Better Hungarian

This is the second post in a 3-part explanation of different conjunctions in Hungarian. This particular one will focus on explanatory conjunctions. You can read my post about connecting/contrasting/comparing conjunctions here.

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mert: BECAUSE

Mert will always come at the beginning of a subsequent clause (you can’t place it at the beginning of the first sentence, like we can in English), otherwise it works about the same as in English.

Nem tetszik a tanár, mert nagyon szigorú (I don’t like the teacher, because xe is very strict)

A tóra megyek, mert úszni akarok (I’m going to the lake because I want to swim)

Sokat nem szól, mert nem beszél angolul (Xe doesn’t talk much because xe doesn’t speak English)

Boldog vagyok, mert macskám van (I’m happy because I have a cat)

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ezért: FOR THIS REASON, THIS IS WHY, THEREFORE

A combination of ez (this) and ért (for), this conjunction gives emphasis to your reasoning and explains why something is. It’s a bit stronger than just mert.

Jöttem a kórházba, mert az anyám beteg (I came to the hospital because my mother is sick)

vs

Az anyám beteg, ezért jöttem¹ a kórházba (My mother is sick, therefore/this is why I came to the hospital)

Ezért mentem¹ Magyarországra (This is why I went to Hungary) – if previously mentioned, the reason can be implied.

¹Note that ezért (or azért) will be directly followed by the element you want to emphasize.

Az újlatin nyelvek túl könnyűek, ezért magyarul tanulok.
Romance languages are too easy, that’s why I study Hungarian (in particular, not some other language)

A háziorvosnál nincs vérvétel, ezért a kórházba jöttem.
The GP can’t do blood tests, that’s why I came to the hospital (not elsewhere)

(A párom családja magyar.) Ezért tanulok magyarul. ((My partner’s family is Hungarian.) Therefore/this is why I’m learning Hungarian)

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azért: FOR THAT REASON, THAT IS WHY

Works similarly to ezért, but there are some differences in usage. Azért can (optionally) be paired with mert (because), or hogy (so that).

Azért¹ mentem moziba, mert meg² akartam nézni azt a filmet (The reason why I went to the cinema, (is) because I wanted to see that film)

¹azért is used to emphasize here, as if someone asked you to explain your reasoning or you are justifying the reason. You can also say (with less emphasis) “Moziba mentem, mert meg akartam nézni azt a filmet” (I went to the cinema, because I wanted to see that film)

²Alex notes: when talking about a particular film, it’s megnézni. “Megnézni a filmet”, but if it’s no particular film, then it’s “filmet nézni”

In certain cases, usually accompanied by de, azért can be used to mean “nevertheless/anyway” or “regardless/all the same”¹ 

¹Alex notes: Always unstressed verbally! It kinda works like ‘though’ does, especially in AmEng. It’s an unstressed filler word that modifies the meaning of a sentence

Azt tudom, hogy nem tetszik az iskola, de azért kell járni (I know you don’t like school, but you have to go regardless)

Fáradt vagyok, de azért mentem dolgozni (I’m tired, but I went to work anyway)

Azt azért nem kellett volna tenned (You shouldn’t have done that, though)

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szóval – tehát: SO, THEREFORE

There isn’t much difference between the two of these, although tehát is perhaps just a smidge above szóval in terms of refinement. Both are used regularly and commonly (along with ezért) to mean “so/therefore”.

Az anyám nem szereti a macskákat, szóval/tehát nekem nincs (My mother doesn’t like cats, so/therefore I don’t have one)

Holnap dolgoznom kell, szóval/tehát nem tudok moziba menni (I have to work tomorrow, so/therefore I can’t go to the cinema)

Most szabadságon vagyok, szóval/tehát nagyon boldog vagyok (I’m on vacation now, so/therefore I’m very happy)

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hogy: THAT, (SO) THAT

You’ll see a lot of ‘hogy’ in sentences, as it’s used frequently to connect different clauses. The first clause before hogy will typically end with a comma, unlike in English where there is no punctuation.

(Azt) tudom, hogy kedves vagy (I know that you are nice)

(Azt) szeretném, hogy moziba menjünk¹ (I would like for us to go to the cinema – lit. “I would like that we go to the cinema”) – you can see more example sentences like these in my subjunctive post

¹Alex notes: If I want something that’s an action, and I want to do the action myself – (i.e. “I want that I go to the cinema”) – it’s weird and unnatural to use the above structure with “hogy”. It’s much better to just use ‘moziba szeretnék menni’.

However the “hogy + subjunctive” structure works perfectly when I want someone ELSE to do an action! (Even if that someone else, grammatically speaking, is a group that includes me.) i.e. “Azt szeretném, hogy moziba menjünk” – that’s a perfectly natural sentence!

I think this is because this is kind of an indirect phrasing that is completely unnecessary when both the one who ‘wants’ and the one who does the action, is the same person. (This goes for every person: “Ő azt szeretné, hogy moziba menjen” (he would like that he goes to the cinema) is also unnatural and weird. “Moziba szeretne menni” is better)

However you need the indirect phrasing when the subject ‘wanting’ the action and the one doing it are two different grammatical persons, since there isn’t a more direct way to go about it. 

(Azt) mondta, hogy egy cicát látott (Xe said that xe saw a cat)

Franciaországba mentem, hogy franciául tanuljak (I went to France (in order) to learn French – lit. “I went to France, that I learn(-subjunctive tense) French”) – again, you can see more example sentences in my subjunctive post

Nem hallom, hogy mit mondasz (I can’t hear (that) what you’re saying)