Verb Formation and Valency Change: Forms and Core Pattern

Hungarian forms new verbs from nouns, adjectives, and other verbs. Some suffixes create a new dictionary word; others systematically add causative, potential, or repeated-event meaning. In a long form, derivational material stands close to the lexical base, followed by tense or mood and then personal agreement. Recognizing those layers is more reliable than cutting off every familiar-looking final syllable.

Denominal verbs with -l and -z

The families traditionally represented as -l and -z often appear with linking vowels: -ol/-el/-öl, -al/-el, and -oz/-ez/-öz. They create verbs meaning “use, perform, engage with, or behave in relation to the noun,” but the exact meaning is lexical.

Forms in -z frequently belong to the -ik class, such as reggelizik and internetezik. The noun base may change or take a linking vowel, so learners should record the whole infinitive and a present-tense form rather than treating -l or -z as a freely attachable English-like ending.

Change-of-state verbs with -ít

-ít commonly makes a transitive verb meaning “make/cause to become X” from an adjective or nominal base: szép → szépít, rövid → rövidít, tiszta → tisztít. The suffix contains long í, and verbs ending in -ít have characteristic conjugational behavior.

Not every adjective forms a normal verb with -ít. Loanwords and established alternatives may select -izál, tesz, or another verb. Productivity gives a strong pattern, not permission to coin any imaginable form.

Causatives: -at/-et and -tat/-tet

The causative adds a causer and means “make, have, or get someone to do X.” Its surface family is -at/-et ~ -tat/-tet, chosen according to stem shape and lexical convention: ír → írat, néz → nézet, olvas → olvastat, tanít → taníttat. Vowel harmony selects back a or front e.

With an intransitive base, the person made to act is typically accusative: fut a gyerek → futtatja a gyereket. With a transitive base, the original object remains accusative and the causee is commonly instrumental: megírja a választ → megíratja a választ az asszisztenssel.

Actual verbs may lexicalize or prefer a periphrasis with megkér, enged, or rávesz. The compact causative encodes a valency relation; it does not specify whether the causee obeyed willingly.

Potential verbs with -hat/-het

The highly productive -hat/-het suffix follows the verb stem and any preceding derivational suffix. It expresses possibility, opportunity, ability in the circumstances, or permission. It then conjugates like part of the verb.

The form does not itself decide between “can” and “may”; context does. Tud is normally preferred for learned skill, especially when ability rather than present opportunity is at issue: Tud úszni “She can swim.”

Grammatical traditions differ on whether -hat/-het belongs at the outer edge of derivation or to inflection. For practical parsing, the stable fact is its position: it follows lexical and causative suffixes but precedes past tense, conditional mood, and personal agreement.

Reflexive and middle families

Hungarian has several derivational families associated with self-directed, reciprocal, inchoative, or middle meaning, including -kod/-ked/-köd, -koz/-kez/-köz, -ód/-őd, and -ul/-ül. Examples include mosakodik “wash oneself,” öltözködik “get dressed,” találkozik “meet,” javul “improve/get better,” and készül “become ready/prepare.” These are not one fully productive voice paradigm.

Some bases form lexical transitive–intransitive pairs, such as javít “improve/fix something” versus javul “get better.” Others lack a predictable paired form. Memorize the case frame with the verb.

Frequentative and attenuative formation

-gat/-get and related families such as -dogál/-degél/-dögél and -kál can present an event as repeated, intermittent, leisurely, or carried out in small installments. Olvasgat is not simply “read many times”; it often means “read a little/casually.”

Frequentatives are productive enough to interpret creatively, but their pragmatic shade depends on the base and context. In formal instructions, the unmarked base is usually preferable.

The internal order of a long verb

Consider átírathattuk “we were able to have it rewritten”:

• át-: verbal prefix “across/re-”;
• ír: lexical verb “write”;
• -at: causative “have someone write”;
• -hat: potential “be able/allowed”;
• -t: past tense;
• -uk: first-person plural definite agreement, referring to a definite object.

Derivation precedes inflection. A verbal prefix may separate under negation or focus, but inner suffixes cannot be rearranged. See word-formation order for the full architecture.

Segmentation exercise

Segment nem rövidíttethettük le “we could not have it shortened.” The lexical adjective is rövid; -ít makes the transitive verb rövidít; -tet adds a causer; -het adds possibility; -t marks past; -ük is first-person plural definite agreement. Negation occupies the preverbal focus position, so the prefix le- appears after the verb: nem rövidíttethettük le.

Common Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• -l and -z create lexical verbs from nominal bases; linking vowels and meanings must often be learned word by word.
• -ít commonly creates a transitive change-of-state verb.
• -at/-et ~ -tat/-tet adds a causer and changes how the original participants are expressed.
• -hat/-het productively adds possibility or permission after other derivation.
• Reflexive-middle and frequentative families are semantically motivated but only partly predictable.
• In a long verb, separate the lexical base and derivation from tense, mood, and agreement rather than treating every ending alike.