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Hungarian has no separate words for my, your, his and her: the owner is shown by an ending on the thing owned, and to have is expressed with van and that ending. The endings set out here are those of one owner: I, you and he or she.
Possessive endings: táskám, táskád, táskája#
Formation
The ending for my is -m and the ending for your (one person) is -d. After a vowel they are added directly, a final -a or -e lengthening: autó → autóm, autód; táska → táskám, táskád. After a consonant a linking vowel comes before them: -om, -od in a back-vowel word, -em, -ed in a front-vowel word; a few back-vowel nouns take -am, -ad (ház → házam), and a few front rounded nouns -öm, -öd (sör → söröm).
His and her
For he or she, the ending is -ja, -je after a vowel, a final -a or -e lengthening as before -m: autó → autója, táska → táskája, cipő → cipője. After a consonant it is usually -a, -e: ház → háza, könyv → könyve, kulcs → kulcsa; some nouns take -ja, -je after a consonant too and are learnt one by one: kert → kertje, telefon → telefonja, barát → barátja.
| Noun | My | Your | His, her |
|---|---|---|---|
| autó | autóm | autód | autója |
| táska | táskám | táskád | táskája |
| telefon | telefonom | telefonod | telefonja |
| kert | kertem | kerted | kertje |
| könyv | könyvem | könyved | könyve |
| ház | házam | házad | háza |
Use
The article is used before the possessed noun: a táskám, az autóm. The pronoun is added only for stress: az én autóm (“my car”). Ő has no gender, so a táskája is “his bag” or “her bag”.
- A telefonom a konyhában van.My phone is in the kitchen.
- A szobád nagyon szép.Your room is very nice.
- Ez Gábor, és ez a kutyája.This is Gábor, and this is his dog.
- Zsófi itt van, de a táskája otthon van.Zsófi is here, but her bag is at home.
Difference from English
English my, your, his and her are separate words before the noun; Hungarian has an ending after it, and the article is used as well: a táskám, word for word “the bag-my”. English distinguishes his and her; Hungarian has one ending.
Common mistakes
a táskam→ a táskámA final -a becomes -á- before -m.a kertja→ a kertjeKert has front vowels, so the ending is -je.a kulcsod(for “his key”) → a kulcsa -d is “your”; “his” or “her” is -a.
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Having: van autóm, nincs pénzem#
Use
Hungarian has no verb to have. Having is said with van (there is) and the noun with a possessive ending: Van autóm (“I have a car”, word for word “there is my car”). The negative is nincs: Nincs pénzem (“I have no money”). The noun has no article after van and nincs. A question has the same words with a rising voice: Van kutyád?, and the short answer is Igen, van or Nem, nincs. An adjective or a number stands before the noun: Van új telefonom, Van két kutyám.
| Owner | Has | Has not |
|---|---|---|
| I | van autóm | nincs autóm |
| you | van autód | nincs autód |
| he, she | van autója | nincs autója |
- Van kutyád? – Igen, van.Do you have a dog? – Yes, I do.
- Nincs kocsim.I don’t have a car.
- Van lánytestvéred?Do you have a sister?
- Van két kutyám.I have two dogs.
Difference from English
English I have a car has a verb and a subject; Hungarian has van, “there is”, and the owner in the ending: Van autóm. Van egy autó means “There is a car”.
Common mistakes
Van egy autó. (for “I have a car”) → Van autóm. The owner is shown by the possessive ending.
Nem van pénzem.→ Nincs pénzem.The negative of van is nincs.
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The owner before the thing: Péter autója, a tanár könyve#
Formation
When the owner is a name or a noun, it stands first with no ending, and the possessed noun follows it with the ending for his or her (-a, -e, -ja, -je): Péter autója (“Péter’s car”), a lány telefonja (“the girl’s phone”). A name takes no article; a noun takes its article before the owner: a tanár könyve.
| Owner | Thing | Together |
|---|---|---|
| Kata | kutya | Kata kutyája |
| Tamás | lakás | Tamás lakása |
| a tanár | táska | a tanár táskája |
| a lány | telefon | a lány telefonja |
- Kata kutyája kicsi.Kata’s dog is small.
- Hol van a tanár táskája?Where’s the teacher’s bag?
- Ez Tamás lakása.This is Tamás’s flat.
- A lány telefonja az asztalon van.The girl’s phone is on the table.
Difference from English
English adds ’s to the owner, “Kata’s dog”; Hungarian adds nothing to the owner and puts the ending on the thing owned: Kata kutyája.
Common mistakes
Kata kutya→ Kata kutyájaThe thing owned takes the ending for his or her.a Péter autója→ Péter autójaA name takes no article.
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Stressing the owner: nekem, neked, neki#
Use
Nekem (to me), neked (to you) and neki (to him, to her) stand before van or nincs to stress or contrast the owner, and the noun has the possessive ending of the same person: Nekem van kutyám (“I have a dog”). Nekem takes -m, neked takes -d, neki takes -a, -e, -ja, -je. Without these words the sentence says the same with no stress on the owner: Van kutyám.
| Word | With van |
|---|---|
| nekem | nekem van autóm |
| neked | neked van autód |
| neki | neki van autója |
- Neked van kutyád, nekem nincs.You have a dog, I don’t.
- Neki van kertje?Does he have a garden?
- Neked van jegyed?Do you have a ticket?
Difference from English
English stresses I with the voice, “I have a dog”; Hungarian places nekem before van. Nekem van means “I have”, never “I am”.
Common mistakes
Én van kutyám.→ Nekem van kutyám.The owner before van is nekem.Nekem van kutyád.→ Nekem van kutyám.Nekem takes the ending -m.
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A case ending after -m and -d: a táskámban#
Formation
A case ending is added after the possessive ending -m or -d: a táskámban (“in my bag”), a szobádba (“into your room”), a barátommal (“with my friend”), the v of -val becoming m. The article is used as with any noun. An object with a possessive ending takes -at or -et: a kabátodat, a könyvedet; its verb is in the definite conjugation, and after kell it follows an infinitive: Nem kell vinni a kabátodat.
| Noun | Possessed | With a case ending |
|---|---|---|
| táska | táskám | táskámban |
| szoba | szobád | szobádban, szobádba |
| kert | kertem | kertemben |
| barát | barátom | barátommal |
| kabát | kabátod | kabátodat |
- A kulcs a táskámban van.The key is in my bag.
- Ki van a szobádban?Who’s in your room?
- A kertemben sok virág van.There are a lot of flowers in my garden.
- A barátommal jövök.I’m coming with my friend.
- Nem kell vinni a kabátodat.You don’t need to take your coat.
Difference from English
English in my bag has three words; Hungarian has one, the noun with the possessive ending and then the case ending: táskámban.
Common mistakes
a táskában (for “in my bag”) → a táskámban The possessive ending comes before the case ending.
a táskábanom→ a táskámbanThe case ending is added after the possessive ending, never before it.
In short
| Point | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| my, your | -m, -d (-om, -em, -od, -ed) | táskám, könyved |
| his, her | -ja, -je, -a, -e | autója, háza |
| having | van, nincs + possessed noun | Van autóm. Nincs pénzem. |
| the owner first | owner + -a, -ja on the thing | Péter autója |
| stressing the owner | nekem, neked, neki + van | Nekem van kutyám. |
| a case after -m, -d | possessive + case ending | a táskámban |
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