CauseVBal: The verb of a reason clause obligatorily appears in base form.

(1) kati nem ment ma iskolá-ba. beteg vol-t.

kati neg go-pst.3sg today school-ill sick cop-pst.3sg

‘Kati didn’t go to school. She was sick.’

(2) kati nem men-t ma iskolá-ba, mert beteg vol-t.

kati neg go-pst.3sg today school-ill because sick cop-pst.3sg

‘Kati didn’t go to school because she was sick.’

(3) meg-beteged-vén kati nem men-t ma iskolá-ba.

become_sick-conv Kati neg go-pst.3sg today school-ill

‘As Kati was sick, she didn’t go to school today.’

In Hungarian, causal relations are expressed with the help of subordination, where the verb of the clause specifying the cause (2) has the same form as in non-causal sentences (1) (cf. Kenesei et al. 1998: 51, Haader 2000a: 511‒512). Sometimes, converbal constructions can also express causal relations (3) (cf. Lengyel 2000e: 238‒240).