Én felviszem a bőröndöt a szobába.

I carry the suitcase up to the room.

Breakdown of Én felviszem a bőröndöt a szobába.

• én: I
• szoba: the room
• -ba: to
• bőrönd: the suitcase
• felvinni: to carry up

Questions & Answers about Én felviszem a bőröndöt a szobába.

Do I have to say Én, or can I just say Felviszem a bőröndöt a szobába?

You don’t have to say Én. Hungarian usually drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person.

• Felviszem a bőröndöt a szobába. – completely normal and neutral.
• Én felviszem a bőröndöt a szobába. – puts a bit of emphasis on Én: I will take it up (not someone else, or in contrast to another person).

So use Én when you want contrast or emphasis; otherwise leave it out.

What does fel- add to viszem? Is Viszem a bőröndöt a szobába wrong?

Fel- is a verbal prefix meaning up(wards), upstairs, or to a higher level.

• Viszem a bőröndöt a szobába. – I take the suitcase to the room (no specific vertical idea).
• Felviszem a bőröndöt a szobába. – I take the suitcase up to the room (for example, from the lobby to an upstairs room).

Viszem a bőröndöt a szobába is grammatical; it just lacks the explicit “up” nuance that fel- gives.

Why is fel in front of the verb here, but sometimes I see it after the verb, like Nem viszem fel a bőröndöt?

In neutral affirmative sentences, the prefix usually stays in front of the verb and attaches to it: felviszem.

The prefix moves after the verb in certain situations, for example:

• Negation:
  Nem viszem fel a bőröndöt a szobába. – I’m not taking the suitcase up to the room.
• Focus right before the verb:
  Csak a bőröndöt viszem fel a szobába. – It’s only the suitcase that I’m taking up.
• Periphrastic future:
  Fel fogom vinni a bőröndöt. – I will take the suitcase up.

So position of fel is tied to sentence structure, emphasis, and tense construction.

Why is it viszem and not viszek?

Hungarian has indefinite and definite verb conjugations.

• Viszek = 1st person singular, indefinite object
  Viszek egy bőröndöt. – I’m taking a suitcase.
• Viszem = 1st person singular, definite object
  Felviszem a bőröndöt. – I’m taking the suitcase (a specific one).

Because a bőröndöt is clearly definite (it has the article a), the verb must be in the definite form: viszem.

What does the -t at the end of bőröndöt mean?

The -t is the accusative ending, marking the direct object of the verb.

• Base form: bőrönd – suitcase
• Accusative: bőrönd + -öt → bőröndöt

The extra -ö- is a linking vowel that makes the word pronounceable; the important grammatical marker is -t. Almost all direct objects in Hungarian take this -t ending.

Why is it a bőröndöt and not az bőröndöt?

Hungarian uses:

• a before words starting with a consonant
• az before words starting with a vowel

Since bőrönd starts with b (a consonant), the article is a:

• a bőrönd – the suitcase
• az alma – the apple

Accent marks don’t change this rule; what matters is whether the first letter is a vowel or a consonant.

What does szobába literally mean, and why does it end with -ba?

The base noun is szoba – room.

Adding -ba gives szobába, which literally means into (the) room or to the inside of the room. So:

• a szoba – the room
• a szobába – into the room / to the room (as a destination)

The ending -ba/-be is the illative case, expressing movement into something.

How is -ba different from -ban / -ben?

They express different spatial relations:

• -ba / -be – movement into something (direction):
  Bemegyek a szobába. – I go into the room.
• -ban / -ben – being in something (location):
  A bőrönd a szobában van. – The suitcase is in the room.

So -ba/-be = into, -ban/-ben = in.

Why is it -ba and not -be in szobába?

This is due to vowel harmony. Suffixes come in back-vowel and front-vowel versions:

• Back-vowel words (with a, o, u, á, ó, ú) take -ba.
• Front-vowel words (with e, i, é, í, ö, ő, ü, ű) take -be.

Szoba contains back vowels (o, a), so it takes the back form -ba → szobába.

Can I change the word order? For example, can I say A bőröndöt felviszem a szobába?

Yes, word order is flexible, but it changes emphasis (focus).

Some possibilities:

• Felviszem a bőröndöt a szobába. – neutral: I take the suitcase up to the room.
• Én felviszem a bőröndöt a szobába. – slight emphasis on I.
• A bőröndöt viszem fel a szobába. – It’s the suitcase (not something else) that I’m taking up.
• A szobába viszem fel a bőröndöt. – It’s to the room (not somewhere else) that I’m taking the suitcase.

The element immediately before the bare verb stem (here visz-) is the main focus; attaching fel- to the verb usually means nothing else is focused.

How would I say this in a clearly future sense, like I will take the suitcase up to the room?

Hungarian often uses the present tense for future actions, especially if context or a time expression makes the future clear:

• Holnap felviszem a bőröndöt a szobába. – Tomorrow I’ll take the suitcase up to the room.

If you want a more explicit future, you can use fog + infinitive:

• Holnap fel fogom vinni a bőröndöt a szobába. – Tomorrow I will take the suitcase up to the room.

Notice that with fog, the prefix separates: fel fogom vinni, not fel fogom viszem.

How do I say I take the suitcases up to the room (plural suitcases)?

You pluralize the noun and still use the definite verb form:

• Base: bőrönd – suitcase
• Plural: bőröndök – suitcases
• Accusative plural: bőröndöket

Full sentence:

• Felviszem a bőröndöket a szobába. – I take the suitcases up to the room.

The verb felviszem stays the same; it doesn’t change for singular vs. plural direct objects, only for definite vs. indefinite.