Present Definite Endings

In Hungarian, the verb signals if the object is a specific entity. This is called definite conjugation (tárgyas ragozás).

When to use it:
You generally use these endings if the direct object is a specific third-person entity (or a reflexive pronoun). This includes:

• A noun with the definite article a/az (e.g., a könyvet - the book).
• A proper name (e.g., Jánost).
• A third-person pronoun like őt (him/her) or őket (them), or an implied/dropped third-person object (e.g., Látom. - I see [it]).
• The formal second-person pronouns maga and ön (and their plurals).
• A reflexive pronoun (e.g., magamat - myself, magadat - yourself).
• A demonstrative pronoun like ez (this) or az (that).
• A noun with a possessive suffix (e.g., a kutyámat - my dog). This applies even if the noun is preceded by an indefinite article (e.g., Látom egy barátomat. - I see a friend of mine).
• A subordinate clause acting as the object (e.g., Tudom, hogy jössz. - I know that you are coming).
• The question word melyik (which), as well as pronouns ending in -melyik like valamelyik (one of them).
• The universal quantifiers mindegyik (each one) and mind (all of them, e.g., Mindet látom. - I see all of them).
• An infinitive acting as the object, if that infinitive itself has a definite object (e.g., Szeretem olvasni a könyvet. - I like to read the book).

When NOT to use it:
Question words like ki (who) and mi (what), as well as indefinite pronouns (e.g., valakit - someone) and universal quantifiers like minden (everything) and mindenki (everyone), take the indefinite conjugation.

The 1st and 2nd Person Objects:
For informal 1st and 2nd person objects (engem - me, téged - you, minket - us, titeket - you all), the indefinite conjugation is always used. However, if the subject is 'I' and the object is informal 'you', Hungarian uses the unique -lak/-lek suffix instead of the standard definite or indefinite endings.

Vowel Harmony:
These endings follow vowel harmony rules:

• Back Vowels: -om, -od, -ja, -juk, -játok, -ják
• Front Unrounded: -em, -ed, -i, -jük, -itek, -ik
• Front Rounded: -öm, -öd, -i, -jük, -itek, -ik

Special Rule: If a verb stem ends in s, sz, z, zs, dz, or dzs, and the definite ending begins with a -j (such as -ja, -juk, -játok, -ják, -jük), the -j disappears and the stem consonant doubles. For digraphs like sz and dz, only the first letter is doubled in writing (e.g., olvas + ja = olvassa, mász + ja = mássza). This is known as sibilant assimilation.