Questions & Answers about Ő ma itt marad.
Why is the verb in the present tense (marad) if English would say “will stay / is staying”?
Hungarian often uses the simple present to talk about near or scheduled future when a time word makes the timing clear. Here, ma (today) supplies that. So Ő ma itt marad naturally means “He/She will stay here today.” If you want an explicit future, use fog + infinitive: Ő ma itt fog maradni.
Do I have to say the pronoun Ő, or can I drop it?
You can drop it: Ma itt marad. Hungarian is pro‑drop because the verb ending shows the person/number. Keeping Ő adds emphasis or clarity (for instance, contrasting with someone else).
Does Ő mean “he” or “she”? Does Hungarian mark gender?
Ő covers both “he” and “she.” Hungarian third‑person pronouns don’t mark gender. Plural is ők (“they”): Ők ma itt maradnak. If you must specify gender, you add a noun like a férfi (the man) or a nő (the woman) for context.
How do I pronounce Ő? What’s the difference between ö and ő?
- ő is a long front rounded vowel (IPA: /øː/), like German long “ö.”
- ö is the short counterpart (IPA: /ø/).
Length matters in Hungarian. Also, sentence-initial Ő is capitalized only because it starts the sentence.
Why is right before ? What does that word order emphasize?