Idtartamúak

Idtartamúak is a term used in Hungarian linguistics to describe a class of expressions that convey the duration of an event. The word roughly corresponds to “durative” or “time-durational” and is often written in Hungarian as időtartamúak. In descriptive grammars, idtartamúak refers to words or constructions whose primary function is to express how long an action lasts, rather than when it occurs or whether it is completed.

In Hungarian, durative meaning is typically realized through the imperfective aspect and through adverbial phrases that indicate length of time. Examples such as futás tíz percig tartott (the run lasted ten minutes) and egész éjjel dolgozott (he worked all night) illustrate how duration is conveyed. Durative expressions can also be formed with adverbials like órákon át or hosszú ideig. The study of idtartamúak therefore sits at the intersection of aspect and temporal expression in Hungarian, with specific realizations varying by dialect and register.

Relation to other grammatical categories hinges on the distinction between durative (lasting) and punctual or telic events, where idtartamúak contrasts with constructions that emphasize a beginning or end of an action. The concept is used in typological and descriptive accounts to analyze how languages encode duration, and to compare Hungarian strategies with those of other languages in the domain of aspect and temporal semantics.

See also: Hungarian grammar; aspect; durative aspect; temporal adverbs; telicity.