Expressing Time
Many expressions of time use the case endings and postpositions which are also used for position, e.g.:
- -tól/-től - when from
- -ig - until when
- -ra/-re - by (before) a certain time
- között (postposition) - between; among
- előtt (postposition) - before
- után (postposition) - after
- -n belül (postposition with suffix) - within
There are also some which are used only for time, e.g.:
- -kor - at what time, e.g. kilenckor ("at nine"), karácsonykor ("at Christmas")
- -onta/-ente/-önte - every ..., e.g. naponta ("daily")
- múlva (postposition) - in ... time, e.g. 2 hét múlva ("in 2 weeks' time")
There are 2 ways of expressing how long ago something happened:
- 3rd singular possessive suffix with past tense, e.g. 10 éve költözött el. ("He moved away 10 years ago.")
- -val/-vel + ezelőtt with past tense, e.g. 10 évvel ezelőtt költözött el. ("He moved away 10 years ago.")
Read more about this topic: Hungarian Grammar
Famous quotes containing the words expressing and/or time:
“Letters are above all useful as a means of expressing the ideal self; and no other method of communication is quite so good for this purpose.... In letters we can reform without practice, beg without humiliation, snip and shape embarrassing experiences to the measure of our own desires....”
—Elizabeth Hardwick (b. 1916)
“There saw I how the secret felon wrought,
And treason labouring in the traitor’s thought,
And midwife Time the ripened plot to murder brought.”
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1340?–1400)