How to Use Hungarian Adjectives: Agreement and Position Explained

Understanding Hungarian Adjectives: Agreement and Position

Hungarian adjectives are an essential part of the language, used to describe nouns and provide more detail. For English speakers learning Hungarian, understanding how adjectives agree with nouns and where they are positioned in sentences is crucial for correct and natural expression.

Adjective Agreement in Hungarian

Unlike English, Hungarian adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in number and case. This means that adjectives change their form depending on whether the noun is singular or plural, and depending on the grammatical case used in the sentence.

For example, the adjective "nagy" (meaning "big") changes as follows:

• Singular: nagy ház (big house)
• Plural: nagy házak (big houses)

When the noun is in a case other than the nominative, the adjective also takes the case ending. For example, in the accusative case:

• Singular: nagy házat (big house - accusative)
• Plural: nagy házakat (big houses - accusative)

Position of Adjectives in Hungarian Sentences

In Hungarian, adjectives typically precede the noun they modify, similar to English. For example:

• nagy ház (big house)
• piros alma (red apple)

However, Hungarian allows some flexibility in word order for emphasis or style, but the standard and most common position is before the noun.

Multiple Adjectives and Their Order

When using multiple adjectives, Hungarian generally places them before the noun, and the order is usually from general to specific, similar to English. For example:

• nagy piros ház (big red house)
• szép új autó (beautiful new car)

Summary of Key Points

1. Adjectives agree with nouns in number and case.
2. Adjectives usually come before the noun.
3. Multiple adjectives are placed before the noun, ordered from general to specific.