-ig

The -ig suffix is a versatile tool for defining boundaries and durations. Here is how it works:

• Time and Deadlines: It marks the end of a time period ('until') or a deadline ('by').
  Hétfőig (Until Monday / By Monday). Péntekig befejezem. (I will finish it by Friday.)
• From... To...: It is frequently paired with the ablative case to express a starting and ending point in time, space, or quantity.
  Hétfőtől péntekig (From Monday to Friday). Egytől tízig (From one to ten).
• Duration: It expresses how long something lasts, answering 'How long?' and translating to 'for' in English.
  Két óráig (For two hours / Until two o'clock). Note: Because óra means both 'hour' and 'o'clock', this phrase is ambiguous. To strictly emphasize duration, native speakers often use postpositions like át or keresztül (e.g., Két órán át).
• Space: It marks a physical destination or limit.
  A fáig (As far as the tree).
• Quantity: It marks a numerical limit.
  Tízig (Up to ten).
• Common Adverbs: It attaches directly to time words to form high-frequency expressions like holnapig (until tomorrow) or sokáig (for a long time).

Morphology Rules:
1. No Vowel Harmony: Because it contains the neutral vowel 'i', it stays -ig regardless of whether the word has back vowels (ablakig) or front vowels (kertig).
2. Final Vowel Lengthening: If a word ends in -a or -e, these vowels must change to -á and -é before adding the suffix. For example, alma (apple) becomes almáig, and lecke (lesson) becomes leckéig.
3. No Vowel Shortening: Unlike the accusative case, it does not trigger stem shortening. For example, víz (water) remains vízig.
4. Pronouns and Relatives: It has special forms for 'until this/that' (eddig/addig), 'up to here/there' (idáig/odáig), and 'until when/how long' (meddig?). It also forms the relative adverb amíg (until/while) to connect clauses. Crucial rule: When amíg means 'until' (waiting for a future action to complete), Hungarian typically requires the negative particle nem, even though the English meaning is positive. For example: Várj, amíg vissza nem jövök! (Wait until I come back!). Furthermore, this nem splits verbal prefixes from the verb. For example, megtalál (to find) becomes amíg meg nem találja (until he/she finds it) — not amíg nem megtalálja.

Important Note: Unlike most cases, -ig does not have personal pronoun forms (there is no 'bennem' equivalent). To say "as far as me", you must use a different structure, such as egészen hozzám (all the way to me), or simply use the demonstrative eddig (up to here).