-gat/-get

The -gat/-get suffix is one of the most productive tools in Hungarian for adding nuance to verbs. It serves four primary functions:

• Repetition: It turns a single act into a series of small, repeated acts. For example, üt (to hit) becomes ütöget (to tap or keep hitting).
• Attenuation and Leisure: It suggests the action is done half-heartedly, modestly, or just 'a little bit.' It often conveys a sense of relaxed, continuous duration or 'passing the time,' such as sörözget (to sip on beers/leisurely drink). Dolgozik (to work) becomes dolgozgat (to work a bit/tinker).
• Process over Result: The suffix shifts the focus away from completing an action and onto the process itself. For example, olvas (to read) implies reading something to completion, while olvasgat (to read a bit/browse) emphasizes the ongoing, casual activity.
• Lexicalized Meaning: Some verbs have become standard words for specific continuous actions. Common examples include beszélget (to chat), látogat (to visit), and hallgat (to listen, or to keep quiet/be silent).

Morphological Rules:
1. Vowel Harmony: Use -gat for back-vowel verbs and -get for front-vowel verbs. Mixed-vowel verbs generally take the back-vowel suffix -gat (e.g., sétálgat, kávézgat).
2. Linking Vowels and the 3-Syllable Rule: The suffix often aims to create a rhythmic 3-syllable template. Monosyllabic stems usually require a linking vowel to achieve this (e.g., tol becomes to-lo-gat). Use -o- for back vowels (tologat), -e- for front-unrounded vowels (nézeget), and -ö- for front-rounded vowels (ütöget). Polysyllabic stems generally attach the suffix directly without a linking vowel (e.g., ha-laszt becomes ha-laszt-gat, ijeszt becomes ijesztget). Note that verbal prefixes do not count toward this syllable count; the rule applies strictly to the base stem plus the suffix (e.g., megnézeget uses the linking vowel -e- because the base stem néz is monosyllabic).
3. -ik Verbs: For regular verbs ending in -ik, drop the -ik ending to find the stem before attaching the suffix (e.g., dolgozik becomes dolgozgat). Irregular or alternating stems use their alternative stems (e.g., eszik becomes eszeget, iszik becomes iszogat).
4. Placement and Conjugation: It attaches directly to the verb stem to create a new dictionary verb stem. This new stem can then take any tense, mood, or person ending. Furthermore, these newly formed frequentative verbs can take both definite and indefinite conjugations depending on the object, just like base verbs.
5. Exceptions and V-Stems: Some monosyllabic verbs do not take a linking vowel (e.g., hall becomes hallgat). Furthermore, v-stem verbs revert to their v-ending stem before taking the linking vowel and suffix (e.g., lő becomes lövöget, nő becomes növöget).

Additional Nuances:

• Interaction with Verbal Prefixes: Adding -gat/-get often changes a perfective prefixed verb into an imperfective/continuous one, or implies a series of completed actions (e.g., megnéz 'to look at once' vs. nézeget 'to look at continuously' vs. megnézeget 'to examine repeatedly/thoroughly').
• Other Frequentative Suffixes: Note that -gat/-get is not the only frequentative suffix. Others include -kál/-kél, -dos/-des/-dös, and -gál/-gél, meaning you cannot simply attach -gat/-get to any verb interchangeably.