The fastest reliable distinction is participant role plus event viewpoint. An -ó/-ő phrase usually modifies the active participant, an -t/-tt phrase often modifies an affected participant or the result of a change, and an -andó/-endő phrase usually modifies the target of an intended or necessary action. These are tendencies, not mechanical tense substitutions. Review morphology on the forms page and discourse functions on the usage page.
Actor, completed object, or prospective target?
One verb can organize three different noun phrases:
A jelentést író elemző nem veszi fel a telefont.
The analyst writing the report is not answering the phone.
A tegnap megírt jelentés már a vezetőnél van.
The report written yesterday is already with the manager.
A holnap megírandó jelentéshez még hiányzik két adat.
Two pieces of data are still missing for the report to be written tomorrow.
In jelentést író elemző, the analyst is the writer and jelentést remains accusative. In megírt jelentés, the report is the completed product. In megírandó jelentés, it is the planned or required target. English participles suggest a similar contrast, but English word order and invariant forms can hide the retained argument structure that Hungarian displays before the head noun.
Relative time versus modal prospect
The traditional labels “present, past, future participle” are not literal tenses. -ó/-ő can describe a future active event, while -andó/-endő adds intention or necessity.
A holnap induló járatra már nincs szabad hely.
There are no seats left on the service departing tomorrow.
A holnap feladandó csomagra még rá kell írni a címet.
The address still has to be written on the package to be mailed tomorrow.
The service itself departs according to a schedule, so induló is enough. The package is a target of somebody’s required action, so feladandó is appropriate. Using -andó/-endő merely because English has “will” often makes the noun sound like an administrative task.
Likewise, -t/-tt signals anteriority relative to a context, not necessarily past calendar time:
Holnap ellenőrizzük a ma estig elkészített dokumentumokat.
Tomorrow we will check the documents completed by this evening.
The completion is anterior to tomorrow’s checking. Its exact time comes from ma estig, not from a finite past tense inside elkészített.
Attributive result versus predicated result state
An -t/-tt participle can sit before a noun, while van + -va/-ve predicates a result state of the subject. English often translates both with “closed,” “written,” or “prepared.”
A bezárt ajtó mögül halk zene szólt.
Soft music was playing behind the locked door.
Az ablak be van csukva, de az erkélyajtó nyitva maradt.
The window is shut, but the balcony door was left open.
Bezárt identifies which door; be van zárva tells us the door’s current condition. Hungarian does not normally make the attributive participle finite by adding van: Az ajtó bezárt van is impossible. See adverbial participle contrasts for the state construction.
Some -t/-tt forms are lexical adjectives and can themselves occur predicatively: A kolléganőm nagyon fáradt “My colleague is very tired,” A kutató nemzetközileg elismert “The researcher is internationally recognized.” That is lexicalization, not a general license to use every eventive participle as a predicate.
Passive-like modifier versus finite relative clause
Hungarian can express the agent of a transitive participle with által:
A szakértők által készített becslést később pontosították.
The estimate prepared by the experts was refined later.
This is natural (formal) prose. If the agent is new, contrastive, or central to the message, a finite clause is often clearer:
A becslést a szakértők készítették, nem a minisztérium.
It was the experts who prepared the estimate, not the ministry.
The finite sentence can assign narrow focus to a szakértők and move the prefix after készítették. The participial noun phrase compresses the event and backgrounds its assertion. Information structure therefore affects construction choice: an által phrase can name the agent, but it does not reproduce all the focus possibilities of a finite clause.
Long pre-nominal participles are favored in (formal) and (academic) writing. In conversation, az a becslés, amelyet a szakértők készítettek is usually easier to process. This is not a ban on participles in speech; short phrases such as a megírt levél are neutral.
Prefixes under participial negation
In an affirmative participle, a prefix is normally attached: elküldött levél, befizetendő díj. With nem, formal written Hungarian often places negation between the prefix and participle.
A még el nem küldött számlákat külön mappába tettem.
I put the invoices that have not yet been sent into a separate folder.
A határidőig be nem fizetett díj késedelmi kamatot von maga után.
A fee not paid by the deadline incurs late-payment interest.
These are especially natural (formal) constructions. The split does not turn küldött into a finite verb; it is still a participial modifier with retained adverbials and an understood participant. Conversational paraphrases—azok a számlák, amelyeket még nem küldtem el—make tense, subject, and prefix order finite and explicit.
Productive prospective form versus lexicalized word
Productive -andó/-endő describes a task-like relation: aláírandó szerződés, elvégzendő munka. Several common words have conventional meanings that cannot be predicted by substituting “to be V-ed.”
| Form | Current meaning | Status |
|---|---|---|
| teendő | task; thing to be done | common noun as well as participle |
| mondandó | what someone has to say; message | often noun-like |
| maradandó | lasting, enduring | lexical adjective |
| állandó | constant, permanent | lexical adjective |
| jövendő | future, future spouse | often (literary) or elevated |
Mára már csak két teendőm maradt.
I only have two tasks left for today.
Teendőm carries a first-person singular possessive suffix because teendő is functioning as a noun: “my task.” This is genuine possessive-like morphology on a nominalized result, not person agreement on a productive participle. Non-finite forms preserve participant relations in several ways, but those mechanisms must not be conflated.
Decision tree
- Is the head noun the active participant in a simultaneous, habitual, or scheduled event? Choose -ó/-ő.
- Is it identified by an earlier event or resulting change? Choose -t/-tt.
- Is it a target of a required, intended, or recommended later action? Choose -andó/-endő.
- Do you need to assert a result state? Use van + -va/-ve, not an attributive participle.
- Is the agent contrastively important or is the modifier very long? Prefer a finite relative or focused clause.
- Is the form lexicalized (állandó, teendő, jövendő)? Use its established meaning and inflection.
Diagnostic exercise
- “the guest arriving tomorrow”: a holnap érkező vendég or a holnap érkezendő vendég? Answer: érkező. The guest is the active participant in a scheduled event; no obligation is intended.
- “the invoice that must be paid”: a fizetett számla or a fizetendő számla? Answer: fizetendő. The payment is still a required prospective action; fizetett would present it as paid.
- “the door is locked”: a bezárt ajtó or az ajtó be van zárva? Answer: the second when making a full state assertion. The first is a noun phrase meaning “the locked door.”
- “the person who repaired the machine”: a gépet megjavító ember or a megjavított ember? Answer: a gépet megjavító ember. The person is the actor; megjavított ember would make the person the affected entity and is semantically bizarre without a special context.
Common Mistakes
❌ A holnap érkezőendő vendég délben jön.
Incorrect: -ő and -endő cannot be stacked on one participle.
✅ A holnap érkező vendég délben jön.
The guest arriving tomorrow will come at noon.
❌ A pinceajtó bezárt van.
Incorrect: Hungarian result-state predication uses -va/-ve with van.
✅ A pinceajtó be van zárva.
The cellar door is locked.
❌ A szerelő gép tegnap érkezett.
Incorrect for ‘the repaired machine’: szerelő makes the head an actor or type, not an affected result.
✅ A megjavított gép tegnap érkezett.
The repaired machine arrived yesterday.
❌ A szakértők készített által jelentés pontos volt.
Incorrect: the agent must form an által phrase before the participle.
✅ A szakértők által készített jelentés pontos volt.
The report prepared by the experts was accurate.
Key Takeaways
- Suffix choice follows participant role and event viewpoint, not English tense labels alone.
- -ó/-ő can refer to future time; -andó/-endő normally adds necessity or intention.
- Attributive -t/-tt and predicative van + -va/-ve package results differently.
- Agent focus and long information chains often favor a finite clause over an által participle.
- Lexicalized forms have their own meanings and may take ordinary noun or adjective inflection.
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Start learning Hungarian →Related Topics
- Past and Prospective Participles: Forms and Core PatternB2 — Form Hungarian -t/-tt result participles and -andó/-endő prospective participles while preserving their verbal arguments.
- Past and Prospective Participles: Meanings and UsageB2 — Use Hungarian result and prospective participles to identify outcomes, required actions, plans, and evaluative targets in context.
- Present Participles in -ó/-ő: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB2 — Distinguish productive -ó/-ő modifiers from relative clauses, finite progressive meanings, compounds, and lexical agent nouns.
- Adverbial Participles in -va/-ve: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB1 — Choose accurately among -va/-ve participles, finite clauses, event nominals, adjectives, and resultant-state constructions.
- Relative and Correlative Clause Structure: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB2 — Distinguish Hungarian person, thing, selection, proposition, correlative, and free-relative constructions.