Sublative -ra/-re marks a target in a surface family, but “target” includes more than physical movement: an event, purpose, deadline, valuation, reaction trigger, or lexically selected complement may fill the same role. Its closest alternatives express static location, an interior destination, continuation to an endpoint, exchange price, beneficiary, or a different selected relationship. The paradigm is covered on the companion forms page; sublative meanings and usage provides the full semantic network.
Destination versus location and source
The surface triple separates where, where to, and where from. Compare asztalon, asztalra, and asztalról.
A laptop az asztalon van.
The laptop is on the table.
Tedd a laptopot az asztalra!
Put the laptop on the table!
Vedd le a laptopot az asztalról!
Take the laptop off the table!
Movement alone does not force sublative. Az asztalon csúszik means “it is sliding on the table,” because the movement remains within the surface. A resulting destination does use it: az asztalra csúszik “it slides onto the table.”
A pohár lassan csúszik az asztalon.
The glass is slowly sliding on the table.
A papír a székről az asztalra csúszott.
The paper slid from the chair onto the table.
Surface-family destination versus interior destination
Sublative contrasts with illative -ba/-be. Physical “onto” versus “into” is transparent, but institutions, events, and names follow conventional families.
A könyvet az asztalra tettem.
I put the book on the table.
A játékokat a nagy dobozba tettem.
I put the toys into the large box.
| Surface/event family | Interior family |
|---|---|
| koncertre — to a concert | moziba — to the cinema |
| egyetemre — to university | iskolába — to school |
| Budapestre — to Budapest | Berlinbe — to Berlin |
| buszra — onto the bus | autóba — into the car |
A gyerekek moziba mennek, a szüleik pedig koncertre.
The children are going to the cinema, while their parents are going to a concert.
Bécsből Budapestre utazunk, majd Berlinbe repülünk.
We are traveling from Vienna to Budapest, then flying to Berlin.
There is no universal “large place versus small place” rule. Learn the neutral location form and derive its triple: egyetemen–egyetemre–egyetemről, but iskolában–iskolába–iskolából.
Intended occasion, beneficiary, and retrieval purpose
English for obscures three Hungarian relations. Sublative can name the intended occasion; dative -nak/-nek names a beneficiary or recipient; causal-final -ért can name what someone goes to obtain.
Vacsorára vettem egy üveg bort.
I bought a bottle of wine for dinner.
Évának vettem egy üveg bort.
I bought Éva a bottle of wine.
Borért mentem a boltba.
I went to the shop to get wine.
These sentences could describe the same evening, but they profile the wine differently: intended occasion, intended recipient, or object sought. Purpose phrases in -ra/-re often combine with an activity noun: vizsgára készül “prepare for an exam,” nyaralásra indul “leave for vacation.”
A vizsgára készülök, a tanáromnak pedig ma küldöm el a dolgozatot.
I am preparing for the exam, and I am sending the paper to my teacher today.
Target deadline versus continuation until an endpoint
Sublative makes a time the target for a result or appointment. Terminative -ig states how long a situation continues.
Péntekre kész lesz a jelentés.
The report will be ready by Friday.
Péntekig dolgozom a jelentésen.
I will work on the report until Friday.
Hat órára gyere ide!
Come here by six!
Hat óráig maradj itt!
Stay here until six!
English by often suggests a completed result, while until suggests continuation, but English usage is not perfectly consistent. Check the event: is Friday the time at which the result should hold, or the endpoint through which the activity persists?
Sublative also marks an agreed span: két hétre bérel “rent for two weeks.” Terminative measures continuation from an understood starting point: két hétig marad “stay for two weeks.” The practical duration may match, but -ra/-re frames the contractual or intended allocation, whereas -ig frames how long the event continues.
Két hétre béreltük a házat, de csak tíz napig maradtunk.
We rented the house for two weeks, but stayed for only ten days.
Target value versus price paid
Sublative follows verbs that assign or reach a value: becsül valamennyire “estimate at,” kijön valamennyire “come to,” and currency conversion euróra vált. Causal-final -ért marks the exchange price in buying and selling.
A festményt egymillió forintra becsülték.
The painting was valued at one million forints.
A festményt egymillió forintért adták el.
The painting was sold for one million forints.
A pénzem egy részét euróra váltottam.
I exchanged part of my money into euros.
The amount may be identical, but its grammatical role changes: assigned value versus actual exchange price. Avoid memorizing English “at = -ra” or “for = -ért”; the governing predicate and event determine the case.
Reaction trigger versus general cause
A reaction frame in -ra/-re presents a stimulus and often suggests a response at that moment. The postposition miatt presents a broader cause or reason.
A csengő hangjára mindenki felállt.
At the sound of the bell, everyone stood up.
Áramszünet miatt mindenki hazament.
Everyone went home because of a power outage.
A kérdésre elnevette magát.
He/she burst out laughing in response to the question.
A kérdés miatt vita alakult ki.
An argument developed because of the question.
The two frames overlap in real-world causation but differ in construal. Sublative directs the response toward a trigger; miatt supplies an explanatory cause. Reaction phrases such as kérésre “on request” and felszólításra “when instructed/upon demand” are frequent in (formal) notices.
Which verb-selected case?
Case government creates contrasts that no English preposition rule can solve. Válaszol valamire takes sublative, beszél valamiről takes delative, gondolkodik valamin takes superessive, and hisz valamiben takes inessive.
Válaszoltam a kérdésre.
I answered the question.
Beszéltünk a kérdésről.
We talked about the question.
Sokat gondolkodtam a kérdésen.
I thought about the question a lot.
Hiszek ennek a módszernek a sikerében.
I believe in the success of this method.
The noun kérdés stays conceptually related across the first three sentences, but each verb imposes a different relational frame. Store these as válaszol valamire, beszél valamiről, and gondolkodik valamin.
Information structure and register
Case marking remains attached when a phrase moves into topic or focus. Neutral A kérdésre válaszoltam can become contrastive ERRE A KÉRDÉSRE válaszoltam, nem a másikra. Both demonstrative and noun agree in sublative.
Erre a kérdésre válaszoltam először.
I answered this question first.
ERRE A KÉRDÉSRE válaszoltam, nem a másikra.
It was this question I answered, not the other one.
The suffix itself is register-neutral. (informal) speech uses Számíthatsz rám “You can count on me.” (formal) prose favors nominal triggers and purposes such as kérelemre and ellenőrzési célra.
Számíthatsz rám, ott leszek.
You can count on me; I will be there. (informal)
A nyilvántartás adatai kizárólag ellenőrzési célra használhatók fel.
The registry data may be used solely for verification purposes. (formal)
Decision tree
- Is the noun a static surface or a source? Use superessive for location and delative for source; use sublative only for a target.
- Is the destination conventionally an interior? Use illative, as in moziba and Berlinbe.
- Does English say “for”? Identify intended occasion (vacsorára), recipient (Évának), retrieval (Éváért), or price (ezer forintért).
- Is the time a result target or a continuation endpoint? Choose péntekre versus péntekig.
- Is an amount an assigned value or actual price? Choose forintra becsül versus forintért vesz.
- Is the noun a reaction trigger or general cause? Compare a hírre with a hír miatt.
- Does a verb select the case? Use its stored complement pattern.
Diagnostic exercise
Choose the form that matches the stated meaning.
- “The package will be ready by Tuesday”: keddre / keddig / kedden
- “I am going into the cinema”: mozira / moziba / mozin
- “I sold it for ten thousand forints”: forintra / forintért / forintnak
- “I answered the email”: e-mailre / e-mailről / e-mailben
- “I went to get Anna”: Annára / Annának / Annáért
Answers: (1) keddre, because Tuesday is the target time for readiness. (2) moziba, because mozi belongs to the interior family. (3) forintért, because this is an actual exchange price. (4) e-mailre, selected by válaszol. (5) Annáért, because Anna is the person being fetched, not a destination surface or recipient.
Common Mistakes
❌ A könyv a polcra van.
Incorrect — -ra marks a destination, while van requires static location here.
✅ A könyv a polcon van.
The book is on the shelf.
❌ Holnap a koncertbe megyünk.
Incorrect — koncert conventionally belongs to the surface/event family.
✅ Holnap a koncertre megyünk.
We are going to the concert tomorrow.
❌ Vasárnapra maradunk a tónál.
Incorrect for continuous duration through Sunday.
✅ Vasárnapig maradunk a tónál.
We are staying by the lake until Sunday.
❌ Ötvenezer forintra adta el a biciklit.
Incorrect for sale price — use -ért.
✅ Ötvenezer forintért adta el a biciklit.
He/she sold the bicycle for fifty thousand forints.
❌ Tegnap válaszoltam a leveledről.
Incorrect — válaszol selects -ra/-re.
✅ Tegnap válaszoltam a leveledre.
Yesterday I replied to your letter.
Key Takeaways
- Sublative is a target case; movement that remains at a location does not require it.
- Conventional noun families decide koncertre versus moziba and Budapestre versus Berlinbe.
- English “for” divides among intended occasion, beneficiary, retrieval, and price constructions.
- Result deadlines use -ra/-re; continuation endpoints use -ig.
- Valuation and exchange price are distinct; reaction trigger and general cause are distinct.
- Verb government must be learned lexically, and case remains stable under focus or fronting.
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Start learning Hungarian →Related Topics
- The Sublative -ra/-re: Forms and Core PatternA2 — Form Hungarian sublative destinations, deadlines, purposes, prices, and reaction complements with harmonic -ra/-re and pronominal forms.
- The Sublative -ra/-re: Meanings and UsageA2 — Use Hungarian -ra/-re for movement onto surfaces, conventional destinations, purposes, deadlines, valuations, and reactions.
- The Superessive -on/-en/-ön/-n: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB1 — Choose Hungarian superessive rather than inessive, adessive, temporal, or instrumental alternatives by identifying surfaces and lexicalized domains.
- The Delative -ról/-ről: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB1 — Distinguish Hungarian -ról/-ről from other source cases and from competing topic, removal, and renunciation constructions.
- The Terminative -ig: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB1 — Distinguish Hungarian -ig endpoints from destinations, deadlines, durations, and inclusive boundary expressions.