Questions & Answers about A vonat hamarosan fog indulni.
In fog indulni, there are two elements:
- fog – this is a verb that functions as a future auxiliary, similar to English will / is going to.
- indulni – this is the infinitive of indul (to depart, to set off).
So fog indulni literally means something like “will to depart” or “is going to depart.”
Hungarian often forms the future with:
fog + infinitive
e.g. fog menni = will go, is going to go
fog esni = will fall / will be falling
In your sentence:
A vonat hamarosan fog indulni.
The train will depart soon.
- fog carries the future meaning.
- indulni tells you what the train will do: depart.
After fog (the future auxiliary), Hungarian uses the infinitive form of the main verb:
- fog menni – will go
- fog enni – will eat
- fog olvasni – will read
- fog indulni – will depart
So in A vonat hamarosan fog indulni, fog is the verb that is conjugated (3rd person singular), and indulni stays in the -ni infinitive form.
If you don’t use fog, then you conjugate indul normally:
- A vonat indul. – The train departs / is departing / will depart (depending on context).
With fog, the pattern is:
(subject) + fog (conjugated) + main verb in -ni form
Yes, A vonat hamarosan indul is completely correct and very natural. It often means essentially the same as:
A vonat hamarosan fog indulni.
The train will depart soon.
Differences in feel:
A vonat hamarosan indul.
- Uses the present tense with a time adverb (hamarosan).
- Very common, neutral, and often preferred in everyday speech.
- Future meaning is understood from context and from hamarosan (“soon”).
A vonat hamarosan fog indulni.
- Uses the explicit future with fog + infinitive.
- Slightly more emphatic about the futurity, sometimes more formal or careful.
- You might see/hear it in announcements, written notices, explanations where the speaker wants to stress that this is about the future.
In many everyday situations, a native speaker would probably say A vonat hamarosan indul rather than using fog.
No. Fog + infinitive is one way to talk about the future, but Hungarian very often uses the present tense with a time expression instead.
Examples:
- Holnap megyek Budapestre.
I’m going to Budapest tomorrow. (future, present tense used) - Holnap el fogok menni Budapestre.
I will go / I am going to go to Budapest tomorrow. (future auxiliary)
Both are correct. The present tense with a time adverb (holnap, jövő héten, etc.) is very common and often feels more natural in everyday speech.
Typical uses of fog + infinitive:
- To emphasize the future nature:
Holnap esni fog. – It will rain tomorrow. - In more formal or carefully worded sentences.
- For predictions, assurances, or strong intentions:
Meg fogom csinálni. – I will do it.
So: fog + infinitive is a standard future form, but it’s not the only or default choice in all future contexts.
Yes, Hungarian word order is relatively flexible, and hamarosan (soon) can appear in several positions, each with slightly different emphasis.
Some natural options:
A vonat hamarosan fog indulni.
- Topic: A vonat (the train – what we are talking about)
- Focus: hamarosan (soon – this is what is being emphasized)
- Meaning: The train will soon depart. (emphasis on “soon”)
Hamarosan fog indulni a vonat.
- Focus: Hamarosan at the beginning
- Very similar meaning; “soon” is still strongly emphasized.
A vonat hamarosan indul.
- Uses present tense indul but still future in meaning.
- Also focuses on hamarosan.
Hamarosan indul a vonat.
- Common and natural. Emphasis on soon as well.
Other orders like:
- A vonat fog hamarosan indulni.
– Grammatically possible but now A vonat (the train) becomes the focus (as in “It is the train that will depart soon, not something else”). - A vonat indulni fog hamarosan.
– Puts focus on indulni (the act of departing) rather than on “soon.”
For a learner, the safest, most neutral-feeling options for this idea are:
- A vonat hamarosan indul.
- Hamarosan indul a vonat.
- A vonat hamarosan fog indulni.
Hungarian has one definite article with two forms:
- a – used before words starting with a consonant
- az – used before words starting with a vowel (a, e, i, o, ö, u, ü) or vowel sound
Examples:
- a vonat – the train (vonat starts with consonant v)
- az alma – the apple (starts with vowel a)
- a busz – the bus
- az iskola – the school
So:
- A vonat hamarosan fog indulni. = The train will depart soon.
If it were a word starting with a vowel, you’d see az:
- Az autó hamarosan indul. – The car will depart soon.
Note: Hungarian indefinite article is egy (“a/an”), but here you have the definite article a (“the”).
Hamarosan is usually well translated as soon or shortly. It implies the near future, but not down to the exact minute.
Nuances and comparisons:
hamarosan – soon, in the near future, but somewhat vague
- A vonat hamarosan indul. – The train will depart soon.
mindjárt – very soon, almost immediately, “in a moment”
- A vonat mindjárt indul. – The train is leaving any moment now / in just a minute.
- nem sokára – not long from now, also “soon”
- rövidesen – fairly formal bookish word for “soon / shortly”
So hamarosan is a good general-purpose soon, usually understood as not far in the future, but it doesn’t by itself say whether that’s 2 minutes or half an hour.
Fog is conjugated like a normal verb. Here is the indefinite (no direct object) future auxiliary:
- én fogok – I will
- te fogsz – you (sg) will
- ő fog – he/she/it will
- mi fogunk – we will
- ti fogtok – you (pl) will
- ők fognak – they will
With indulni:
- Én hamarosan fogok indulni. – I will depart soon.
- Mi hamarosan fogunk indulni. – We will depart soon.
- Ti hamarosan fogtok indulni. – You (pl) will depart soon.
- Ők hamarosan fognak indulni. – They will depart soon.
For plural trains:
- A vonatok hamarosan fognak indulni.
– The trains will depart soon.
Notice:
- Only fog changes.
- The infinitive indulni stays the same for all persons and numbers.
A vonat hamarosan fog indulni is correct, standard, and neutral, but in many everyday contexts it can sound a bit more formal or more emphatic than needed.
Typical usage patterns:
Everyday speech, simple statement:
A vonat hamarosan indul.
– Very common and natural in conversation.More formal announcements, written notices, or when clearly marking the future:
A vonat hamarosan fog indulni.
– You could hear or read something like this in announcements, official messages, descriptions, or when the speaker wants to stress that this is about the future, not a general fact.
Both are fine, but if you want to sound as natural as possible in casual contexts, A vonat hamarosan indul is often the more typical choice.
To negate a fog + infinitive future, you put nem before fog:
- A vonat hamarosan nem fog indulni.
– The train will not depart soon.
Compare:
- A vonat nem indul hamarosan.
– The train is not departing soon / will not be departing soon.
(Present tense with future meaning, plus nem.)
Using nem fog indulni is a very clear way to show that the future is being negated, and it’s often preferred when you want to be explicit:
- Holnap nem fog esni. – It will not rain tomorrow.
- Nem fogok elmenni. – I will not go.
So nem + fog + infinitive is a very common and natural pattern for future negation.