When­-clause markers (Hungarian)

WhenWV1: When-­clauses are marked by the use of an independent word (referent) within the main clause.

WhenWV2: When­-clauses are marked by the use of an independent word (conjunction) within the clause.


(1) amíg én el-mosogat-ok, (addig) te vid-d ki a szemet-et!

   while I away-wash-prs.1sg till_that you take-imp.obj.2sg out the garbage-acc

‘While I’m washing the dishes, you could take out the garbage.’


(2) sokat rajzol-t-am akkor, amikor kicsi vol-t-am.

    lot draw-pst-1sg then when little cop-pst-1sg

    ‘I was drawing a lot when I was little.’


(3) el-megy-ek vásárol-ni, miután meg-ír-t-am a level-et.

away-go-prs.1sg buy-inf after pref-write-pst-1sg the letter-acc

‘I’ll go to the shop after I finished the letter.’


(4) előbb meg-ír-om a level-et, aztán el-megy-ek vásárol-ni.

before meg-write-prs.obj.1sg the letter-acc, then away-go-prs.1sg shop-inf

‘I’ll finish the letter first, then I’ll go to the shop.’


(5) be-lép-vén a ház-ba le-ve-tt-e a kalap-já-t.

in-step-conv the house-ill down-take-pst-obj.3sg the hat-3sg-acc

‘Entering (having entered) the house, he took off his hat.’


In Hungarian, temporal clauses (expressing posterior, anterior (3)–(4), or simultaneous (1)–(2) events) are coded by optional connective guide words in the main clause and conjunctions in the subordinate clause (cf. Kenesei et al. 1998: 48‒50, Haader 2000a: 504‒507). Sometimes, temporal relations can be expressed by converbs (5) (cf. Lengyel 2000e: 238‒240).

Author: 

Nikolett F. Gulyás