-ít

The -ít suffix is a factitive/causative suffix that attaches to adjectives, nouns, verb roots, and bound roots to mean 'to make something [Adjective]' or 'to cause an action' (e.g., tiszta 'clean' → tisztít 'to make clean'; áll 'stand' → állít 'to set up/make stand'). It is a powerful tool for expanding your vocabulary. Here is how it functions:

• Verb Roots and Bound Roots: In addition to adjectives and nouns, -ít frequently attaches to verb roots to form causative verbs (e.g., áll 'to stand' → állít 'to set up/make stand') and to bound roots that cannot stand alone (e.g., mozd- → mozdít 'to move something').
• Transitivity and Case Government: Most verbs formed with -ít are transitive, describing an action performed on an object using the accusative case. However, there are exceptions and nuances. For instance, segít (to help) is a lexicalized root rather than a true factitive formation, and it can take multiple cases: the dative case (e.g., segítek a barátomnak), the superessive case (e.g., segíts rajtam), or even the accusative case when meaning 'to help someone into a position' (e.g., nyeregbe segítette a fiút). Another important exception is számít. While it can mean 'to calculate' (transitive), its most common everyday uses are intransitive: 'to matter' (e.g., nem számít) or 'to count on' taking the sublative case (e.g., számítok rád). Közelít is ambitransitive: it takes the allative case when meaning 'to approach' physically (e.g., közelít a házhoz), but takes the accusative when meaning 'to bring something closer' (e.g., közelíti a lámpát) or when meaning 'to approach' in an abstract or quantitative sense (e.g., a hőmérséklet közelíti a 40 fokot).
• Invariant Vowel: Because the vowel í is considered neutral in Hungarian, the suffix remains -ít regardless of whether the stem contains back or front vowels. However, the conjugation endings attached to the resulting verb must still follow vowel harmony based on the original stem (e.g., javítok vs. szélesítek).
• Stem Changes (Vowel Deletion): When attaching -ít, if the stem ends in a vowel, that vowel is typically deleted (truncated):
  • sűrű (dense) → sűrít (to thicken/condense)
  • lassú (slow) → lassít (to slow down)
  • tiszta (clean) → tisztít (to clean)
  • fekete (black) → feketít (to blacken)
• Irregular V-Stems: A few core adjectives use their irregular v-stem before this suffix. For example, jó (good) becomes javít (to improve/fix), and bő (loose/wide) becomes bővít (to expand).
• Comparative Stems: The -ít suffix is frequently attached to the comparative form of certain adjectives rather than the base stem. Examples include nagy (big) → nagyobbít (to enlarge), kicsi (small) → kisebbít (to make smaller), and hosszú (long) → hosszabbít (to lengthen).
• The Compound Suffix -sít: A highly productive compound suffix is -sít (and its harmonizing variants -osít, -esít, -asít, -ösít), which functions like the English '-ify' or '-ize'. It is a core vocabulary-building pattern. Examples include egyszerű (simple) → egyszerűsít (to simplify), and állam (state) → államosít (to nationalize).
• Mandatory Past Tense Rule: Verbs ending in -ít always take the past tense suffix variant -ott / -ett / -ött (which uses a short linking vowel and a double -tt) in the past tense, rather than the short -t. For example, javít becomes javított (not javítt).
• Imperative Assimilation: When forming the imperative and subjunctive mood, the t + j combination always assimilates into -ts- (pronounced 'cs'). For example, javít becomes javíts.
• Factitive vs. Causative: While it involves 'causing' something, -ít is distinct from the causative verbs suffix. The causative is added to verbs to mean 'to have someone do something,' whereas -ít is added to adjectives, nouns, or roots to mean 'to make something [adjective]' or 'to cause an action.'
• Factitive vs. Inchoative: It is important to contrast the transitive -ít (to make something [adjective]) with its intransitive counterparts, the inchoative suffix -ul/-ül or the mediopassive suffix -odik/-edik/-ödik (to become [adjective]). For example, javít means 'to improve/fix something', while javul means 'to improve/get better' on its own. Similarly, sűrít is 'to condense/thicken something', whereas sűrűsödik is 'to become dense/thick' (intransitive).