translation of No I want to go not acceptable? And how would a native Magyar translate No I want to go? It might be a difficult translation for me being an native Dutch and Dutch is known for being a blunt and direct language. Probably why I like Hungarian(s) better :-)
- 213
Punctuation plays a very important role in many languages. :)
- Nem akarok menni. - I don't want to go.
- Nem, akarok menni. - No, I want to go.
If there's no comma between nem and the verb, the verb itself gets negated, so the action does not happen. If there's a comma, the words don't influence each other.
