Learn Hungarian Possession Fast: Crash Course for Beginners

Let's go over possession in Hungarian, which is a key grammatical concept with various ways to express ownership or relationships between objects and people. Here’s a breakdown of the major forms and usage related to possession:

1. Single Objects (Possession of one thing)

In Hungarian, possession is commonly expressed by using the possessive suffixes attached to the noun being possessed. For single objects, the suffix indicates who possesses the object.

• Example:
  • Könyvem (My book)
    • könyv (book) + -em (my)
  • Autóm (My car)
    • autó (car) + -m (my)

Here, the possessive suffix -em/-m corresponds to the first person singular ("my"). The form of the suffix depends on the vowel harmony of the word it attaches to.

Other examples:

• Háromszögöm (My triangle)
• Táskám (My bag)

2. Multiple Objects (Possession of several things)

When indicating possession of multiple objects, Hungarian uses plural possessive suffixes. These suffixes work similarly to the singular ones but are used when talking about more than one item.

• Example:
  • Könyveim (My books)
    • könyv (book) + -eim (my, plural)
  • Autóink (Our cars)
    • autó (car) + -ink (our, plural)

3. (Do) You have?

To ask if someone has something, you can use the verb "van" (is/has) with the appropriate possessive form.

• Example:
  • Van könyved? (Do you have a book?)
    • könyv (book) + -ed (your)
  • Van autójuk? (Do they have a car?)
    • autó (car) + -juk (their)

Here, the verb "van" acts like an auxiliary to express possession.

Other examples:

• Van házam? (Do I have a house?)
• Van kutyája? (Does he/she have a dog?)

4. External Possession (Possession outside the person)

External possession is used when something is in the possession of someone or something that isn't directly tied to the subject of the sentence.

• Example:
  • Neki van egy autója. (He/she has a car.)
    • autója (his/her car) + -ja (his/her possessive suffix)
    • Here, the external possessor is marked by the possessive suffix on the object (autó).

Other examples:

• Van egy könyve. (He/she has a book.)
• Nekem van egy házam. (I have a house.)

5. Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns in Hungarian are formed by adding the correct possessive suffix to the base of the personal pronoun. They can be used to replace nouns that show possession.

• Example:
  • Az enyém (Mine)
  • A tiéd (Yours, singular informal)
  • A miénk (Ours)
  • A tiétek (Yours, plural or formal)
  • Az övék (Theirs)

The possessive pronouns agree in case with the noun they modify. They can also stand alone without a noun.

6. Attributive Form

The attributive form is used when possession is expressed by placing the possessor in a descriptive relationship with the possessed noun. This is often done by placing the possessive form directly in front of the noun.

• Example:
  • Az én könyvem (My book)
  • A te autód (Your car)

In this construction, the possessor comes before the possessed noun, and the possessive suffix appears on the noun itself.

Other examples:

• A házunk (Our house)
• Az szobája (His/her room)

Summary of Possession Forms in Hungarian:

• Single objects: Use the possessive suffix to indicate possession (e.g., könyvem – my book).
• Multiple objects: Use plural possessive suffixes (e.g., könyveim – my books).
• Asking "Do you have?": Use the verb van with the possessive form (e.g., Van neked könyved? – Do you have a book?).
• External possession: Possession is marked on the object (e.g., Neki van autója – He/she has a car).
• Possessive pronouns: Replace the noun and show possession (e.g., Az enyém – Mine).
• Attributive form: Possessor comes before the noun with the possessive suffix (e.g., Az én könyvem – My book).

This system in Hungarian allows for clear and flexible ways to express possession depending on context and number.