Ismételhetek

Ismételhetek is a Hungarian verb form derived from the verb ismételni, meaning to repeat. It is the present potential mood form used to express permission or possibility to perform the action of repeating. In English, it is commonly translated as “May I repeat?” or “I may repeat.” The form illustrates how Hungarian uses the potential mood to express permission or ability, often with the suffix -het/-hat attached to the verb stem and combined with person endings.

Usage of ismételhetek occurs in contexts where a speaker wants to restate something or verify understanding, often in polite or formal settings such as classrooms, meetings, or interviews. It can stand alone as a question or be embedded in a larger sentence. Examples include Ismételhetek a kérdést? (“May I repeat the question?”) or Ismételhetek még egyszer? (“May I repeat one more time?”). The nuance is courteous and requests confirmation or permission to repeat.

Grammatical notes emphasize that ismételhetek is part of the Hungarian potential mood, which conveys possibility or permission. Other persons form analogous forms by adding the appropriate person endings to the same stem, yielding related expressions such as ismételhetsz or ismételhetnek. In addition to the present potential, Hungarian also has conditional forms such as Ismételhetném? (“Could I repeat?”), which express a tentative or hypothetical intention.

See also: Hungarian grammar, potential mood, ismételni.