Inflected Postpositions

Level 3

In Hungarian, you don't say 'without me' using a separate pronoun. Instead, you add a personal suffix directly to the postposition: nélkül (without) + -em (me) = nélkülem.

How It Works

Hungarian is a pro-drop language, meaning the inflected word itself tells you who is being referred to.

1. Formation:
Most postpositions act as a stem and take a suffix based on vowel harmony:

  • Back Vowel: alatt (under) → alattam (under me)
  • Front Vowel: nélkül (without) → nélküled (without you)

2. The 3rd Person Plural Exception:
Unlike nouns, which use -aik/-eik for plural possessions, inflected postpositions consistently use -uk/-ük (or -juk/-jük) for 'them'. For example: utánuk (after them).

3. Emphasis:
Normally, you do not use the personal pronoun (én, te, ő). If you do include it, it is strictly for emphasis or contrast (e.g., Énelőttem = 'In front of me [not someone else]'). Note that for the 3rd person plural emphasis, the singular pronoun ő is used: őelőttük.

4. Non-inflectable Postpositions:
A few postpositions cannot take these suffixes, such as múlva (in/after time), óta (since), and közben (during). These require different constructions.

Examples (5)

  1. Nem tudok élni nélküled.

    I cannot live without you.

    Word by Word: Not can-I live without-you.

    The postposition 'nélkül' (without) takes the 2nd person singular suffix '-ed'.

  2. Szerintem ez a könyv nagyon érdekes.

    In my opinion, this book is very interesting.

    Word by Word: According-to-me this the book very interesting.

    'Szerint' (according to) becomes 'szerintem' to mean 'in my opinion' or 'according to me'.

  3. A macska alattuk alszik.

    The cat is sleeping under them.

    Word by Word: The cat under-them sleeps.

    'Alatt' (under) uses the '-uk' suffix to indicate the 3rd person plural (them).

  4. Várj meg, utánad megyek!

    Wait for me, I'm going after you!

    Word by Word: Wait-you me, after-you go-I!

    'Után' (after) becomes 'utánad' to mean 'after you'.

  5. Nincs nálam a kulcs.

    I don't have the key with me.

    Word by Word: There-is-not at-me the key.

    The postposition 'nál' (at/by) is inflected to 'nálam' to show possession or location relative to the speaker.

Common Mistakes

  • Using a nominative pronoun before the postposition.

    én előtt
    előttem

    You cannot use a base pronoun like 'én' (I) with a postposition. You must attach the personal suffix to the postposition itself.

  • Using the wrong pronoun for 3rd person plural emphasis.

    ők előttük
    őelőttük

    When emphasizing 'them', Hungarian uses the singular pronoun 'ő' attached to the inflected postposition, not 'ők'.

  • Redundant use of pronouns without emphasis.

    Different MeaningÉn nálam van a pénz.
    Nálam van a pénz.

    Because the suffix already indicates 'me', adding 'én' makes the sentence sound like 'It is I who has the money,' which may be too strong for a neutral statement.

How It Connects

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Inflected PostpositionsLevel 3

Learn This First

Inflected postpositions are formed by taking a base postposition (like 'előtt' or 'után') and adding personal suffixes that are nearly identical to those used in the possessive system. To become confident with this, you need to be familiar with how postpositions function in general and how Hungarian marks person and number using suffixes.

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Patterns that build on this one.