Questions & Answers about A film hamarosan elkezdődik.
In Hungarian, the present tense is very often used to talk about the near future, especially for:
- scheduled events
- things that are clearly about to happen
So A film hamarosan elkezdődik. literally is “The film starts soon,” but in English we usually say “The film will start soon.”
You can make a future tense with fog, for example:
- A film hamarosan el fog kezdődni.
This is grammatically correct but sounds heavier and more formal. In everyday speech, the simple present elkezdődik is completely natural for this meaning.
Elkezdődik is a 3rd person singular verb form. You can break it down like this:
- kezd – root verb: “to begin, to start (something)”
- el- – verbal prefix: marks the start or completion of the action
- -ődik – ending that turns it into an intransitive “to get started / to begin” type of verb
Infinitive: elkezdődni – “to get started, to begin”
So:
- Elkezdik a filmet. – “They start the film.” (someone is actively starting it)
- A film elkezdődik. – “The film starts / gets started.” (the film itself begins; no explicit “they”)
In your sentence, elkezdődik agrees with a film (3rd person singular).
Because:
- elkezdeni = “to start something” (transitive)
- elkezdődni = “to get started, to begin” (intransitive)
Examples:
- Elkezdem a filmet. – “I start the film.”
(someone starts it, object = a filmet) - A film elkezdődik. – “The film starts.”
(no doer expressed; the film is simply beginning)
So A film hamarosan elkezd. is wrong in normal Hungarian. The subject film needs an intransitive form: elkezdődik or kezdődik.
Both can be used for things that start:
- A film hamarosan kezdődik.
- A film hamarosan elkezdődik.
Both are understandable and natural.
Subtle points:
- kezdődik: neutral “begins, starts”
- elkezdődik: slightly more marked for “the beginning actually gets underway”, thanks to the prefix el-, which often adds a sense of inception / completion.
In practice, many speakers use them almost interchangeably in sentences like this. You don’t need el- here for grammar; it’s more about nuance and style.
In many Hungarian verbs, el-:
- marks the start of an action (inchoative)
- or adds a “do it to some extent / away / off” sense
- often gives a perfective feeling (a bounded, complete event)
With kezdeni:
- kezdeni – to begin
- elkezdeni – to set about beginning / to start (up) something
- kezdődni – to begin (intransitive)
- elkezdődni – to get started / to begin (intransitive, with more explicit sense of “it gets going”)
In A film hamarosan elkezdődik, el- focuses on the start of the event: the film is about to get going.
Yes, elkezdődik belongs to the group traditionally called -ik verbs, because their 3rd person singular indefinite present ends in -ik (here: -ődik).
Key points:
- The base pattern: történik (“it happens”), alszik (“he/she sleeps”), etc.
- These verbs often have some special forms in the 1st person singular, e.g.
alszom (not alszok in standard language), történem is rare, though.
For elkezdődik you almost only ever use it in 3rd person (things “begin, get started”), so practically you just need to recognize that -ődik marks this type of intransitive, “event-happens” form.
The exact paradigm is less important at beginner level; just memorize elkezdődik as “(it) starts / gets started.”
Hamarosan is an adverb and corresponds well to “soon” or “in a short time.”
Morphology:
- hamar – early, soon, quickly
- -osan – adverb-forming suffix (like English -ly in many cases)
So hamarosan literally: “in a soon/quick way → soon.”
Some near-synonyms and rough feel:
- hamarosan – soon (fairly neutral)
- mindjárt – any minute now, very soon
- nem sokára / nemsokára – not in a long time, soon
- rögtön – immediately, right away
In your sentence, hamarosan is a good, neutral way to say “soon.”
Yes, Hungarian word order is relatively flexible, and adverbs like hamarosan can move.
Some natural possibilities:
A film hamarosan elkezdődik.
– Neutral: “The film will start soon.” (topic = the film)Hamarosan elkezdődik a film.
– Emphasis on “soon”: “Soon, the film will start.”
This is very natural in speech, especially if you’re answering “When?”A film elkezdődik hamarosan.
– Possible, but less neutral; can sound more marked or poetic.
In everyday usage, (1) and (2) are the most common and safest choices.
Hungarian normally requires an article before a singular countable noun when you’re talking about a specific instance:
- A film hamarosan elkezdődik. – “The film will start soon.”
If you remove the article:
- Film hamarosan elkezdődik. – This sounds like a headline or very telegraphic style, not normal full-sentence Hungarian.
You would omit the article mainly:
- in headlines
- in notes, labels, or very clipped style
So in normal conversation or narrative, keep the article: A film…
Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:
- a – used before consonant sounds
e.g. a film, a ház, a mozi - az – used before vowel sounds
e.g. az alma, az idő, az autó
Since film starts with f, a consonant, the correct article is a:
- A film hamarosan elkezdődik.
If the noun started with a vowel, you’d say:
- Az előadás hamarosan elkezdődik. – “The performance will start soon.”
Yes, but the meaning changes:
A film hamarosan elkezdődik.
→ “The film will start soon.”
A specific film that both speaker and listener know about.Egy film hamarosan elkezdődik.
→ “A film will start soon.”
Some film, not specified which one. This is less typical in a cinema context; you almost always mean a particular film.
In real situations (e.g. in a cinema, at home with the TV), A film… is what you want.
Approximate pronunciation (IPA):
- A film hamarosan elkezdődik
- /ɒ film hɒmɒroʃɒn ɛlkɛzdøːdik/
Key points:
- Stress is always on the first syllable of each word:
- A film hamarosan elkezdődik
- Vowels:
- a in a, hamarosan → /ɒ/ (a back, open vowel, like a “dark a”)
- e in elkezdődik → /ɛ/ (as in “bed,” but a bit more open)
- ő in elkezdődik → a long, front rounded vowel /øː/ (similar to German ö in schön, but long)
- Consonants:
- s in Hungarian is /ʃ/ like English sh.
So hamarosan is pronounced hamaro-shan. - film is pronounced roughly as in English.
- s in Hungarian is /ʃ/ like English sh.
Spoken smoothly, it’s something like: [A film HA-ma-ro-shan EL-kez-dő-dik].
When you negate a verb with a prefix like el-, the prefix usually moves after the verb.
Affirmative:
- A film hamarosan elkezdődik.
Natural negation:
- A film nem kezdődik el hamarosan.
→ “The film will not start soon.”
Compare:
- elkezdődik → nem kezdődik el
You could also move hamarosan a bit:
- A film hamarosan nem kezdődik el.
This is possible but tends to suggest a contrast like “It doesn’t start soon (but later).”
The safest, neutral negative is A film nem kezdődik el hamarosan.
Yes, some very natural alternatives are:
Mindjárt kezdődik a film.
– “The film is about to start / will start any minute.”Nemsokára kezdődik a film.
– “The film will start soon.”Rövidesen kezdődik a film.
– “The film will start shortly.” (a bit more formal)
Notice that in these versions, speakers often drop the el- and just say kezdődik; this is perfectly fine and very common.