tárgyeset
The thing you act on
Marks the thing the verb acts on. English hides this; Hungarian never does.
Hungarian glues -t onto the direct object. English works out who does what from word order, so it cannot move words around freely; Hungarian marks the object on the noun itself, which is exactly why its word order can move.
Endings
-t · -ot · -at · -et · -öt
Accusative · direct object
When not to use it
Not on the subject, however long the sentence gets. After a number the noun still takes -t but stays singular: három házat, not három házakat.
Tell them apart
A kutya látja a macskát.
The dog sees the cat.
A macskát látja a kutya.
The dog sees the cat.
Same grammatical roles either way — the -t, not the position, says who is being seen. Fronting the object like this shifts emphasis onto the cat, the way stress would in English.
Notes
- After a vowel, just -t: kávét, autót.
- After l, r, n, ny, j, ly you can usually add -t directly: lányt, kért.
- Otherwise a linking vowel: házat, könyvet, ablakot.
- Final -a/-e lengthen: kutya → kutyát, eke → ekét.
Examples
Látom a házat.
I see the house.
Kérek egy sört.
I’d like a beer.
Szeretem a kutyámat.
I love my dog.
Megettem a levest.
I ate the soup.
Olvasod a könyvet?
Are you reading the book?