Predicate Adjective Agreement

Level 1

In Hungarian, adjectives only change for plurality when they are the predicate (describing the subject). If the subject is plural, the adjective must also be plural.

How It Works

Hungarian adjectives have two main roles: attributive and predicative.

1. Attributive: When an adjective comes before a noun, it is invariant. It never takes a plural marker. (e.g., piros almák - red apples).

2. Predicative: When the adjective describes the subject (usually after a form of 'to be'), it must agree with the subject's number. Because Hungarian uses a zero copula in the 3rd person present tense, the adjective often stands alone as the predicate.

Plural Formation Rules:

  • Vowel-ending: Add -k directly. If it ends in -a or -e, they lengthen to -á and -é (e.g., barna → barnák). Other vowels like -i, -ó, -ő do not lengthen. Adjectives ending in -ú/-ű usually take a linking vowel (e.g., hosszúak).
  • Consonant-ending: Use a linking vowel. While many adjectives prefer -ak (back) or -ek (front), a large group of common adjectives (like nagy, boldog, gazdag) use -ok.

Special Rule: If the subject is preceded by a number or quantifier, the noun and the predicate adjective both remain singular (e.g., Három alma piros).

Examples (6)

  1. A gyerekek okosak.

    The children are smart.

    Word by Word: The children smart-plural.

    'Okos' (smart) is a back-vowel adjective ending in a consonant; it uses the '-ak' plural suffix to agree with 'gyerekek'.

  2. Az elefántok nagyok.

    The elephants are big.

    Word by Word: The elephants big-plural.

    Unlike many adjectives, 'nagy' (big) uses the '-ok' linking vowel instead of '-ak'.

  3. Az utak hosszúak.

    The roads are long.

    Word by Word: The roads long-plural.

    Adjectives ending in '-ú' or '-ű', like 'hosszú', typically require the '-ak' or '-ek' linking vowel before the plural '-k'.

  4. A macskák feketék.

    The cats are black.

    Word by Word: The cats black-plural.

    'Fekete' ends in '-e', which lengthens to '-é' before adding the plural '-k'. Note that '-i', '-ó', and '-ő' endings do not lengthen.

  5. Önök nagyon kedvesek.

    You (plural, formal) are very kind.

    Word by Word: You-plural very kind-plural.

    Even with formal pronouns, the adjective must agree with the plural subject.

  6. Két autó piros.

    Two cars are red.

    Word by Word: Two car red.

    Because of the number 'két', the noun and the adjective stay singular. This is a key exception to the plural agreement rule.

Common Mistakes

  • Pluralizing an adjective when it is placed before the noun (attributive use).

    A szépek lányok táncolnak.
    A szép lányok táncolnak.

    Adjectives only take the plural '-k' when they are the predicate (The girls are beautiful). When they modify a noun directly (Beautiful girls), they stay singular.

  • Pluralizing the predicate adjective after a number.

    Öt kutya nagyok.
    Öt kutya nagy.

    In Hungarian, numbers are always followed by singular nouns and singular predicate adjectives. This is known as antiagreement.

  • Overgeneralizing the linking vowel -ak/-ek for all adjectives.

    A házak nagyak.
    A házak nagyok.

    While many adjectives prefer the low-vowel '-ak' (like 'magasak'), a significant group of common adjectives, including 'nagy', 'boldog', and 'gazdag', correctly use the '-ok' linking vowel.

How It Connects

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Predicate Adjective AgreementLevel 1

Learn This First

To understand predicate adjective agreement, you first need to know how to form plurals using the -k suffix and how vowel harmony affects these endings. Additionally, because Hungarian uses a zero copula in the third-person present tense, you must understand how a subject and an adjective relate to each other without a linking verb.

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Words in This Pattern

-k