aki/ami

Free relative clauses act as nominal arguments for the main clause. Note that aki is used for people (who/whoever) and ami is used for things or concepts (what/whatever).

1. Subject (Nominative) Relatives
When the relative clause acts as the subject of the main clause, the omitted antecedent is the nominative az. The main verb's conjugation simply follows its own transitivity (e.g., Aki keres, (az) talál. - He who seeks, finds). This pattern applies equally to plural forms (akik/amik and azok), for example: Akik keresnek, (azok) találnak. (Those who seek, find).

2. Main Verb Conjugation with Omitted Accusative Antecedents
When the main verb is transitive and the relative clause acts as its direct object (accusative case), the omitted antecedent defaults to the definite pronoun azt. Therefore, the main verb takes the definite conjugation (e.g., Megveszem, amit találok. - I will buy the thing that I find, or Meghívom, akit akarok. - I will invite the person I want (to invite)). To express an indefinite meaning ("whatever") and use the indefinite conjugation, one clear option is an explicit indefinite antecedent like bármit or mindent (e.g., Megveszek bármit, amit találok. - I will buy whatever I find). Indefinite agreement also occurs with antecedentless, nonspecific free relatives, for example János vehet, amit akar (János may buy whatever he wants). Note that dropping the verbal prefix to say Veszek, amit találok removes the perfective prefix, but does not by itself force a habitual reading.

Semantic Definiteness Agreement: You will often hear phrases like Azt csinálok, amit akarok (I do whatever I want). This is fully grammatical and standard in Hungarian. Although the demonstrative pronoun azt is formally definite, the matrix verb's conjugation aligns with the semantic definiteness of the relative clause. Because the relative clause has a general, indefinite meaning ('whatever'), the main verb takes the indefinite conjugation (csinálok). The definite form Azt csinálom, amit akarok can also be used; the interpretation depends on the context, so conjugation alone is not a reliable specific-versus-whatever translation test.

3. Independent Case Assignment
The relative pronoun and the antecedent take cases independently based on their roles in their respective clauses. When the antecedent is omitted, the relative pronoun does not change its case to satisfy the main verb. For example, in Megveszem, amire gondolsz (I will buy what you are thinking of), the omitted antecedent (azt) secretly satisfies the accusative requirement of the main verb (megveszem), while the relative pronoun (amire) satisfies the sublative case requirement of the relative clause's verb (gondolsz).

4. The Oblique Case Restriction
If the main verb requires an oblique or prepositional case (e.g., -ban, -ra, -hoz), the antecedent is normally kept. For example: Hiszek abban, amit mondasz. (I believe in what you say). Dropping abban here sounds incomplete in standard Hungarian.

5. Using Bármi and Akármi
To clearly express "whoever" or "whatever", use the indefinite pronouns bármi/akármi or bárki/akárki as explicit antecedents. Because these are indefinite, they naturally trigger the indefinite conjugation on the main verb (e.g., Bárkit meghívok, akit ismersz. - I will invite anyone you know).

6. The Role of Focus
Sometimes the dummy pronoun azt is kept not just for grammar, but to place the relative clause into the focus position of the main clause. For example, AZT veszem meg, amit találok emphasizes that I will buy THAT specific thing I find, and nothing else. Note that placing azt into the preverbal focus position forces the verbal prefix (meg-) to detach and follow the verb (Focus and Prefix Separation).

7. Conjugation Inside the Relative Clause
When the relative pronoun acts as the direct object inside its own clause, it affects the verb's conjugation. The pronouns akit and amit trigger the indefinite conjugation (e.g., amit látok - what I see). In contrast, amelyiket (which one) triggers the definite conjugation (e.g., amelyiket látom - whichever one I see).

8. Morphological Rules

• Internal Case: The relative pronoun takes the case suffix required by its role inside the relative clause.
• Antecedent Omission: You can omit the antecedent if it would be Nominative (az) or Accusative (azt). For other cases (oblique cases), dropping the antecedent sounds incomplete in standard Hungarian, so it is typically kept (e.g., Azzal beszélek, akivel akarok. - I talk with whoever I want).

9. Free Relatives vs. Embedded Questions
Learners often confuse free relatives with indirect questions. Use aki/ami for actual entities (Ismerem, aki jött. - I know the person who came). Use ki or mi for underlying questions (Tudom, ki jött. - I know who came).

10. Mandatory Comma
Unlike in English, Hungarian orthography strictly requires a comma before the relative clause, separating it from the main clause.

Different Cases, Including Plurals: Beszélek azzal, akit látsz (I am talking with the person you see) has instrumental azzal after beszélek, but accusative akit as the object of látsz. In Azokat hívom meg, akiket akarok (I invite those whom I want to invite), azokat and akiket contain plural marking before accusative t. The cases happen to match in this second example because both pronouns are objects.