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Questions & Answers about Holnap megnézem a filmet.
Why is Holnap at the beginning of the sentence?
Hungarian is a topic-prominent language, so you can move elements around to highlight different parts. Placing the time adverb Holnap (“tomorrow”) first makes it the topic, emphasizing when the action happens. You could also say A filmet holnap megnézem, but the focus shifts accordingly.
How is future tense shown in Holnap megnézem a filmet if the verb looks like present tense?
Hungarian typically uses present-tense forms to talk about the future when there's a clear time adverb (like holnap). So megnézem is present tense, 1st person singular, but with holnap it naturally means “I will watch.” If you want a more explicit future, you can use the auxiliary fog: Holnap meg fogom nézni a filmet.
What is megnézem made of? Can you break it down?
megnézem = prefix meg- + verb stem néz (“look/watch”) + 1st person singular definite ending -em. The full form means “I watch it” or “I will watch it” (with holnap).
What does the prefix meg- do to néz?
The prefix meg- adds perfective aspect. While néz can mean “I look” or “I'm watching,” megnéz implies completing the action: “to watch something (to the end)” or “to view.”
Why is there no auxiliary verb for future? Wouldn't we need something like “will” in English?
Hungarian doesn’t require a special future auxiliary in most everyday speech. Using the present tense form plus a future time adverb is enough. The auxiliary fog + infinitive (e.g., meg fogom nézni) can be used for clarity or emphasis but is optional.
What does the -em ending in megnézem indicate?
The suffix -em marks 1st person singular definite conjugation. “Definite” here means the object is definite (a specific film, a filmet), so you use the definite verb form.
Why is the object a filmet marked with a and -t?
When you have a definite direct object, Hungarian uses a definite article (a or az, depending on vowel harmony) plus the accusative suffix -t. The noun film takes filmet (the t-mark for accusative). So a filmet means “the film” as a direct object.
Why isn't the subject pronoun én used here?
In Hungarian you normally drop the subject pronoun because the verb ending (-em) already shows the person (1st person singular). Including én is possible for emphasis but usually unnecessary: Holnap én megnézem a filmet would emphasize “I will watch the film tomorrow (not someone else).”