The Hungarian accusative (-t)

In Hungarian the direct object of a verb is marked with the suffix -t: Látok egy autót ("I see a car"). Adding it looks trivial, but every time you must decide whether a linking vowel is needed, which one, and whether the stem itself changes. This page gives you the rules in the order you should apply them.

What the accusative does

The accusative marks the noun that the action is done to. Because the object is marked, Hungarian word order is free to follow emphasis rather than grammar (see word order and focus):

• Péter látja Annát. Péter sees Anna.
• Annát látja Péter. It is Anna that Péter sees.
• Kérek egy kávét. I'd like a coffee.
• Mit csinálsz? What are you doing? (mi → mit)

In both sentences about Péter and Anna, Péter is the one seeing: the -t on Annát identifies the object whatever its position.

The accusative also expresses duration and distance, where English uses "for" or nothing at all:

• Két órát vártam. I waited (for) two hours.
• Öt kilométert futottunk. We ran five kilometres.

After a vowel: just -t (with a/e lengthening)

A noun ending in a vowel takes plain -t. Final short a and e become long á and é, as they do before every suffix.

A few old words ending in a long vowel have a hidden v in their stem: ló → lovat, tó → tavat, kő → követ. They are listed under stem changes below.

Consonants that take -t directly

After most words ending in one of the consonants j, l, ly, n, ny, r, s, sz, z, zs, the -t attaches with no linking vowel. These are sounds that combine easily with a following t at the end of a syllable.

This rule has two big groups of exceptions, and both depend on the individual word rather than on its last consonant: lowering stems (hal → halat, not *halt) and stems that change shape (kéz → kezet). Both are covered below. Many j-final nouns also take a linking vowel (olaj → olajat, vaj → vajat, fej → fejet), so treat j as the least reliable letter on the list.

All other consonants: -ot, -et or -öt

After b, c, cs, d, f, g, gy, k, m, p, t, ty, v and after most consonant clusters, the accusative needs a linking vowel, chosen by vowel harmony:

So -ot is the default for back words and -öt for words whose last vowel is rounded and front. The next section explains when a back or rounded word takes -at or -et instead.

Lowering stems: házat, not házot

A closed set of nouns, mostly short and very old, plus most adjectives, take the "low" linking vowels -at/-et. They do so even when they end in a consonant from the direct -t list. The same stems also form their plural with -ak/-ek, which is how you can recognise them (see the plural).

Most adjectives used as objects lower too: piros → pirosat, magas → magasat, okos → okosat (Valami okosat mondott. "He said something clever."). A common exception is nagy → nagyot.

Plural objects always end in -at/-et, whatever the noun: autókat, kerteket, gyümölcsöket, házakat.

Stems that change before -t

Some nouns alter their stem before a vowel-initial suffix. The accusative shows the change because it usually adds a linking vowel. These nouns are also lowering, so they take -at/-et (except where noted).

Note that vowel-dropping stems keep their own harmony and lowering status: tükröt and bokrot use -ö/-o, while sátrat and epret lower. One trap: szó (word) has the plural szavak but the accusative szót.

Accusative of pronouns and question words

The reflexive pronoun is fully regular: magamat, magadat, magát, magunkat, magatokat, magukat. Personal pronouns are covered in personal pronouns.

Possessed nouns: a házamat

A noun with a possessive suffix takes the accusative after that suffix. First and second person forms add a linking vowel; the third person -a/-e lengthens and takes plain -t.

With "my" and "your (singular)", the -t may be left out in standard Hungarian: Add ide a kezed! ("Give me your hand!"), Elvesztettem a kulcsom. ("I've lost my key.") Both a kulcsom and a kulcsomat are correct here. With other persons the -t is required.

The object and the verb

Definite or indefinite conjugation

The accusative and the verb work as a team. If the object is definite (has a/az, is a name, a possessed noun, őt, ezt, azt and so on), the verb takes the definite conjugation. Full rules are in definite and indefinite conjugation.

• Olvasok egy könyvet. I'm reading a book. (indefinite)
• Olvasom a könyvet. I'm reading the book. (definite)
• Keresem a telefonomat. I'm looking for my phone. (possessed, so definite)
• Szeretlek. I love you. (I → you: -lak/-lek)

When there is no accusative

English "have" sentences have an object; Hungarian ones do not. Possession is expressed with van/nincs, and the thing possessed is the grammatical subject, so it stays in the nominative (see van and nincs).

• Van egy kutyám. I have a dog. (not *kutyámat)
• Nincs autóm. I don't have a car.
• Kell egy toll. I need a pen. (the pen is the subject of kell)
• Tetszik a ház. I like the house. (literally "the house pleases")

Compare Kell egy toll with Venni kell egy tollat ("I need to buy a pen"): now toll is the object of the infinitive venni, so it takes -t.

A five-step procedure

1. Does the word end in a vowel? Lengthen a/e and add -t (almát), unless it is a v-stem such as ló → lovat.
2. Does the stem change (kéz, tükör, madár)? Use the changed stem as in the plural: kezek → kezet.
3. Is it a lowering stem or an adjective (plural -ak, or -ek on a rounded word)? Use -at/-et.
4. Does it end in j, l, ly, n, ny, r, s, sz, z, zs? Add -t directly.
5. Otherwise add -ot, -et or -öt by vowel harmony.

Practise with the suffix builder, and see common mistakes for more traps.

Sources and further reading

• Carol H. Rounds, Hungarian: An Essential Grammar (2nd ed., Routledge, 2009), on the accusative and stem classes
• Péter Siptár and Miklós Törkenczy, The Phonology of Hungarian (Oxford University Press, 2000), on lowering stems and linking vowels
• István Kenesei, Robert M. Vago and Anna Fenyvesi, Hungarian (Descriptive Grammars series, Routledge, 1998)

Frequently asked questions