Megbetegedtek

Megbetegedtek is the Hungarian past tense form of the verb megbetegedni, meaning to become ill or to fall sick. Specifically, megbetegedtek is the third person plural past tense, used to describe that several people or a group fell ill in the past. The construction reflects onset of illness as a change of condition.

Morphologically, the form is created from the verb stem related to beteg (sick) with the prefix meg- indicating onset or change, plus the verb ending that marks the plural past tense for the subject ők (they). It is intransitive, describing a state change rather than a direct action affecting a direct object.

Usage and register, megbetegedtek is common in neutral or formal reporting, such as news, health updates, and clinical notes, as well as in everyday narration when referring to a group. It is interchangeable with other past forms of megbetegedni depending on the subject; for a single person the form would be megbetegedett, while for other plurals different subject endings may apply.

Examples:

- A diákok megbetegedtek a hétvégén. (The students fell ill over the weekend.)

- A dolgozók megbetegedtek a vírusfertőzés miatt. (The workers fell ill because of the viral infection.)

- Több család megbetegedett a fertőzés következtében. (Several families fell ill as a result of the infection.)

Notes: veiled or contextual differences in tense, aspect, or mood may lead to alternative forms such as megbetegedett (singular) or megbetegedhetnek (they might become ill), depending on the subject and nuance.