Nominalized Events

Level 5

The suffix -ás/-és turns a verb into an action noun (similar to English "-ing" gerunds or "-tion" nouns). For example, olvas (reads) becomes olvasás (reading).

How It Works

1. Formation: Add -ás (back-vowel) or -és (front-vowel) to the verb stem. Note that irregular verbs undergo stem alternations (e.g., eszik becomes evés, alszik becomes alvás).

2. Expressing Arguments: Because the result is a noun, arguments are expressed differently. For transitive verbs, the logical object becomes the possessor (e.g., a könyv olvasása, "the reading of the book"). If the object is present, the subject is expressed using the postposition által ("by"). As explained in the next section regarding postpositions, when placed before the deverbal noun, által usually takes the adjectival suffix -i or be used with való (e.g., a tanár általi értékelés, "the evaluation by the teacher"). However, if a transitive verb lacks an explicit object, the logical subject takes the possessor slot (e.g., a fiú olvasása, "the boy's reading"). For intransitive verbs, the subject itself becomes the possessor (e.g., a fiú alvása, "the boy's sleeping"). The nominalized verb takes a possessive suffix. Note that because -ás/-és ends in a sibilant 's', the third-person possessive suffix is always -a/-e and never -ja/-je (e.g., olvasása). Additionally, the possessor can optionally take the dative case alongside the definite article (e.g., a könyvnek az olvasása). For pronominal arguments (e.g., "my reading"), the personal pronoun is typically dropped, and the person is indicated solely by the possessive suffix (e.g., az olvasásom).

3. Preserving Aspect & Complements: These nouns retain their internal event structure, meaning they keep verbal prefixes (like meg- or el-) and can take oblique case-marked complements. However, if an oblique complement is placed before the deverbal noun inside a noun phrase, it usually must be adjectivized using the participle való (e.g., a városban való tartózkodás, "staying in the city"). For simple postpositions (such as the aforementioned által), the adjectival suffix -i is often used instead of való (e.g., ebéd utáni felszólalás, "speech after lunch").

4. Action vs. Agent & Result Nouns: Do not confuse this with the present participle. Olvasás is the act of reading, while olvasó is the person reading. Additionally, -ás/-és is the primary suffix for forming result nouns—physical objects or concepts resulting from an action (e.g., lakás "apartment", megoldás "solution"). Unlike action nouns, which describe an event and are rarely pluralized, result nouns act as regular countable nouns and can easily take the plural suffix (e.g., lakások, megoldások).

Examples (4)

  1. A nyelvtanulás sok időt vesz igénybe.

    Language learning takes a lot of time.

    Word by Word: The language-learning much time takes demand-into.

    A simple compound noun formed with -ás, representing the general concept of learning.

  2. Peti meghívása az esküvőnkre mindenkit meglepett.

    Inviting Peti to our wedding surprised everyone.

    Word by Word: Peti's inviting the wedding-our-onto everyone surprised.

    The logical object (Peti) acts as the possessor of the action noun (meghívása), while the oblique complement (az esküvőnkre) is retained.

  3. Végignéztük az ejtőernyős leereszkedését a pályára.

    We watched the parachutist descending onto the court.

    Word by Word: Through-watched-we the parachutist's descending-his-acc the court-onto.

    The logical subject (az ejtőernyős) acts as the possessor of the action noun (leereszkedését), which takes the accusative case because the entire noun phrase is the object of 'végignéztük'.

  4. A levél megírása után elmentem aludni.

    After writing the letter, I went to sleep.

    Word by Word: The letter's writing-its after away-went-I sleep-to.

    The verbal prefix 'meg-' is retained to show completion, and the logical object 'levél' is expressed as the possessor.

Common Mistakes

  • Using an accusative direct object with the nominalized verb instead of a possessive structure.

    A könyvet olvasás nagyon fontos.
    A könyv olvasása nagyon fontos.

    The -ás/-és form is a noun and cannot assign accusative case. The logical object ('the book') must be expressed as the possessor of the action ('the book's reading').

  • Confusing the action noun (-ás/-és) with the agent noun (-ó/-ő).

    Ő egy gyors úszás.
    Ő egy gyors úszó.

    Use -ás/-és for the event or action itself (swimming), and -ó/-ő for the person or thing performing the action (swimmer).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Nominalized EventsLevel 5

Learn This First

To understand nominalized clauses, you must first know how to form action nouns using the -ás/-és suffix. Since these clauses function as noun phrases where the 'subject' of the action is expressed as a possessor, you also need a firm grasp of possessive suffixes and the word order of possessive constructions.

Words in This Pattern

-ás-és