Kitenniük

Kitenniük is a Hungarian verb form built from the infinitive kitenni (to put out, to display, to expose) with the third-person plural possessive suffix -ük. It functions as an inflected infinitive whose subject is ők (they). The form is not used as a standalone finite verb; instead it appears in clauses headed by a modal or predicative expression such as kell (must/have to) or szükséges (necessary).

Morphology and formation

The base verb is kitenni, a separable prefixed verb meaning to place out or to display. Adding the possessive suffix -ük yields kitenniük, indicating that the action concerns “their putting out.” This form is common in structures like meg kell tenniük or ki kell tenniük, where the infinitival phrase refers to the subject (they) without repeating it. The placement of the object and the separable prefix ki/ki- varies with emphasis and sentence type, but the possessive-infinitive construction remains a standard mechanism to express obligation or necessity for a plural subject.

Usage

Kitenniük typically occurs in formal or written Hungarian and in counterfactual or reported contexts where the speaker attributes the obligation to “they.” Examples:

- A levelet ki kell tenniük. (They have to put the letter out.)

The form can combine with different objects or complement clauses, and it often appears with other modal expressions such as szükséges, kötelező vagy meg kell.

Notes

kitenniük is a specialized inflected form rather than a separate lexical item. In everyday speech, speakers may rephrase to avoid the infinitive possessive construction, but it remains a valid and recognizable pattern in standard Hungarian grammar.

See also

Hungarian verb prefixes, Hungarian verb conjugation, infinitive with possessive suffix.