Possessor Number in Context

This pattern is a fundamental rule of Hungarian possessive phrases.

Normally, the third-person singular possessive suffix (-a/-e or -ja/-je) indicates 'his', 'her', or 'its'. However, when the possessor is a plural noun (ending in -k), a plural demonstrative in the dative case (ezeknek, azoknak), or the formal plural 'you' (Önök or maguk), the possessed object still uses these singular suffixes.

• Singular Possessor: a fiú könyve (the boy's book)
• Plural Possessor: a fiúk könyve (the boys' book)
• Formal Plural: az Önök könyve / a maguk könyve (your [pl. formal] book)
• Demonstrative: ezeknek a könyve (the book of these [people])

Notice that könyve is identical in all examples. For nouns, demonstratives, and formal pronouns, the only way to know there are multiple possessors is the plural marking on the possessor itself. Regular plural nouns can also optionally take the dative case in possessive structures (e.g., a fiúknak a könyve). Within a self-contained noun phrase, when the possessor is in the dative case, the possessed noun must be preceded by a determiner, such as the definite article (a/az) or the indefinite article (egy), while the possessed object retains the singular suffix. However, in sentences expressing possession using the verb 'van' (to be), this rule is an exception: when a plural dative possessor is separated from the possessed noun by the verb 'van', it is strongly preferred and more natural for the possessed noun to take the plural possessor suffix to agree with the possessor (e.g., A fiúknak van könyvük.), although using the singular suffix (e.g., A fiúknak van könyve.) is also grammatically permissible.

If the possessed objects themselves are plural, you use the plural possessed suffix (-ai/-ei or -jai/-jei for consonant stems, and generally -i for vowel stems), but again, you use the version meant for a singular possessor:

• The boys' books: a fiúk könyvei (literally: 'the boys his-books')

Important Distinction: This rule applies to 3rd person nouns and the formal 2nd person (Önök, maguk). It does not apply to the informal plural 'you' (ti), which uses its own specific plural possessor suffix. Furthermore, dropping the pronoun is the default way to say 'their' (e.g., a könyvük - their book; a könyveik - their books). If the possessor is not named, you must use the dedicated plural possessor suffix (-uk/-ük or -juk/-jük) for one item, or -aik/-eik (generally -ik for vowel stems, while stems ending in -i take -jaik/-jeik) for multiple items. If you explicitly use the personal pronoun 'they' (ők) for emphasis or contrast, it changes to the singular form ő in a possessive phrase (e.g., az ő könyvük).