Stress in Complex Predicates

Understanding complex predicate stress is essential for sounding natural in Hungarian and understanding the true meaning of a sentence.

1. Neutral Sentences
In a neutral, factual statement, a verbal modifier (such as a verbal prefix or a bare noun) occupies the preverbal slot. The modifier gets the stress, and the verb is deaccented.

• MEGnéztem a filmet. (I watched the movie.)
• ÚJSÁGOT olvasok. (I am reading a newspaper.)

2. Focus, Negation, Question Words, Commands, and Progressive Aspect
When you want to emphasize a specific piece of information exclusively (identificational focus), negate the verb (using nem or ne for negative commands), use a question word, or give a command (imperative mood), that element 'evicts' the modifier from the preverbal slot. The focused word, negative particle, question word, or imperative verb takes the primary stress, the verb is deaccented (if not the stressed element itself), and the modifier is forced to move after the verb (usually immediately after, though short adverbs or pronouns can sometimes intervene). Additionally, expressing an ongoing or progressive action triggers inversion, where the verb takes the stress.

• A FILMET néztem meg. (It was the movie that I watched.)
• NEM néztem meg a filmet. (I didn't watch the movie.)
• NEM néztem még meg. (I haven't watched it yet.) Note: While this demonstrates the syntactic rule of short adverbs intervening, in everyday speech, Hungarians are much more likely to group még and nem together before the verb: Még nem néztem meg.
• NEM olvasok újságot. (I am not reading a newspaper.)
• NE nézd meg a filmet! (Don't watch the movie!)
• MIT néztél meg? (What did you watch?)
• NÉZD meg a filmet! (Watch the movie!) Note that Megnézd a filmet! is ungrammatical as a standard/neutral command, but megnézd is correct in subordinate clauses requiring the subjunctive (e.g., Azt akarom, hogy megnézd. - I want you to watch it).
• Éppen MENTEM át az úton, amikor megláttam. (I was [in the middle of] crossing the street when I saw him.)

Crucially, yes/no questions do not trigger inversion on their own; the prefix remains attached unless another trigger (like focus or negation) is present: MEGnézted a filmet? (Did you watch the movie?). Furthermore, the question word hogyhogy (how come) is a special exception that does not trigger inversion: HOGYHOGY megnézted? (How come you watched it?).

Note the difference between is (also) and sem (neither). While is does not trigger inversion, sem acts as a negative particle and does trigger inversion.

• Péter is MEGnézte. (Peter watched it too.)
• Péter SEM nézte meg. (Peter didn't watch it either.)

3. Verb Focus
If you want to emphasize the action itself (e.g., confirming that an action did happen: 'I DID watch the movie'), the prefix does not invert. It stays in the preverbal position and takes the heavy stress: MEGnéztem a filmet. This looks identical to a neutral sentence, but the stress is much heavier on the prefix, contrasting with noun focus where the prefix is evicted.

4. Auxiliary Verbs and Preverb Climbing
When using a specific class of 'stress-avoiding' auxiliary or modal verbs (like akar, fog, tud, bír, szokott, szeretne, kell, lehet) in a neutral sentence, the prefix detaches from the infinitive and 'climbs' to the position immediately before the finite auxiliary. The prefix gets the stress, and both the auxiliary and the infinitive lose their stress.

• MEG akarom nézni a filmet. (I want to watch the movie.)
• MEG fogom nézni a filmet. (I will watch the movie.)

Note that this climbing does not happen with all verbs taking an infinitive (e.g., ígér or elfelejt do not trigger it). If multiple auxiliaries are stacked, the prefix climbs to the very front of the chain (e.g., MEG fogom tudni nézni). Furthermore, climbing is blocked if the auxiliary verb already has its own prefix, as the preverbal position is already taken.

• MEGpróbálom elolvasni. (I am trying to read it.) The prefix el- cannot climb because próbál already has meg-.

However, if you negate the auxiliary, use a question word, or place a focused element before the auxiliary, that element takes the preverbal position, and the prefix does not climb, staying attached to the infinitive.

• NEM akarom megnézni a filmet. (I don't want to watch the movie.)
• MIT akarsz megnézni? (What do you want to watch?)
• A FILMET akarom megnézni. (It is the movie that I want to watch.)

5. Spelling Rules
Spelling is strictly tied to the stress pattern and prefix position:

• One word when the prefix is immediately before its verb (e.g., megnéztem).
• Separate words when the prefix is inverted and follows the verb (e.g., néztem meg).
• Separate words when the prefix climbs before an auxiliary (e.g., meg akarom nézni).

Important Note: English speakers often try to emphasize a word by simply saying it louder in its original position. In Hungarian, you must move the emphasized word to the preverbal position and apply this stress pattern if you are expressing exclusive or contrastive focus. However, if you are simply providing new information (information focus) without contrasting it, you can stress the word in situ without moving it.