SubMain: The subordinate clause generally precedes the main clause.

MainSub: The subordinate clause generally follows the main clause.

(1) el-men-t-em a bolt-ba kenyer-et ven-ni.

away-go-pst-1sg the shop-ill bread-acc buy-inf

‘I went to the shop to buy bread.’

(2) el-ment-em a bolt-ba, mert kenyer-et akart-am venni.

away-go-pst-1sg the shop-ill because bread-acc want-pst-1sg buy-inf

‘I went to the shop because I wanted to buy bread.’

(3) mert kenyer-et akar-t-am ven-ni, el-men-t-em a bolt-ba.

because bread-acc want-pst-1sg buy-inf away-go-pst-1sg the shop-ill

‘Because I wanted to buy bread, I went to the shop.’

In Hungarian, adverbial subordination can be expressed by a participle construction (1) and by a complex sentence (2)–(3). In the latter case, the matrix clause may precede (2) or follow (3) the subordinate clause. In the case of the participle construction, the participle usually follows the matrix clause.