Szavait

Szavait is a Hungarian grammatical form that translates roughly to “his/her words” and is used to refer specifically to the words spoken by someone. In standard Hungarian, szavait functions as a definite direct object form of a third-person possessive construction describing a plural noun phrase meaning words. The form illustrates how possession, number, and definiteness can be combined in a single word.

Morphology and usage: szavait derives from the base for “word” and its possessive and definite direct-object marking. The singular counterpart for a single word is szavát, while szavait represents the plural “his/her words” in a definite direct object position. This construction is common in reported speech, quotation, or attribution, where a speaker or writer wants to emphasize the exact words spoken.

Typical contexts: szavait appears in news reporting, literary narration, or academic analysis whenever the focus is on the specific words uttered by a person. It often accompanies verbs of speaking, quoting, or paraphrase, such as idézett (quoted) or hallgatta (listened to), to indicate that the reference is to the actual words rather than a summary.

Examples:

- Az elemző a politikus szavait idézte. (The analyst quoted the politician’s words.)

- A diákok a tanár szavait figyelemmel hallgatták. (The students listened attentively to the teacher’s words.)

See also: Hungarian grammar, possessive suffixes, definite direct object, quotation in Hungarian.