A kabátot a szekrénybe teszem.

It marks kabát as the direct object of the sentence.

• kabát = coat
• kabátot = coat + accusative ending

In Hungarian, the direct object usually gets -t. Very often, an extra vowel appears before that -t, so here you get -ot rather than just -t.

So:

• A kabátot ... teszem = I put the coat ...

Because kabát is the thing being acted on: it is what the speaker is putting somewhere.

Hungarian normally marks this role explicitly with the accusative ending.

Compare:

• kabát = coat
• kabátot = the coat, as the object of the verb

English usually shows this role by word order alone, but Hungarian often shows it with an ending.

a is the Hungarian definite article, meaning the.

So:

• a kabátot = the coat
• a szekrénybe = into the wardrobe / closet

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a before consonant sounds
• az before vowel sounds

Since kabát and szekrény both begin with consonant sounds, the correct form is a.

szekrénybe is made of:

• szekrény = wardrobe, closet, cabinet
• -be = into

Hungarian usually adds location and direction endings directly to the noun instead of using a separate word like English into.

So:

• a szekrénybe = into the wardrobe / closet

It is one word because the directional meaning is expressed by a suffix, not by a separate preposition.

This is because of vowel harmony, a major feature of Hungarian.

Hungarian suffixes often come in two versions:

• back-vowel version: -ba
• front-vowel version: -be

szekrény contains front vowels, so it takes -be:

• szekrénybe = into the wardrobe

A back-vowel noun would take -ba, for example:

• házba = into the house

Because -be shows motion into something, while -ban/-ben shows being inside something.

So:

• szekrénybe = into the wardrobe
• szekrényben = in the wardrobe

This sentence is about moving the coat into the wardrobe, so -be is correct.

A useful comparison:

• A kabát a szekrényben van. = The coat is in the wardrobe.
• A kabátot a szekrénybe teszem. = I put the coat into the wardrobe.

Because Hungarian verbs have two main present-tense conjugation patterns:

• indefinite conjugation
• definite conjugation

Here the object is definite:

• a kabátot = the coat

So the verb uses the definite form:

• teszem = I put it / I am putting it

Compare:

• Egy kabátot teszek a szekrénybe. = I put a coat into the wardrobe.
  Here teszek is used because the object is indefinite.

This is a very common thing for English speakers to notice, because English verbs do not change this way depending on whether the object is definite.

The verb is tenni, meaning to put, to place, to do in some contexts.

A common finite base form you may also see is:

• tesz = he/she/it puts

From this verb you get:

• teszem = I put it / I am putting it

So teszem is a present-tense, first-person singular, definite-conjugation form of tenni.

Because Hungarian usually does not need a subject pronoun when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

In teszem, the ending tells you that the subject is I.

So:

• teszem already means I put it / I am putting it

You can add én if you want emphasis:

• Én teszem a kabátot a szekrénybe. = I am the one putting the coat into the wardrobe.

But in a normal sentence, leaving out én is completely natural.

Hungarian word order is more flexible than English word order, and it often reflects topic and emphasis, not just grammar.

In this sentence:

• A kabátot introduces what we are talking about: the coat
• a szekrénybe gives the destination
• teszem is the verb

So the sentence feels like:

• As for the coat, I’m putting it into the wardrobe

Other word orders are possible, but they may shift the emphasis. Hungarian learners often need time to get used to the idea that several word orders can be grammatically correct, with different nuances.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Hungarian present tense does not match English tense-aspect distinctions exactly. So teszem may be translated as:

• I put
• I am putting

In an isolated sentence like this, English often prefers:

• I’m putting the coat into the wardrobe

But the exact English translation depends on the situation.

Not always exactly. szekrény is a fairly broad word.

Depending on context, it can mean things like:

• wardrobe
• closet
• cabinet
• cupboard

In this sentence, wardrobe or closet is often the most natural choice, depending on the variety of English and the situation.