The Infinitive in -ni: Meanings and Usage

The Hungarian infinitive normally ends in -ni and names an action without independently locating it in time. It appears after verbs of wanting, ability, beginning, habit, and intention; it can also express purpose, evaluate an activity, or form an impersonal instruction. Unlike an English infinitive, it has no separate word equivalent to to.

This page develops the patterns introduced on the infinitive forms page. Personal endings such as mennem “for me to go” are introduced on the personal-infinitive page. Unless labeled otherwise, the examples are neutral modern standard Hungarian.

One participant controls two actions

After common control verbs, the subject of the finite verb is also understood as the participant in the infinitive. Hungarian does not repeat that subject.

In each sentence, the person who wants, can, or tries is also the one who rests, swims, or opens. The finite form—szeretnék, tudnak, megpróbálta—carries person, tense, mood, and where relevant object agreement. The infinitive keeps its verbal complement: kinyitni az ablakot still contains a definite accusative object.

Frequent governing verbs include akar “want,” szeretne “would like,” tud “can/know how,” próbál “try,” kezd “begin,” szokott “habitually does,” fog for explicit future, and verbs such as elfelejt “forget.” Their meanings and allowable complements are lexical; not every Hungarian verb accepts an infinitive simply because its English translation does.

Formation in real vocabulary

Many stems take -ni directly: várni, kérni, írni, olvasni, főzni. Other classes have a linking vowel, conventionally described as -ani/-eni: mondani, játszani, választani, segíteni, tanítani. This distribution follows stem class as well as vowel harmony, so the safest learning unit is the full infinitive.

Several extremely frequent verbs use a changed stem and doubled consonant: megy → menni, jön → jönni, tesz → tenni, vesz → venni, visz → vinni, hisz → hinni. Van supplies lenni. These are genuine irregularities; no general sound rule lets a learner derive every form from the present third-person form.

The first example includes personal hazamennem after kell, but bare jönni after finite tudok. The different environments, not the lexical verb itself, determine whether a person ending appears.

Intention, beginning, and future time

The infinitive itself has no tense. A finite verb or the wider context locates its event.

The infinitive felhívni is identical in the future and unreal-past examples. Fogjuk and szerettem volna supply time and mood. English forms such as to call, be calling, or to have called should not be transferred mechanically to Hungarian.

The infinitive's verbal prefix may move before a finite carrier in a neutral clause: fel fogjuk hívni, el akarom olvasni. Under negation or focus it commonly stays attached to the infinitive: nem fogjuk felhívni, csak holnap akarom elolvasni. See infinitive order for the full system.

Purpose after motion

An infinitive can state the purpose of motion, especially after megy, jön, and related verbs. The understood actor is normally the mover.

Hungarian does not insert a preposition corresponding to English to in these purpose complements. The infinitive retains its own object: kenyeret is the object of venni, and a nagynénjét is the object of meglátogatni.

Evaluating and naming activities

An infinitive can function as the content of an impersonal evaluation. English often uses an -ing form or an extraposed it.

Hungarian needs no dummy equivalent of English it. Sétálni, megérteni, and reggelizni name the evaluated activities while retaining verbal adverbs and complements.

Signs and general rules also use infinitives:

These are (formal/public-notice) uses. The unnamed participant is generic: the rule applies to anyone relevant. The infinitive is not an English present participle even when English naturally translates it with smoking.

Citation and dictionary practice

Hungarian speakers use an infinitive to mention an activity: Szeretek főzni “I like cooking,” or simply főzni when labeling the activity. Traditional Hungarian dictionary headwords, however, normally use the third-person singular present form: megy, not menni; tesz, not tenni. Course lists may display either form for pedagogical reasons.

This distinction matters with irregular verbs. If you encounter hisz, its infinitive is hinni; seeing hinni does not mean the finite present stem is hinn-. Learn at least the dictionary form and infinitive together.

A short planning dialogue

This exchange is (informal):

The finite subjects control each infinitive. El akarok menni also shows prefix climbing: el- belongs to menni but precedes finite akarok in neutral order.

Formal and informal alternatives

A friend might ask (informal):

An official request may instead use a finite subordinate clause (formal):

The formal sentence combines hogy with a respectful imperative szíveskedjen and infinitive benyújtani. Register changes the packaging, but the infinitive still denotes the controlled action of the addressee.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• The infinitive normally ends in -ni, sometimes with a linking vowel, and several frequent verbs have irregular doubled-consonant forms.
• After control verbs, the finite subject is normally understood as the infinitive's participant.
• The infinitive retains objects, case complements, adverbs, and verbal prefixes but does not independently mark tense.
• Motion verbs can take a purpose infinitive; evaluations and public notices can use an infinitive with a generic participant.
• Hungarian dictionary citation traditionally uses third-person present, although infinitives name activities and often appear in teaching materials.
• A different logical subject requires a licensed personal infinitive or a finite hogy clause.
• Nonfinite constructions preserve participant relations; Hungarian does not treat the infinitive as an invariant English-style “to-form.”