Instrumental Polysemy

Level 5

The Instrumental-Comitative case (-val/-vel) is one of Hungarian's most versatile suffixes. It covers accompaniment (with someone), tools (with a pen), transportation (by bus), and advanced functions like comparison and causative agents.

How It Works

The -val/-vel suffix is highly polysemous, meaning it has many distinct functions:

  • Instrumental: The tool or means used. This case is used for nearly all vehicles (autóval - by car, vonattal - by train, busszal - by bus, repülővel - by plane) as well as physical tools (kanállal - with a spoon).
  • Comitative: Accompaniment or partnership (a barátommal - with my friend). Note that this suffix is frequently paired with the postposition együtt (together) for emphasis (a barátommal együtt - together with my friend).
  • Manner/State: How an action is performed or the state of the subject (örömmel - with joy, félelemmel - with fear).
  • Comparison: It indicates the degree of difference when using comparative adjectives (két évvel idősebb - two years older).
  • Temporal: Used in time expressions to indicate a point in time relative to another (három évvel ezelőtt - three years ago), and to form fixed temporal adverbs for seasons and parts of the day (tavasszal - in spring, ősszel - in autumn, nappal - by day, éjjel - by night).
  • Causative Agent: In causative constructions, it typically marks the causee when the base verb is transitive (e.g., Megíratom a levelet a titkárral), though it can also be used with intransitive verbs denoting volitional actions.
  • Lexical Government: Many verbs require this case, such as találkozik (meet) or foglalkozik (deal with).

Morphology:
1. Vowel Harmony: Use -val for back-vowel words and -vel for front-vowel words.
2. Assimilation: If the stem ends in a consonant, the 'v' disappears and the final consonant is doubled. For digraphs (like sz, cs, gy), only the first letter is doubled (e.g., busz + val = busszal, not buszszal).
3. Demonstratives: The demonstratives ez and az become ezzel and azzal (though evvel and avval are also grammatically correct and widely used alternatives).
4. Vowel Stems and Lengthening: If the stem ends in a vowel (other than a or e), the 'v' remains intact (e.g., autó + val = autóval). Stems ending in a or e lengthen to á or é (e.g., alma + val = almával).
5. Names and Silent Letters: Proper names ending in double consonants (e.g., Papp-pal) or silent letters (e.g., Molière-rel) require a hyphen. In the case of silent letters, the 'v' assimilates to the last pronounced sound.

Personal Pronouns and Interrogatives:
When used with personal pronouns, the suffix takes personal endings instead of attaching to the pronoun: velem (with me), veled (with you), vele (with him/her/it), velünk (with us), veletek (with you all), velük (with them). The interrogative forms are kivel? (with whom?) and mivel? (with what?). Note that formal pronouns (formal you) behave like regular nouns and take the standard suffix instead of these personal forms: Önnel, Önökkel, Magával, Magukkal.

Examples (6)

  1. Ez a táska ötezer forinttal drágább, mint a másik.

    This bag is five thousand forints more expensive than the other one.

    Word by Word: This the bag five-thousand forint-with more-expensive, than the other.

    Here, -val is used to show the specific measure of difference in a comparison.

  2. A tanár megíratta a dolgozatot a diákokkal.

    The teacher had the students write the test.

    Word by Word: The teacher write-caused the test-ACC the students-with.

    In a causative sentence with a transitive base verb (writing a test), the person performing the action is marked with -val/-vel.

  3. Már évek óta nem foglalkozom politikával.

    I haven't dealt with politics for years.

    Word by Word: Already years since not deal-I politics-with.

    The verb 'foglalkozik' (to deal with/be occupied with) lexically requires the instrumental case.

  4. A gyerekek nagy örömmel játszottak a kertben.

    The children played in the garden with great joy.

    Word by Word: The children great joy-with played the garden-in.

    The suffix -val/-vel can express the manner or state in which an action is performed (e.g., 'with joy').

  5. Busszal vagy autóval menjünk a színházba?

    Should we go to the theater by bus or by car?

    Word by Word: Bus-with or car-with go-should-we the theater-into?

    Demonstrates the instrumental use for means of transport, including the 'v' assimilation in 'busszal'.

  6. Sokat beszélgettünk Molière-rel a szünetben.

    We talked a lot with Molière during the break.

    Word by Word: Much talked-we Molière-with the break-in.

    When a name ends in a silent letter, a hyphen is used before the suffix, and the 'v' assimilates to the last pronounced sound.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting consonant assimilation.

    Késsel vágom a kenyeret, nem kanálval.
    Késsel vágom a kenyeret, nem kanállal.

    When a word ends in a consonant like 'l', the 'v' of -val must assimilate to that consonant, resulting in a double 'll'.

  • Using -val/-vel for the agent of a passive-like sentence.

    A könyv írva volt a szerzővel.
    A könyvet a szerző írta.

    Hungarian rarely uses passive voice. To say 'by the author', you should use an active sentence or the postposition 'által', not -val/-vel.

  • Using -val/-vel to describe physical features or clothing.

    a lány kék szemekkel
    a kék szemű lány

    English speakers frequently use 'with' to describe physical features, clothing, or contents (e.g., 'the girl with blue eyes' or 'the man with the hat'). In Hungarian, a -val/-vel phrase does not normally describe a noun this way. Instead, use the adjective -s suffix (e.g., a kalapos férfi) or -ú/-ű for features. A -val/-vel phrase works as an adverbial, for example kék szemekkel nézett rám.

How It Connects

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Instrumental PolysemyLevel 5

Learn This First

To understand the multiple functions of -val/-vel, a learner must first understand its basic instrumental and comitative meanings and the phonological rules (assimilation) governing its attachment. Additionally, since this pattern covers its use in comparisons and specific lexical complements, familiarity with comparative structures is necessary.

Words in This Pattern

-val-vel