Learn Hardcore Hungarian: A férfi tegnap szomorú volt, mert nem írtak neki. - The man was sad yesterday because nobody wrote to him.

Hungarian often uses third-person plural with no explicit subject to mean “they” in the sense of “people/others/someone,” i.e., an unspecified agent. Here, nem írtak means “no one wrote” or “they didn’t write,” without identifying who “they” are. It’s very natural and common.

Could I also say nem írt neki senki or senki sem írt neki? Are they different?

Yes, both are correct and mean the same thing (“nobody wrote to him/her”).

Nem írt neki senki: literally “did not write to him/her nobody.” This is a standard negative-concord pattern.
Senki sem írt neki: also standard; sem is the negative particle that pairs with senki. The second often feels a bit more emphatic; both are fully natural.

Why is it írtak and not írták?

Because Hungarian “definite vs. indefinite” verb conjugation depends on the direct object. Here there is no direct object at all—only an indirect object (neki, “to him/her”)—so you use the indefinite form írtak.

Indefinite (no definite direct object): Nem írtak (neki).
Definite (with a definite direct object): Nem írták a levelet (neki). “They didn’t write the letter (to him/her).”

Why is it neki (“to him/her”) and not őt (“him/her”) after írni?

The verb ír (“to write”) takes a dative recipient: írni valakinek (“to write to someone”). The direct object of ír (if present) is the thing written (e.g., levelet “a letter”), not the person. So:

Correct: Írtak neki. “They wrote to him/her.”
Correct: Levelet írtak neki. “They wrote a letter to him/her.”
Incorrect for this meaning: Írták őt. (would suggest “they wrote him/her” as a direct object, which doesn’t match normal usage)

Can I move neki earlier, as in mert neki nem írtak? Does it change the meaning?

Yes. Word order in Hungarian reflects information structure.

mert nem írtak neki is neutral: “because they didn’t write to him/her.”
mert neki nem írtak makes neki a topic/contrast: “because to him/her they didn’t write (but to others they might have).”
mert nem neki írtak puts neki in focus: “because it wasn’t to him/her that they wrote (it was to someone else).”

Is the comma before mert required?

Yes. In standard Hungarian orthography, you place a comma before mert when it introduces a causal subordinate clause: …, mert …

Could I use mivel instead of mert?

Yes. Mivel is a bit more formal and is particularly natural when the reason comes first:

Cause first: Mivel nem írtak neki, a férfi tegnap szomorú volt. You can still use mert in that position, but mivel often reads smoother in writing.

Why is it A férfi and not Az férfi?

Hungarian has two definite articles: a (before consonant) and az (before vowel).

A férfi (starts with consonant f)
Az ember (starts with vowel e)

Where can I put tegnap? Are these all correct?

Yes, several placements are natural, with slight differences in topic/focus.

A férfi tegnap szomorú volt. (topic = “the man”)
Tegnap a férfi szomorú volt. (topic = “yesterday”)
A férfi szomorú volt tegnap. (postverbal time; also fine) Hungarian often places time expressions early, but all three are acceptable.

What is the morphological breakdown of nem írtak?

nem = negation “not”
ír- = verb stem “write”
-t- = past tense marker
-ak = 3rd person plural, indefinite conjugation So írtak = “they wrote,” and nem írtak = “they didn’t write.”

Why isn’t it írtek (with -ek), since í is a front vowel? Why írtak?

Although í is a “neutral” front vowel, some stems with only neutral vowels still take back-vowel suffixes. Ír is such an exception: it behaves like a back-vowel stem for many suffixes.

Present 1sg: írok (not “írek”)
Past 3pl indef.: írtak (not “írtek”) This is a lexical pattern you need to learn for certain verbs (e.g., ír, hív, etc.).

Can the causal clause come first?

Yes:

Mivel nem írtak neki, a férfi tegnap szomorú volt. Starting with mert is possible in speech but mivel is preferred in careful writing when the reason is fronted.

Does neki definitely refer back to a férfi?

In this sentence, yes: contextually neki (“to him/her”) points back to A férfi. If there were potential ambiguity, Hungarian could add emphasis with őneki, but plain neki is the default and usually clear.

How do I say “they didn’t write to him either”?

Use sem (“either/not … either”), attached to the focused element:

mert neki sem írtak (emphasis on “to him either”)
mert nem írtak neki sem (neutral “they didn’t write to him either”) Both are fine; the first highlights “him.”

Could I use ugyanis instead of mert?

You can write: A férfi tegnap szomorú volt, ugyanis nem írtak neki.

ugyanis introduces an explanatory clause (“namely / as it happens”), stylistically a bit more formal/informative than causal mert. It’s not a subordinating conjunction in the same way as mert, but in practice it’s common for giving reasons/explanations.

Why is there no pronoun like ők (“they”) before írtak?

Subject pronouns are typically omitted in Hungarian unless you want to emphasize or contrast them. You could say mert ők nem írtak neki to stress “they (as opposed to someone else) didn’t write to him/her,” but it isn’t needed in the neutral sentence.