Граматична тема
Potential Verbs (-hat/-het): Permission and Possibility
To say “I can do something” or “I am allowed to do something,” Hungarian adds the potential suffix -hat / -het to the verb stem, according to vowel harmony. After that suffix, the normal present or past personal endings are added.
Main rule: the difference between tud and -hat/-het
- tud means “can” when you mean ability, skill, or physical capability: “I can swim,” or “I cannot lift the suitcase because I am weak.”
- -hat/-het is used for permission, possibility, probability, or circumstances: “May I come in?”, “It may snow today.”
1. Forming present-tense potential verbs
| Person | Indefinite (do generally) | Definite (do it) | Example meaning with olvas (read) |
|---|---|---|---|
| én (I) | olvashatok | olvashatom | I can/may read |
| te (you) | olvashatsz | olvashatod | you can/may read |
| ő / Ön (he/she/formal you) | olvashat | olvashatja | he/she can/may read |
| mi (we) | olvashatunk | olvashatjuk | we can/may read |
| ti (you plural) | olvashattok | olvashatjátok | you can/may read |
| ők (they) | olvashatnak | olvashatják | they can/may read |
2. Special forms to memorize
Some very common verbs use special stems before -hat/-het:
- eszik (to eat) -> ehet (can/may eat)
- iszik (to drink) -> ihat (can/may drink)
- tesz (to put, do) -> tehet (can/may do)
- vesz (to take, buy) -> vehet (can/may take/buy)
- megy (to go) -> mehet (can/may go)
- jön (to come) -> jöhet (can/may come)
- van / lesz (to be) -> lehet (can be, may be, possible)
Reading Practice
- Bejöhetek? [May I come in?]
- Kérdezhetek valamit? [May I ask something?]
- Rágyújthatok? [May I smoke?]
- Elkísérhetlek a házatokig? [May I walk you to your house?]
- Szólíthatom Klárának? [May I call you Klára?]
- Itt a mobilom, lefényképezhetlek. [Here is my phone; I can take a picture of you.]
- Ha nem sietsz, elkéshetsz az iskolából. [If you do not hurry, you may be late for school.]
- Olyan hideg van, hogy még hó is eshet ma! [It is so cold that it may even snow today!]
- Ha nem vigyázol, ellophatják a pénztárcádat. [If you are not careful, they may steal your wallet.]
- A kis gyerekek nem nézhetik meg ezt a filmet. [Small children are not allowed to watch this movie.]