-jei
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Hungarian
[edit]Etymology
[edit]-je (possessive suffix) + -i (possessive plural)
Pronunciation
[edit]Suffix
[edit]-jei
- possessive suffix for multiple possessions:
- (with no noun for possessor) his, her, its ……-s (third-person singular; the pronoun ő (“s/he”) being optional for emphasis)
- kert (“garden”) → a kertjei (“his/her/its gardens”), az ő kertjei (“his/her gardens”)
- a kertjei (“his/her/its gardens”), az ő kertjei (“his/her gardens”)
- (with no noun for possessor, formal) your ……-s (second-person singular, grammatically resembling the third person sg.)
- a kertjei (“your [formal] gardens”), az ön kertjei, a maga kertjei (“your [formal] gardens”)
- construed with a noun or certain pronouns as the possessor: ……’s ……-s, ……-s of …… (third-person sg. or pl., depending on the noun or pronoun)
- az ember(nek a) kertjei ― the person’s gardens
- a gyerek(nek a) kertjei ― the child’s gardens
- az emberek(nek a) kertjei ― the people’s gardens
- a gyerekek(nek a) kertjei ― the children’s gardens
- az önök kertjei, a maguk kertjei ― your (plural, formal) gardens
- azok(nak a) kertjei ― the gardens of those
- ki(k)nek a kertjei? ― whose gardens?
- (with no noun for possessor) his, her, its ……-s (third-person singular; the pronoun ő (“s/he”) being optional for emphasis)
Usage notes
[edit]- (possessive suffix) Variants:
- -i is added to words ending in a vowel except -i. Final -a changes to -á-; final -e changes to -é-. The latter feature distinguishes it from the -i (adjective-forming suffix), which does not lengthen the preceding -a/-e.
- -ai is added to some back-vowel words ending in a consonant
- -ei is added to some front-vowel words ending in a consonant
- -jai is added to some back-vowel words ending in a consonant or the vowel -i
- -jei is added to some front-vowel words ending in a consonant or the vowel -i
- If the possessed noun is in the plural and the possessor is expressed in English with a possessive pronoun only (rather than a noun), e.g. “their toys” (as opposed to “the children’s toys”), the -ik/-aik/-eik/-jaik/-jeik suffixes are required in Hungarian.