Subjectless Constructions in Hungarian

In Brief

Hungarian often expresses necessity, permission, possibility, prohibition, or advice without naming a grammatical subject: El kell menni means “One must leave” or, in context, “We/you have to leave.” When the person matters, Hungarian can mark that person on the infinitive: Mennem kell (“I must go”), Érdemes elmenned (“It is worth your going”). English normally supplies a subject such as “it,” “you,” or “one”; Hungarian does not need an equivalent dummy word.

Overview

A subject is the person or thing that a sentence presents as doing or being something. English finite clauses normally require one, even when it refers to nothing concrete: “It is possible that it is raining.” Hungarian can instead build an impersonal sentence—one that does not identify a particular actor—around words such as kell “must,” szabad “may/be allowed,” lehet “may/be possible,” tilos “be forbidden,” and érdemes “be worth doing.”

These patterns are called alanytalan mondatok, literally “subjectless sentences.” They are useful on signs, in instructions, in general advice, and whenever the actor is obvious or unimportant. The action is frequently expressed by an infinitive (the dictionary-like verb form ending in -ni, such as menni “to go” or olvasni “to read”).

At C1, the challenge is not simply recognising these common words. It is choosing between a genuinely general statement and a person-specific one, controlling the personal endings of the infinitive, and placing verbal prefixes naturally. English habits can be misleading: neither English “it” nor generic “you” should automatically become a Hungarian pronoun.

How It Works

The basic impersonal pattern

The simplest construction contains a modal or evaluative expression plus a plain -ni infinitive:

Meaning	Common pattern	Hungarian example	Natural English rendering
necessity	infinitive + kell	Indulni kell.	We/you/one must leave.
permission	szabad + infinitive	Szabad kérdezni.	You may ask.
possibility	lehet + infinitive	Itt lehet parkolni.	You can park here.
prohibition	tilos + infinitive	Belépni tilos.	No entry.
recommendation	érdemes + infinitive	Érdemes várni.	It is worth waiting.

The English subject depends on context. Korán kell kelni may mean “You have to get up early,” “We have to get up early,” or the general “One has to get up early.” Hungarian leaves that participant unexpressed.

Kell is a predicate of necessity here, not a normally conjugated English-style modal verb. It does not change for person: compare mennem kell “I must go” and mennünk kell “we must go.” The infinitive ending, not kell, identifies the person.

Plain or personal infinitive?

Use the plain infinitive when the statement is general, the actor is irrelevant, or context makes a group interpretation sufficient:

• Csendben kell maradni. — “One must remain quiet.”
• Itt nem szabad fényképezni. — “Photography is not allowed here.”
• Ezt érdemes elolvasni. — “This is worth reading.”

Use a personal infinitive—an infinitive carrying an ending for its understood actor—when it is useful to state exactly who must, may, or ought to act:

• Mennem kell. — “I must go.”
• Holnap korán kell kelned. — “You must get up early tomorrow.”
• Érdemes megnéznünk a kiállítást. — “It is worth our seeing the exhibition.”

The person can also appear as a noun or pronoun in the dative case (a form marked by -nak/-nek, often corresponding to “to” or “for”): nekem “for me,” Péternek “for Péter.” In careful, explicit phrasing, this dative expression agrees with the personal infinitive:

• Nekem most mennem kell. — “I have to go now.”
• Annának többet kell pihennie. — “Anna needs to rest more.”
• Nektek nem szabad bemennetek. — “You must not go in.”

The dative phrase is often omitted because the ending already gives the person. Add it for contrast, clarity, or emphasis: Nekem kell elmennem, nem neked (“I am the one who has to leave, not you”).

Personal infinitive endings

The ending is attached to the infinitive stem. Hungarian vowel harmony determines which vowel appears; the three-way alternatives below cover back-vowel, unrounded front-vowel, and rounded front-vowel forms.

Person	Ending	várni “to wait”	menni “to go”	ülni “to sit”
I	-nom/-nem/-nöm	várnom	mennem	ülnöm
you (singular)	-nod/-ned/-nöd	várnod	menned	ülnöd
he/she/it	-nia/-nie	várnia	mennie	ülnie
we	-nunk/-nünk	várnunk	mennünk	ülnünk
you (plural)	-notok/-netek/-nötök	várnotok	mennetek	ülnötök
they	-niuk/-niük	várniuk	menniük	ülniük

Do not try to build these by adding a person ending to the complete plain infinitive mechanically: menni + em is not menniem, but mennem. Learning whole forms with kell—mennem kell, menned kell, mennie kell—is usually more reliable.

Five central predicates

kell: necessity

The neutral personal pattern is commonly personal infinitive + kell: Dolgoznom kell (“I must work”). Other constituents may come first according to topic and focus: Holnap kell dolgoznom stresses tomorrow; Nekem kell megírnom can stress that I, rather than someone else, must write it.

With a verbal prefix such as el-, be-, or meg-, the plain infinitive often surrounds kell: el kell menni, be kell zárni, meg kell próbálni. The prefix is separated from its verb and placed before kell. With a personal infinitive, both el kell mennem and el kell menni occur according to whether the person is specified; el mennem kell is not the neutral pattern.

szabad: permission, especially in questions and negatives

Szabad bejönni? asks “May I/we come in?” without naming the person. A personal form is more explicit: Szabad kérdeznem? (“May I ask?”). The negative nem szabad expresses prohibition or strong advice against something: Nem szabad hozzáérni (“You must not touch it”).

lehet: possibility or permission

With an infinitive, lehet commonly means that an action is possible or permitted: Itt lehet fizetni kártyával (“You can pay by card here”). With a clause introduced by hogy “that,” it expresses uncertainty: Lehet, hogy késik a vonat (“The train may be late”). These are related but structurally different patterns.

tilos: explicit prohibition

Tilos is stronger and more official than a simple negative recommendation. It is frequent on notices and in regulations: Dohányozni tilos (“No smoking”). The infinitive often comes first, giving the compact style typical of signs. In ordinary conversation, nem szabad dohányozni is often less formal.

érdemes: worthwhile action or advice

Érdemes evaluates an action as worthwhile: Érdemes korán indulni (“It is worth leaving early”). A personal infinitive identifies the advised person: Érdemes lenne beszélned vele (“It would be worth your talking to him/her”). Unlike kell, it recommends rather than imposes.

Negation

Place nem directly before the element being negated:

• Nem kell sietni. — “There is no need to hurry.”
• Nem szabad sietni. — “One must not hurry.”
• Nem lehet bemenni. — “It is not possible/permitted to enter.”
• Nem érdemes vitatkozni. — “It is not worth arguing.”

The contrast between nem kell and nem szabad is crucial. The first removes necessity (“do not have to”); the second prohibits (“must not”).

Examples in Context

Hungarian	English	Note
El kell menni.	One must leave.	General or context-dependent actor
Nekem most mennem kell.	I have to go now.	Dative pronoun plus personal infinitive
A gyerekeknek korán kell lefeküdniük.	The children have to go to bed early.	Third-person plural infinitive
Nem kell mindent egyszerre befejezned.	You do not have to finish everything at once.	Absence of necessity
Szabad kérdeznem valamit?	May I ask something?	Polite, person-specific request
Itt nem szabad dohányozni.	Smoking is not allowed here.	General prohibition
Az ajtót zárva kell tartani.	The door must be kept closed.	Instruction with no named actor
Ebben az étteremben lehet kártyával fizetni.	You can pay by card in this restaurant.	Available possibility
Lehet, hogy este esni fog.	It may rain this evening.	hogy-clause, not an infinitive construction
A laboratóriumba belépni tilos.	Entry into the laboratory is forbidden.	Formal notice style
Érdemes megpróbálni.	It is worth trying.	General recommendation
Nektek érdemes lenne előre foglalnotok.	It would be worth your booking in advance.	Plural “you,” softened by lenne
Mit kell magammal vinnem?	What do I need to take with me?	Question with first-person infinitive
Nem érdemes ezen aggódni.	It is not worth worrying about this.	Negative evaluation

Common Mistakes

Adding a dummy ő or az

• Wrong: Az kell elmenni. (intended: “It is necessary to leave.”)
• Right: El kell menni.
• Why: English requires dummy “it” in many impersonal clauses; Hungarian does not. Az is possible only when it actually points to or emphasizes something, not as a routine filler.

Using a plain infinitive when the person must be explicit

• Unclear: Péternek el kell menni.
• Better: Péternek el kell mennie.
• Why: When a dative noun explicitly identifies the person, standard careful usage marks the same person on the infinitive. The third-person singular ending is -nia/-nie.

Treating kell like a conjugated modal verb

• Wrong: Én kellek menni.
• Right: Mennem kell.
• Why: Kellek has other meanings, including “I am needed”; it does not mean “I must.” Person is marked on mennem.

Confusing “do not have to” and “must not”

• Wrong for “You do not have to come”: Nem szabad jönnöd.
• Right: Nem kell jönnöd.
• Why: Nem kell removes an obligation. Nem szabad forbids the action.

Keeping the verbal prefix attached in the neutral kell pattern

• Wrong: Elmenni kell most. (if no contrast is intended)
• Neutral: Most el kell menni.
• Why: In the ordinary necessity pattern, a verbal prefix is usually separated and placed before kell. Elmenni kell can be grammatical with contrastive focus—“it is leaving that is necessary”—so the issue is meaning, not an absolute ban.

Copying English word order into a permission question

• Awkward: Én szabad kérdezni?
• Right: Szabad kérdeznem? or, more generally, Szabad kérdezni?
• Why: Hungarian does not need an English-style subject before szabad. Use the personal infinitive if “I” needs to be explicit.

Usage Notes

Subjectless constructions are especially common in public language: recipes, instructions, house rules, announcements, and signs. Hűvös helyen kell tárolni (“Keep in a cool place”) avoids addressing anyone directly. Belépni tilos is compact and institutional. In speech, the same grammar can sound friendly rather than bureaucratic: Érdemes megnézni ezt a filmet (“This film is worth seeing”).

Choice of expression changes the force of the message. Nem érdemes bemenni says entering is probably pointless; nem lehet bemenni says entry is impossible or unavailable; nem szabad bemenni says it is not allowed; tilos bemenni states a firm prohibition. These are not interchangeable translations of English “shouldn’t” or “can’t.”

Hungarian word order reflects topic and focus more strongly than English word order. Compare Nekem kell elmennem (“I am the one who must leave”) with Most kell elmennem (“Now is when I must leave”). Stress in speech helps determine the intended contrast. The neutral versions El kell mennem and Mennem kell simply report necessity, though context and the presence of a verbal prefix affect which sounds most natural.

Beyond the Basics: Clause Types, Focus, and Softening

Subjectlessness is partly a matter of interpretation. A plain infinitive can refer to people in general, to everyone in a stated group, or to a participant obvious from the conversation. Indulni kell does not encode English “one,” “you,” or “we”; a translator chooses among them from context. This makes the construction useful for tactful instructions because it avoids assigning responsibility directly.

A hogy-clause after lehet has its own finite verb (a verb marked for tense and person): Lehet, hogy tévedek (“I may be wrong”). Here lehet evaluates the truth of the whole clause. By contrast, Lehet tévedni means roughly “It is possible/permissible to make a mistake” and presents the action generically. The comma before hogy is required in standard writing.

The conditional lenne often softens advice or evaluation:

• Érdemes lenne újra átnézned. — “It would be worth your checking it again.”
• El kellene indulnunk. — “We ought to set off.”
• Nem kellene ennyit dolgoznod. — “You should not work this much.”

In kellene, the conditional ending belongs to the necessity predicate while the actor still appears on the infinitive. This often corresponds to English “should” or “ought to,” but tone remains context-dependent.

Focus can also license an order that looks exceptional. Beszélni kell, nem hallgatni means “One must speak, not remain silent”: the contrasted infinitives stand before kell. Learn the neutral prefix pattern first, then interpret departures through stress and contrast rather than treating Hungarian order as freely interchangeable.

Finally, not every English impersonal sentence belongs to this pattern. Weather expressions often use a finite verb without a subject (Esik “It is raining”), while existential statements may use van (“there is”). The constructions in this article are specifically those built around modal or evaluative predicates and infinitives, plus the closely related lehet, hogy pattern.

Practice Tips

1. Build contrast sets. Take one action, such as bemenni “to enter,” and say be kell menni, nem kell bemenni, nem szabad bemenni, nem lehet bemenni, and tilos bemenni. Translate the precise difference each time.
2. Drill personal infinitives as phrases. Say mennem kell, menned kell, mennie kell, mennünk kell, mennetek kell, menniük kell. Then repeat with a regular verb from each vowel-harmony group, such as várni and ülni.
3. Collect real notices and instructions. Look for infinitives on Hungarian transport pages, product labels, museum rules, and signs. Mark whether each sentence expresses necessity, permission, possibility, prohibition, or recommendation, and rewrite one general example with a personal infinitive.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Infinitive Constructions — introduces the -ni infinitive and the personal endings used with expressions such as kell and szabad.