Kerültek

Kerültek is a form of the Hungarian verb kerül, specifically the third person plural past tense. The verb kerül is polysemous and used in several common constructions, so kerülték/kerültek can express different ideas depending on context. The principal meanings are: cost, where the subject is what is being priced; movement or placement, where something ends up in a place or state; and, more rarely, a general result or occurrence, often with accompanying prepositional phrases.

Cost sense: when used to indicate price, kerültetek sentences describe how much something cost in the past. For example: A karórák 120 ezer forintba kerültek. Here the subject is plural (karórák) and the verb shows past cost.

Placement or end position sense: került is used to describe something ending up somewhere. For example: A kulcsok az asztalra kerültek. A könyvek a polcra kerültek. In these sentences the emphasis is on the final location of the objects.

Usage notes: került/kerültek agrees with the subject in person and number. The phrase can take various case endings (e.g., ba/be, on/ön where appropriate) to indicate destination or placement. The verb can also appear in extended expressions such as került elő (came to light) or elkerülni of prefix forms, which change meaning but retain the basic idea of movement toward or into a state.

See also: került, kerülni, elkerül, kerület (different word family).