Learn Hardcore Hungarian: Tegnap megnéztük az új filmet; a film tetszett mindenkinek. - Yesterday we watched the new movie; everyone liked the movie.

The prefix meg marks the action as completed or “through and through.” Néztük alone could mean “we looked” or “we were watching,” but megnéztük specifically means “we watched it (to the end).” Omitting meg changes the nuance from a finished viewing to a more general or ongoing looking.

How is the 1st person plural past tense formed in megnéztük, and why is -tük used here?

Hungarian past tense for transitive verbs uses -t- (past marker) plus a personal ending. For megnézni the root is megnéz-, then you add -t- + -ük (1st person plural definite ending), yielding megnéztük. We use the definite conjugation because the object (az új filmet) is definite.

Why does filmet end with -et, and what does that suffix indicate?

The -t (here with linking vowel -e- giving -et) is the accusative marker in Hungarian. It shows that filmet (“movie”) is the direct object of megnéztük (“we watched”).

What makes az új filmet a definite object, and how does that affect the verb form?

An object is definite if it’s introduced by a definite article (az) or refers to a specific known item. Az új filmet (“the new film”) is clearly specific, so the verb uses the definite past conjugation megnéztük rather than the indefinite megnéztünk.

Why is tetszett used here instead of szerette to mean “liked”?

Hungarian uses tetszik/tetszett to express that something “pleases” someone, like “I like it.” Szeret is more emotional (“to love” or “to like”), so while you could say Mindenki szerette a filmet, tetszett is the neutral, idiomatic way to say “the film was liked by everyone.”

Why is mindenkinek in the dative case, and what role does it play with tetszett?

The verb tetszik/tetszett takes the experiencer in the dative. Mindenkinek is the dative of mindenki (“everyone”), marking who the film pleased. The thing that is liked (a film) is the subject in the nominative.

Why does the subject a film come after the verb in a film tetszett mindenkinek, and is this order fixed?

Hungarian has flexible word order and often places the verb first for a neutral or verb-focus sentence. You could also say A film tetszett mindenkinek or Mindenkinek tetszett a film. None of these is grammatically wrong; word order shifts emphasis or topic.

The sentence uses a semicolon ( ; ) between the clauses. Could you replace it with a period or conjunction in Hungarian?

Yes. You could write:

Tegnap megnéztük az új filmet. A film tetszett mindenkinek.
Tegnap megnéztük az új filmet, és a film tetszett mindenkinek.
The semicolon simply links two related independent clauses; in everyday speech a period or és (“and”) is more common.

Can you drop a film in the second clause and just say Tetszett mindenkinek? Would that be understandable?

Yes. If the context is clear, you can omit the noun and say Tetszett mindenkinek, meaning “It pleased everyone.” Hungarian often leaves out overt subjects when they’re already understood.

What is the difference in emphasis between Mindenkinek tetszett a film and A film tetszett mindenkinek?

Mindenkinek tetszett a film (“The film pleased everyone”) puts everyone (mindenkinek) first and thus highlights the people. A film tetszett mindenkinek starts with a film, so the focus falls more on the film itself. Hungarian word order helps you signal what you want to emphasize.