Appendix:Hungarian postpositions
Syntax
editUnlike in English where prepositions are placed before the noun they refer to, in Hungarian prepositions are placed after the noun they refer to. For this reason they are usually referred to as postpositions.
Postpositions are pronounced without stress. Even though they are written as a separate word, in speech they behave just like a suffix and only the main word is stressed.
When contrast is needed, however, the postpositions can be stressed:
- A híd FELETT laktak, nem pedig a híd ALATT. - They lived ABOVE the bridge, not UNDER the bridge.
A word can stand with multiple postpositions without repeating the word itself:
- a víz alatt és felett - under and above the water
Multiple words can be referenced with a single postposition:
- a felhők és a föld felett - above the clouds and earth
Some of the postpositions have three related forms indicating directions or movements: static, moving from, and moving to an object.
- A macska az asztal alatt van. - The cat is under the table.
- A macska kiugrott az asztal alól. - The cat jumped from under the table.
- A macska beugrott az asztal alá. - The cat jumped to under the table.
Morphology
editSuffixed Forms
editPostpositions cannot be inflected. However, when they refer to personal pronouns, some of them can be suffixed as listed in the tables below. As of 2019, scholars are still in disagreement about the part of speech of the suffixed forms. The traditional view is that they are adverbs (személyragos/személyjeles határozószók - adverbs with personal/possessive suffix) and most dictionaries still list them as such. The latest interpretation of Hungarian grammar[1] categorizes them as personal pronouns.
More emphasis can be expressed when the personal pronoun is also added to the suffixed form. These forms have to be spelled in one word without spaces:
- mi (“we”) + alatt (“under”) + -unk (first-person plural possessive suffix) = mialattunk (“under us”)
- te (“you”) + alatt (“under”) + -ad (second-person singular possessive suffix) = tealattad (“under you”)
Two- and Three-directional Suffixable Postpositions
editThe following table contains the two- and three-directional suffixable postpositions.
- Note 1: The 3rd person plural long form uses the personal pronoun ő instead of ők.
- Note 2: strictly speaking, (én)köz(öt)tem, (te)köz(öt)ted, (ő)köz(öt)te, (én)közém, (te)közéd, (ő)közé(je), and (én)közülem, (te)közüled, (ő)közüle apparently do not make much sense, except if a group of beings identifies as a single entity (e.g. if a swarm of bees gains a communal, shared consciousness). However, these forms do have an everyday function as well, to express relations where at least one participant is "I", "you" or "he/she/it", such as te és énközöttem or teközötted és énközöttem, i.e. 'between you and me.'
One-directional Suffixable Postpositions
editThe following table contains suffixable postpositions that have only one base form.
Non-Suffixable Postpositions
editPostposition | English | Example |
---|---|---|
alapján | by, based on | |
alkalmából | on the occasion of | |
címen/címén | as | |
ellenére | despite | |
érdekében | for the benefit of, in the interest of | |
értelmében | in accordance with | |
esetében | in the case of, in the matter of, in relation to | |
esetén | in case of | |
fejében | in return for | |
folyamán | in the course of | |
folytán | as a consequence of | |
gyanánt | as | |
hiányában | due to lack of, in the absence of | |
hosszában | by the length of; in a line with the length of; lengthwise next to | |
hosszat | for (time); throughout | órák hosszat ― for hours and hours; falu hosszat ― throughout the village |
kapcsán | on the occasion of | |
következtében | as a consequence of | |
közben | during (time) | |
mentén | along | |
módjára | in the manner of | |
módra | in the mode of | |
múlva | in, after (time) | |
nyomán | based on | |
óta | since (point of time) | |
során | in the course of | |
tájban/tájt | around (point in time) | |
tekintetében | with respect to | |
útján | by way of | |
végett | with the aim of | |
vonatkozásában | in terms of, with respect to, concerning, regarding |
Postpositions Requiring Case
editThe following postpositions require the referenced noun to have a specific case.
Postposition | English | Example |
---|---|---|
alul | below | érték (“value”) értéken alul vesz ― to buy something below price (for a lower price than the actual value) |
át | through, across | ablak (“window”) Az ablakon át nézte a gyerekeket. ― She watched the children through the window. |
belül | inside of | ház (“house”) a házon belül ― inside of the house |
felül | over | |
innen/innét | on this side of | |
keresztül | through | |
kívül | outside, beside | |
kívül-re | outside-to, beside-to | |
kívül-ről | outside-from | |
túl | beyond | |
túl-ra | beyond-to | |
túl-ról | beyond-from | |
végig | (along) to the end of |
Postposition | English | Example |
---|---|---|
egyetemben | together | |
együtt | together | |
ellentétben | unlike, as opposed to, in contrast to/with | |
szembe | opposite to | |
szemben | opposite at | |
szemből | opposite from | |
szemközt | opposite at |
Postposition | English | Example |
---|---|---|
dacára | despite | |
ellenére | despite |
Postposition | English | Example |
---|---|---|
függően | depending on | időjárás (“weather”) az időjárástól függően ― depending on the weather |
fogva | from (time) | |
kezdve | beginning from |
Postposition | English | Example |
---|---|---|
hasonlóan | similarly to, like | Az úszáshoz hasonlóan ez a sport nem terheli az ízületeket. ― Like swimming this sport does not stress the joints. |
képest | compared to, for | A korához képest nagyon jól néz ki. ― He/she looks very good for his/her age. |
közel | close to, near | A házhoz közel van egy folyó. ― There is a river near the house. |
Postposition | English | Example |
---|---|---|
kifolyólag | in consequence of, as a result of, due to, owing to, on account of, on the strength of |
Postposition | English | Example |
---|---|---|
fogva | as a result of |
Postposition | English | Example |
---|---|---|
(kivéve) | except for |
Postposition | English | Example |
---|---|---|
nézve | regarding | |
vonatkozóan | regarding, concerning | |
vonatkozólag | regarding, concerning | A tervre vonatkozólag nem kaptunk választ. ― We have not received any response regarding the plan. |
Nominative
editPostposition | English | Example |
---|---|---|
közepette | in the midst of |
References
editIn English:
- Éva Dékány: The nanosyntax of Hungarian postpositions
- Veronika Hegedűs: Hungarian spatial PPs
- Rounds, Carol. Hungarian: an Essential Grammar. London / New York: Routledge. 2001. →ISBN. Preview at Google Books
In Hungarian:
- Ádám Nádasdy: A névutó (The Postposition)
- Park Soo Young: The Hungarian system of postpositions from the point of view of Korean language
- Threshold: Hungarian as a foreign language - Postpositions