Grammar Topic
Adverbial Participles (-va/-ve) and State Constructions
Adverbial participles answer questions like “How?”, “In what manner?”, or “while doing what?” In Hungarian they are formed with -va / -ve.
- sír (to cry) -> sírva (crying, while crying)
- mosolyog (to smile) -> mosolyogva (smiling, while smiling)
- áll (to stand) -> állva (standing, while standing)
State construction: …-va / -ve van
Very often, adverbial participles, especially from prefixed verbs, are used with van (to be) or nincs (not to be) to show the result of an action or the state of an object. This often translates like an English passive.
Note: in these constructions, the verbal prefix can also separate.
- nyitva van - is open
- zárva van - is closed
- Az ablak ki van nyitva. - The window is open. From kinyit (to open).
- Az ajtó be van zárva. - The door is closed. From bezár (to close).
- Minden meg van oldva. - Everything is solved. From megold (to solve).
Reading Practice
- A lány mosolyogva nézett rám. [The girl looked at me smiling.]
- Az elefántok állva alszanak. [Elephants sleep standing up.]
- Sírva szaladt haza a gyerek. [The child ran home crying.]
- A bolt már be van zárva. [The store is already closed.]
- A levél meg van írva. [The letter is written.]
- A leves meg van főzve. [The soup is cooked.]
- A ruhák már ki vannak mosva. [The clothes have already been washed.]
- A kérdés meg van oldva. [The question is solved.]
- Alá van már írva a szerződés? [Has the contract already been signed?]
- A ház már el van adva. [The house has already been sold.]