Agreement with Coordinated Subjects

Level 5

Hungarian verb agreement with multiple subjects depends on the person hierarchy (1st > 2nd > 3rd) and the position of the verb relative to the subjects.

How It Works

Agreement with coordinated subjects in Hungarian is governed by several main factors. The following rules apply specifically to subjects coordinated with 'és' (and):

1. The Person Hierarchy
If the subjects involve different persons, the verb must take the plural form of the 'highest' person in this order: 1st Person > 2nd Person > 3rd Person.

  • Te és én (You and I) → 1st person plural (mi): Te és én megyünk.
  • Te és ő (You and he/she) → 2nd person plural (ti): Te és ő mentek.
  • Péter és Mari (3rd + 3rd) → 3rd person plural (ők) or singular (ő): Péter és Mari várnak. or Péter és Mari vár.

(Note: While these examples clearly illustrate the rule, native speakers more commonly omit the pronouns due to pro-drop. When emphasis is needed, it is highly common to use a summarizing plural pronoun before the coordinated subjects, such as: 'Mi ketten megyünk, te meg én.' [We two are going, you and I].)

2. Word Order and Focus
The position of the verb significantly affects number agreement:

  • Pre-verbal (Topic): When subjects come before the verb, both plural and singular agreement are fully grammatical and common for people: A fiú és a lány várnak. or A fiú és a lány vár.
  • Post-verbal (Focus/Existential): When the verb comes first, singular agreement is strictly obligatory for conjoined singular subjects. This applies to almost all verbs, not just in existential sentences: Megérkezett Péter és Mari. (Peter and Mari arrived.) or Van a táskámban egy toll és egy füzet. (Plural 'megérkeztek' or 'vannak' is ungrammatical here in a flat sentence, though in casual spoken Hungarian, plural agreement can occur if there is an intonation break or pause before the subjects, treating them as a right-dislocated afterthought). Verbs of reciprocal action are an exception and normally take plural agreement even here (see section 6): Összevesztek Péter és Mari. (Peter and Mari argued).

3. Animacy
Human or animal subjects often take plural agreement. However, for inanimate objects or abstract concepts, singular agreement is the standard default even in the pre-verbal position, regardless of whether they are viewed as a single unit or completely distinct items: A só és a bors az asztalon van.

4. Mixed-Number Subjects
If the coordinated subjects differ in number (e.g., one singular and one plural noun), Hungarian generally applies the Closest Conjunct Rule. When the subjects are pre-verbal, both plural agreement and closest conjunct agreement (singular verb if the singular subject is closest) are perfectly grammatical and common: A diákok és a tanár várnak. or A diákok és a tanár vár. (The students and the teacher are waiting.) When the verb comes first (post-verbal subjects), the Closest Conjunct Rule is strictly applied. The verb must agree in number with the subject immediately following it: Megérkezett Péter és a gyerekek. (Peter and the children arrived - singular verb for singular 'Péter') versus Megérkeztek a gyerekek és Péter. (The children and Peter arrived - plural verb for plural 'gyerekek').

5. Quantified Subjects
Nouns modified by numbers or quantifiers are grammatically singular in Hungarian. Therefore, a coordinated subject consisting of such nouns takes a singular verb by default: Egy lány és két fiú vár. (One girl and two boys are waiting.)

6. Reciprocal Predicates
If the predicate expresses reciprocity, a mutual relationship, or comparison, plural agreement is obligatory. This is a mandatory exception for inanimate subjects, which otherwise take singular agreement: Péter és Pál testvérek. (Peter and Paul are brothers - singular 'testvér' is ungrammatical) and A Petőfi utca és a Molnár utca párhuzamosak egymással. (Petőfi street and Molnár street are parallel to each other).

7. Disjunctions and Paired Conjunctions
When singular subjects are joined by 'vagy' (or), the verb is singular: Péter vagy Mari jön. (Peter or Mari is coming.) If 'vagy' connects pronouns of different grammatical persons, the verb agrees with the closest subject: Te vagy én megyek. (You or I go - 1st person closest) and Én vagy te mész. (I or you go - 2nd person closest). Paired conjunctions like 'vagy... vagy...' (either... or) and 'nemcsak... hanem... is' (not only... but also) strictly use the proximity rule for both person and number regardless of pre- or post-verbal position: Vagy te, vagy én megyek. (Either you or I go.) The paired conjunction 'sem... sem...' (neither... nor) follows the exact same person hierarchy and proximity rules.

Examples (5)

  1. A testvérem és én moziba megyünk.

    My sibling and I are going to the cinema.

    Word by Word: The sibling-my and I cinema-into go-we.

    Because 'I' (1st person) is included, the verb must be in the 1st person plural, following the person hierarchy.

  2. Te és a barátod mikor érkeztek meg?

    When do you and your friend arrive?

    Word by Word: You and the friend-your when arrive-you(pl) [prefix]?

    Since there is no 1st person, but there is a 2nd person ('te'), the verb takes the 2nd person plural suffix.

  3. A kertben van egy almafa és egy körtefa.

    There is an apple tree and a pear tree in the garden.

    Word by Word: The garden-in is an apple-tree and a pear-tree.

    In post-verbal positions (where the verb 'van' comes before the subjects), the singular form is strictly required for conjoined singular subjects.

  4. Péter és Zsuzsa a parkban sétálnak.

    Péter and Zsuzsa are walking in the park.

    Word by Word: Péter and Zsuzsa the park-in walk-they.

    For human subjects in the pre-verbal position, the plural verb is the standard choice.

  5. A kenyér és a víz az asztalon van.

    The bread and the water are on the table.

    Word by Word: The bread and the water the table-on is.

    For inanimate subjects, singular agreement is the standard default, even when the items are completely distinct.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 3rd person plural for 'You and I'.

    Te és én moziba mennek.
    Te és én moziba megyünk.

    Learners often default to 3rd person plural (they) for any group, but the 1st person ('I') always forces the verb into the 1st person plural (we).

  • Always using plural verbs for lists of objects.

    A toll és a papír itt vannak.
    A toll és a papír itt van.

    While not strictly 'wrong', using the plural for inanimate objects often sounds stiff or like a direct translation from English. Singular is more natural for collectives.

  • Using plural 'vannak' before a list of singular items.

    Vannak egy asztal és egy szék a szobában.
    Van egy asztal és egy szék a szobában.

    When the verb precedes the subjects in an existential 'there is' construction, Hungarian normally uses the singular verb if the conjoined subjects are singular.

How It Connects

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Agreement with Coordinated SubjectsLevel 5

Learn This First

To become confident with coordinated subject agreement, you must first be comfortable with standard verb conjugation and the personal pronoun system. You need to understand how Hungarian handles person hierarchy (e.g., first person takes precedence over second) and how number agreement works in simpler sentences before tackling subjects joined by 'and' or 'or'.