öltek

Éltek is a Hungarian verb form that functions as the past tense, specifically the third-person plural past tense of the verb élni, meaning "to live." It is used to describe actions or states of living that occurred in the past by multiple subjects.

Conjugation in the past tense (indicative, indefinite past) for the verb élni is as follows:

én éltem, te éltél, ő élt, mi éltünk, ti éltetek, ők éltek. The form éltek corresponds to "they lived" or "they used to live."

Usage and examples:

- A család a városban élt tíz éven át. The family lived in the city for ten years.

- Ők Afrikában éltek fiatal korukban. They lived in Africa in their youth.

- Mikor kicsik voltak, gyakran együtt éltek a nagybátyjukkal. When they were small, they often lived together with their uncle.

Notes:

- Éltek is intransitive, so it describes living without a direct object. It can appear in narrative or reported speech to convey past living circumstances.

- The corresponding singular forms are élt (he/she lived) and éltem (I lived), while the plural past form is éltek, as described above.

- In Hungarian, the past tense can appear in multiple registers, from everyday speech to literature, with éltek functioning as a standard plural past for the verb élni.

See also:

Hungarian verbs, past tenses, conjugation patterns.