Chapter XV: Syntax

As nouns and verbs have significant endings there is much greater freedom in the construction of sentences in Hungarian than in English. Thus we may say, Margit szereti Etelkát, or Etelkát szereti Margit, without altering or obscuring the sense of the words, which mean, Margit loves Etelka. The accusative ending -t clearly shows who is loved.

Again, Ilonát szeretik, or szeretik Ilonát, equally states that “they love Ilona,” for the plural ending of the verb shows that Ilonát is not its subject, while the accusative -t in Ilonát proves that Ilona is the object of the people’s affection.

Emphasis is expressed by the order in which words occur. Thus the above instance might be written, Szereti Etelkát Margit, if it is desired to lay stress on the fact of loving.

The general rule is that the word on which emphasis is laid immediately precedes the predicate, whether that predicate is a verb, or (as it may be in Hungarian) a substantive or an adjective.

The following examples illustrate this rule:—

Egernél a magyar nők =hősiesen küzdöttek= a törökök ellen. _Bravely_
fought the Hungarian women against the Turks at Eger.

A magyar nők =Egernél küzdöttek= hősiesen a törökök ellen. _At Eger_
the Hungarian women fought bravely against the Turks.

A magyar nők a =törökök ellen küzdöttek= hősiesen Egernél. _Against
the Turks_ the Hungarian women fought bravely at Eger.

Az angol nemzet =most hatalmas= a tengeren. _Now_ the English nation
is powerful on the sea.

Most az angol nemzet =a tengeren hatalmas=. _On the sea_ the English
nation is now powerful.

Most az =angol nemzet hatalmas= a tengeren. _The English nation_ is
now powerful on the sea.

If, in a sentence constructed in the present tense, the predicate is an adjective or a substantive, it follows the subject without any copula.

Ilona szép, Ilona is beautiful.
Az épület szálló, the building is an hotel.

If, however, any such statement has reference to a past or future time, then the appropriate tense of the verb “to be” must be placed after the predicate.

Az épület szálló volt, the building was an hotel.

The verb van (is), with its various parts, when used as a copula between subject and predicate, always stands immediately after the predicate. Thus, if in the above sentence the order of subject and predicate were changed, the sentence would run: szálló volt az épület.