-t/-tt (befejezett melléknévi igenév)

Past Participle

Level 3

The Hungarian past participle turns a verb into an adjective (e.g., 'written', 'fallen'). It always precedes the noun it describes and indicates that the action is finished.

How It Works

The past participle (befejezett melléknévi igenév) is one of the most powerful tools in Hungarian for creating descriptive phrases.

1. Formation:
The suffix follows the same rules as the 3rd person singular past tense:

  • -t: Used after the 'soft' consonants l, r, n, ny, j, ly, as well as multi-syllable verbs ending in -ad/-ed (with five common exceptions that take -ott/-ett: tagadott, fogadott, szenvedett, engedett, and tévedett). Example: vár → várt (waited), tanul → tanult (learned), ébred → ébredt (woke up), marad → maradt (remained).
  • -tt: Used directly after vowels (no linking vowel needed). Example: fő → főtt (cooked/boiled), nő → nőtt (grown).
  • -ott/-ett/-ött: The -tt suffix requires a linking vowel after two consonants, stems ending in -t, or most other single consonants. The choice depends on vowel harmony: -ott for back-vowel verbs (adott), -ett for unrounded front-vowel verbs (festett), and -ött for rounded front-vowel verbs (sütött).

2. Irregular Stems:
Short-stem verbs like tesz, vesz, visz, eszik, and iszik use the stem variant found in the past tense before the suffix: tett (done/put), vett (bought), vitt (carried), evett (eaten), ivott (drunk).

3. Transitive vs. Intransitive:
The Hungarian past participle can have a passive or active sense depending on the verb type:

  • Transitive (Passive sense): The modified noun is the object of the action. A megírt levél (The written letter).
  • Intransitive (Active sense): The modified noun is the subject of the action. This usage is restricted to verbs expressing a change of state or location (unaccusative verbs). A megérkezett vonat (The arrived train), a leesett alma (the fallen apple). Continuous or unergative actions cannot be used this way; they require the present participle (e.g., az alvó fiú, not *az aludt fiú for 'the sleeping boy').

4. Usage as Nouns:
Many past participles have become so common that they function as independent nouns. Examples include vádlott (the accused), halott (the dead person), or szülött (offspring/born).

5. Word Order, Agreement, and Aspect:
In Hungarian, the participle and all its modifiers must come before the noun. When acting as an adjective, the past participle does not take plural or case endings to agree with the noun it modifies (e.g., a megírt levelek, not *megírtek). This participle almost always implies a completed state, so it is very frequently paired with verbal prefixes like meg-, el-, or be-. Without a perfective prefix, the participle often requires a complement to sound natural as a standalone adjective (e.g., a megírt levél is natural, whereas az írt levél sounds incomplete unless expanded to something like a kézzel írt levél - the hand-written letter).

Examples (5)

  1. A megfőzött vacsora az asztalon van.

    The cooked dinner is on the table.

    Word by Word: The cooked dinner the table-on is.

    Here, 'megfőzött' (cooked) describes the dinner as the result of the cooking process.

  2. Az eladott autó nagyon régi volt.

    The sold car was very old.

    Word by Word: The sold car very old was.

    The participle 'eladott' comes from 'elad' (to sell) and precedes the noun 'autó'.

  3. A tegnap megérkezett vendégek már elmentek.

    The guests who arrived yesterday have already left.

    Word by Word: The yesterday arrived guests already left.

    This shows an intransitive use; the guests are the ones who performed the action of arriving.

  4. Ez egy kézzel írt levél.

    This is a hand-written letter.

    Word by Word: This a hand-with written letter.

    Notice how the modifier 'kézzel' (by hand) stays before the participle 'írt'. The form 'írt' follows the rule for stems ending in 'r'.

  5. A vádlott nem mondott semmit.

    The accused did not say anything.

    Word by Word: The accused not said nothing.

    In this sentence, the past participle 'vádlott' (accused) functions as a noun.

Common Mistakes

  • Placing the participle after the noun like in English.

    A levél megírt az asztalon van.
    A megírt levél az asztalon van.

    In Hungarian, participles function as adjectives and must always precede the noun they modify.

  • Confusing the past participle with the adverbial participle (-va/-ve).

    A zárva ajtó.
    A zárt ajtó.

    Use the past participle (-t/-tt) to describe a noun directly. Use the adverbial participle to describe the state of a subject (e.g., 'Az ajtó zárva van').

How It Connects

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-t/-tt (befejezett melléknévi igenév)Level 3Past Participle

Learn This First

To understand the past participle as a modifier, you must first be familiar with how the past tense is formed using -t or -tt, as the participle shares this form. Additionally, since these participles function like adjectives, you need to know the basic rules for placing adjectives before nouns. Finally, understanding verbal prefixes is important because they often provide the perfective aspect necessary for the 'completed' meaning of the past participle.

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