Word order within possessive constructions (Hungarian)

GenPoss: The possessor, whether noun or pronoun, precedes the possessed noun.


(1) levente könyv-e

Levente book-3sg

’Levente’s book’


(2) leventé-nek a könyv-e

Levente-dat the book-3sg

’Levente’s book’


(3) az ő könyv-e

the (s)he book-3sg

‘his/her book’


In Hungarian, the nominal (1)–(2) and pronominal (3) possessors always precede the possessed entities (cf. É. Kiss 2003: 82‒88).

Author: 

Nikolett F. Gulyás