Page:Simplified grammar of the Hungarian language.djvu/81

Rh cannot be purely active, but is at the same time to a certain extent passive; as, eszik, he is eating; ugrik, he is jumping, or he jumps, &c.

This may be more clearly seen in verbs which have both forms—active and passive—as;


 * omol, he melts something (by his own action; for instance, ice).
 * omlik, it is melting (by itself, or in consequence of the influence of an unseen power, heat, &c.).
 * romol, he spoils (the wine purposely).
 * romlik, it is getting spoilt (by long standing, &c.).

Of active as well as of medial verbs may be formed causal verbs by adding -at -tat, to flat-sounding; -et -tet, to sharp-sounding verbs.

The meaning of the causal verb differs from the primitive form in that the action is not done by the agent itself, but that the latter causes something or somebody else to do it. In English there is no corresponding form. In German, it is expressed by the infinitive and the verb, lassen, as—

olvastatni=lesen lassen, to cause to read.

All causal verbs—whether derived from active or neuter verbs—are transitive, and conjugated like these in the indefinite and definite form.

The Hungarian has, properly speaking, no passive voice for active verbs, but grammarians have introduced a so-called