Szálltunk

Szálltunk is the first-person plural past tense form of the Hungarian verb száll, meaning to carry, to load or, in the context of movement, to board or to get on a vehicle. It appears in the simple past (múlt idő) and corresponds to “we carried” or “we boarded” in English, depending on the sentence’s object or complement. The form is built from the verb stem száll- plus the past plural ending -tunk, yielding szálltunk.

In usage, szálltunk often describes either carrying something or the act of boarding a vehicle, with the added sense clarified by the sentence. For example, fel szálltunk a vonatra means “we boarded the train,” and a sentence like szálltunk le a buszról means “we got off the bus.” The same form can also appear in contexts where the subject performs the action of transporting a load, though in practical Hungarian this sense is typically expressed with more specific verbs such as szállít or loads are described with explicit objects.

Etymology and classification: száll is a native Hungarian verb with a long attested history in the language. Its exact etymology is debated, but it forms part of a core set of verbs that express movement, carrying, and boarding. The perfect or past tense form szálltunk is used without a prefix in contexts where the action is primary, while prefixes such as fel- or le- combine with száll to create nuanced meanings like boarding up or getting off.

Caveats: szálltunk tends to require an accompanying complement (such as a vehicle or load) to convey a complete idea; standing alone, it mainly marks the subject’s past action and is typically clarified by the sentence’s other elements. Related forms include szálltunk fel, leszálltunk, and other conjugations of száll.