italki - "Beszélek magyarul" vs "Magyarul tanulok" - Verb order I learned that "Beszélek magyarul" means "I s

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Andrelle

"Beszélek magyarul" vs "Magyarul tanulok" - Verb order I learned that "Beszélek magyarul" means "I speak Hungarian" and that "Magyarul tanulok" means "I'm learning Hungarian". I can't help but notice that the order in which the verb is introduced is different in both phrases. Is there a reason for this, or would "Tanulok magyarul" also be correct grammatically? Köszönöm szépen!

Mar 19, 2019 1:45 PM

Answers · 3

Word order is quite flexible in Hungarian. Usually, we say those parts of the sentence first, that we want to emphasize. So, both "beszélek magyarul" / "magyarul beszélek" and "tanulok magyarul" / "magyarul tanulok" is correct grammatically. For example: - Magyarul tanulsz? - Igen, magyarul tanulok. ("Yes, I learn Hungarian" [and not another language]) In this case, the emphasis is on the language itself. vs. - Tanulsz magyarul? - Igen, tanulok magyarul. ("Yes, I (DO) learn Hungarian.") In this case, the emphasis is on the process of studying.

March 19, 2019

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