Basic subordinate word order (S, V, O) (Hungarian)

SOV: Basic subordinate word order is SOV.


(1) a filatélistá-k bélyeg-et gyűjt-enek.

       the filatelist-pl stamp-acc collect-prs.3pl

       ‘Filatelists collect stamps. (Filatelists are the ones who collect stamps.)’


(2) tud-om, hogy a filatélistá-k bélyeg-et gyűjt-enek.

know-prs.obj.1sg that the filatelist-pl    stamp-acc collect-prs.3pl

‘I know that filatelists collect stamps.’

(3) a fiú könyv-et    olvas.

the boy book-acc read.prs.3sg

       ‘The boy is reading a book.’

(4)    lát-om, hogy a fiú könyv-et olvas.

       see-prs.obj.1sg that the boy book-acc     read.prs.3sg

‘I see that the boy is reading a book.’

(5) a fiú egy könyv-et olvas.

the boy a book-acc read.prs.3sg

‘The boy is reading a book.’

(6)    lát-om, hogy a      fiú egy könyv-et olvas.

       see-prs.obj.1sg that the boy a book-acc read.prs.3sg

       ‘I see that the boy is reading a book.’

(7) a fiú olvas-ssa a könyv-et.

the boy read-prs.obj.3sg the book-acc

‘The boy is reading the book.’


(8) lát-om, hogy a fiú olvas-sa a könyv-et.

see-prs.obj.1sg that the boy read-prs.obj.3sg the book-acc

       ‘I see that the boy is reading a book.’

(9) a fiú a könyv-et olvas-sa.

the boy the book-acc read-prs.obj.3sg

       ‘It is the book that the boy is reading.’


(10) lát-om, hogy a fiú a könyv-et olvas-sa.

       lát-prs.obj.1sg hogy a fiú a könyv-acc olvas-prs.obj.3sg

‘I see that it is the book that the boy is reading.’

(11) a könyvet a fiú olvas-sa.

the book-acc the boy book-prs.obj.3sg

‘It is the boy who is reading the book.’


(12) tud-om, hogy a könyvet a fiú olvas-sa.

       know-prs.obj.1sg that the book-acc the boy read-prs.obj.3sg

‘I know that it is the boy who is reading the book.’


It is a general rule in Hungarian that he subordination of indicative sentences does not change the word order of the original simple sentences. It means that the basic word order of subordinate clauses is also SOV (cf. (1)–2), (3)–(4), (5)–(6). In examples (7), (9) and (11), the object and/or the verbal conjugation is marked and/or the subject is not the topic, thus these sentences express focus. Due to their markedness, their word order is not basic, but the word order of even these sentences is the same in subordinate clauses as in the respective simple sentences (cf. (9)–(10), and (11)–(12)).

Author: 

Nikolett F. Gulyás