Ez sürgős, ezért azonnal felhívlak.

This is urgent, so I’ll call you immediately.

Breakdown of Ez sürgős, ezért azonnal felhívlak.

• ez: this
• lenni: to be
• én: I
• te: you
• ezért: so
• felhívni: to call
• azonnal: immediately
• sürgős: urgent

Questions & Answers about Ez sürgős, ezért azonnal felhívlak.

Why is there no word for is in Ez sürgős?

Hungarian often omits the present-tense form of to be (van) in simple statements.
So Ez sürgős literally “This urgent” is the normal way to say This is urgent.
You would use van mainly for emphasis/contrast, existence, or certain structures (e.g., Ez sürgős van? is not right; but Itt van = “It is here”).

What does ez mean here, and why not ez a…?

Ez means this and can stand alone as a pronoun: Ez sürgős = “This is urgent.”
If you specify a noun, you’d use ez a + noun: Ez a dolog sürgős = “This matter is urgent.”

What is ezért, and how is it different from mert?

ezért = therefore / that’s why / for this reason. It gives a result/consequence.
mert = because, which gives the cause/reason in a subordinate clause.
So:

• Ez sürgős, ezért… = “This is urgent, therefore…” (result)
• Azonnal felhívlak, mert sürgős. = “I’ll call you immediately because it’s urgent.” (cause)

Why is there a comma in Ez sürgős, ezért…?

Hungarian usually uses a comma between two clauses even if English might sometimes omit it.
Here you have two coordinated clauses:
1) Ez sürgős
2) ezért azonnal felhívlak
The comma before ezért is standard.

What does azonnal modify, and can it move around?

azonnal means immediately / right away and here it modifies the verb felhívlak (“I’ll call you”).
Word order is flexible, but it changes emphasis:

• Ez sürgős, ezért azonnal felhívlak. (neutral)
• Ez sürgős, ezért felhívlak azonnal. (still OK, slightly different focus)
• Azonnal felhívlak, mert ez sürgős. (fronting azonnal emphasizes immediacy)

What exactly is felhívlak? How is it built?

felhívlak = fel- (verbal prefix) + hív (call) + -lak (special ending).
Meaning: I call you (specifically: I call you on the phone / call you up).
The fel- prefix often suggests “up” in older literal senses, but in modern usage it’s just part of the common phone verb felhív.

Why does the verb end in -lak? I expected something like hívlak téged.

Hungarian has a special verb ending -lak/-lek for 1st person singular subject + 2nd person object.
So felhívlak already contains I + you = “I’ll call you.”
You can add téged (“you”) for emphasis, but normally it’s unnecessary:

• Neutral: felhívlak
• Emphatic: felhívlak téged (nem mást) = “I’ll call you (not someone else)”

Is felhívlak present or future? It looks like “I call you,” but the meaning is “I’ll call you.”

It’s present tense in form, but Hungarian often uses the present tense to express near future or intended actions, especially with time adverbs like azonnal (“immediately”).
So azonnal felhívlak naturally means I’ll call you right away.

How would this change in a more polite/formal situation?

With Ön (formal “you”), you don’t use -lak/-lek. You’d use the definite conjugation instead:

• Ez sürgős, ezért azonnal felhívom Önt. = “This is urgent, so I’ll call you immediately.” (formal) Or with a less direct tone:
• …ezért mindjárt felhívom. (often used when Ön is understood from context)

Can the verbal prefix fel- separate from the verb?

Yes. In some structures (especially with auxiliaries, negation, focus), the prefix can detach:

• Simple: azonnal felhívlak (prefix attached)
• With future-like construction: fel foglak hívni = “I’m going to call you”
• With focus/contrast: AZONNAL hívlak fel (emphasis can affect placement) But in a straightforward sentence like this, felhívlak as one word is the most natural.