Modern Hungarian has one productive synthetic past indicative. A past marker in -t/-tt combines with endings that identify the subject and, for transitive verbs, preserve the indefinite-versus-definite object contrast. Thus vártam egy barátot means “I waited for a friend,” while vártam a barátomat means “I waited for my friend.” The two first-person singular forms happen to look identical; the object still belongs to a different agreement pattern.
This page builds the forms. The usage page explains how this one tense covers several English past and perfect translations, while the contrast page handles close decisions. Unless labeled otherwise, all forms are neutral modern standard Hungarian.
The compact paradigm
The regular back-vowel verb vár “wait for, expect” shows both object-sensitive series. The past stem is várt-.
| Subject | Indefinite/no definite object | Definite third-person object |
|---|---|---|
| én | vártam | vártam |
| te | vártál | vártad |
| ő | várt | várta |
| mi | vártunk | vártuk |
| ti | vártatok | vártátok |
| ők | vártak | várták |
Tegnap fél órát vártam a buszra.
Yesterday I waited half an hour for the bus.
A vendégek a bejáratnál vártak minket.
The guests waited for us at the entrance.
Már régóta vártuk ezt a hírt.
We had been waiting for this news for a long time.
The first two verbs use the indefinite series: a buszra is sublative rather than an accusative object, and minket is a first-person object. Demonstrative ezt a hírt is a definite third-person object, so vártuk belongs to the definite series. English wait does not reveal these Hungarian case and person distinctions.
What -t and -tt mean
The past marker contains t, but Hungarian spelling shows either a single or doubled t, often with a linking vowel. In a transparent form such as vár-t-am, the marker follows the stem directly. Third-person singular indefinite has no additional person ending: vár-t.
Many verbs show -ott/-ett/-ött in third-person singular indefinite:
| Infinitive/stem | 3sg past indefinite | 1sg past indefinite | Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| olvas | olvasott | olvastam | linking vowel only in 3sg |
| néz | nézett | néztem | linking vowel only in 3sg |
| főz | főzött | főztem | linking vowel only in 3sg |
| fut | futott | futottam | linked form across the paradigm |
| tanít | tanított | tanítottam | linked form across the paradigm |
| fest | festett | festettem | linked form across the paradigm |
Éva tegnap este sokáig olvasott.
Éva read until late last night.
Reggel öt kilométert futottam a folyóparton.
I ran five kilometers along the riverbank this morning.
The choice is partly phonological and partly lexical. Final consonants and clusters influence whether a linking vowel appears, but t-final verbs divide into several classes: tanított, festett, and futott are not generated by one simple “double every t” rule, while szerettem and láttam show different surface patterns. Learn frequent stems with a past form, and use the stem-class page for the full classification.
Vowel harmony
Linking vowels and person endings follow vowel harmony. Back-vowel forms include -ott, -tam, -tál, -tunk, -tatok, -tak; front unrounded forms include -ett, -tem, -tél, -tünk, -tetek, -tek; front rounded -ött appears where the linking vowel is visible.
A gyerek egész délután a szobájában ült.
The child sat in their room all afternoon.
A szakács még egy órán át főzött.
The cook carried on cooking for another hour.
Ült has no linking vowel, whereas főzött shows rounded ö. Harmony narrows the vowel choice but does not decide whether a linking vowel is present.
Definite past endings
The definite paradigm uses endings such as -tam/-tem, -tad/-ted, -ta/-te, -tuk/-tük, -tátok/-tétek, and -ták/-ték. The object triggers them just as in the present.
Tegnap megnéztél egy filmet?
Did you watch a film yesterday?
Megnézted a filmet, amit ajánlottam?
Did you watch the film I recommended?
A kollégák már elküldték a javított szerződést.
The colleagues have already sent the corrected contract.
Egy filmet selects indefinite megnéztél. A filmet selects definite megnézted, and a javított szerződést selects elküldték. The definite second- and third-person forms make the contrast visible.
First-person singular is syncretic: néztem can be indefinite or definite.
Tegnap este néztem egy dokumentumfilmet.
I watched a documentary last night.
Tegnap este megnéztem a dokumentumfilmet.
I watched the documentary last night.
The first object is indefinite and the second definite, but both verbs end in -tem. Prefix meg- helps express a bounded event in the second sentence, yet it is not the source of definiteness.
The special 1sg→2 past
A first-person singular subject acting on a second-person object uses -talak/-telek.
Tegnap kétszer is hívtalak, de nem vetted fel.
I called you twice yesterday, but you didn't answer.
Már az első találkozásunkkor megkedveltelek.
I liked you from our very first meeting.
These forms combine past time, a first-person singular subject, and a second-person object. They are not an optional emphatic variant. See the dedicated -lak/-lek forms page.
Frequent irregular past stems
Several everyday verbs use a stem that cannot be predicted from the present alone.
| Present/infinitive | 3sg past indefinite | 1sg past indefinite |
|---|---|---|
| van / lenni | volt | voltam |
| megy | ment | mentem |
| jön | jött | jöttem |
| tesz | tett | tettem |
| vesz | vett | vettem |
| visz | vitt | vittem |
| hisz | hitt | hittem |
| eszik | evett | ettem |
| iszik | ivott | ittam |
| alszik | aludt | aludtam |
Tegnap későn jöttem haza, ezért keveset aludtam.
I came home late yesterday, so I slept little.
These high-frequency alternations require memorization. Vowel harmony explains the endings after the past stem, not why megy becomes ment- or alszik becomes aludt-.
Prefix placement and contextual aspect
In a neutral affirmative past clause, a verbal prefix normally precedes the verb and is written together. Negation and corrective focus can place it after the finite verb.
Reggel megírtam a választ.
I wrote the reply this morning.
Reggel nem írtam meg a választ.
I didn't write the reply this morning.
Tegnap írtam meg a választ, nem ma.
I wrote the reply yesterday, not today.
The finite ending remains first-person singular past definite in all three. Prefix position helps structure completion, polarity, and focus; the past tense itself does not encode a separate English-style perfective versus progressive paradigm.
Segmentation exercise
Identify the stem, past material, person, and object series.
- vár-t-ál: stem + past -t
- 2sg indefinite ending.
- vár-t-ad: stem + past -t
- 2sg definite ending.
- olvas-ott: stem + linked/doubled past form, 3sg indefinite with zero person ending.
- olvas-t-uk: stem + past -t
- 1pl definite ending.
- fut-ott-am: stem + linked past form + 1sg ending.
- meg-hív-t-alak: prefix + stem + past + special 1sg→2 ending.
- el-küld-t-ék: prefix + stem + past + 3pl definite ending.
- men-t-em: irregular past stem of megy
- 1sg ending.
Segmentation is useful, but some endings package several features and some stems have fused historically. Treat forms such as mentem and ittam as lexical families rather than forcing a false regular analysis.
Common Mistakes
❌ Tegnap dolgozok otthon.
Incorrect for a completed event yesterday — use the past indicative.
✅ Tegnap otthon dolgoztam.
I worked from home yesterday.
❌ Megnéztél a filmet?
Incorrect — a filmet requires the definite past ending.
✅ Megnézted a filmet?
Did you watch the film?
❌ Éva tegnap olvast.
Incorrect third-person past form — olvas has the linked form olvasott here.
✅ Éva tegnap olvasott.
Éva read yesterday.
❌ Nem megírtam a levelet.
Incorrect neutral negation — the prefix follows the negated verb.
✅ Nem írtam meg a levelet.
I didn't write the letter.
Key Takeaways
- Modern Hungarian uses one productive synthetic past indicative built with -t/-tt plus subject- and object-sensitive endings.
- The indefinite and definite paradigms remain distinct, although first-person singular forms such as vártam are identical on the surface.
- Linking vowels appear according to stem class and harmony; some verbs show them only in 3sg indefinite, while others retain them across the paradigm.
- The special past -talak/-telek encodes a first-person singular subject acting on a second-person object.
- Frequent stems such as ment-, jött-, tett-, vett-, vitt-, hitt-, ett-/evett-, itt-/ivott-, and aludt- require memorization.
- Prefix position contributes aspectual and information-structural cues, but tense and object definiteness remain encoded in the finite verb.
Now practice Hungarian
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Hungarian →Related Topics
- The Past Indicative: Meanings and UsageA2 — Use the single productive Hungarian past tense for completed events, background activity, habits, current relevance, and narration.
- The Past Indicative: Contrasts and Learner TrapsB1 — Choose Hungarian past forms by tense, stem class, object definiteness, aspect, and information structure rather than by English tense labels.
- The Present Indefinite Conjugation: Forms and Core PatternA1 — Build Hungarian present indefinite verbs with harmonic endings, including sibilant, t-final, and -ik patterns.
- The Present Definite Conjugation: Forms and Core PatternA2 — Build the Hungarian present definite paradigm and recognize the direct objects that select it.
- Verb Stem Classes and Principal Parts: Forms and Core PatternB1 — Recognize Hungarian verb stem classes and use principal parts to predict present, past, conditional, and imperative forms.
- Hungarian Past versus English Perfect Tenses: Forms and Core PatternB1 — Build the Hungarian structures that correspond to English present and past perfects without inventing a separate Hungarian perfect tense.