elfodulhatott

Elfodulhatott is a Hungarian verb form that appears mainly in older or dialectal usage. It is built from the prefix el-, the verb stem fodul (a variant of fordul meaning “to turn” or “to deviate”), the modal suffix -hat (indicating possibility), and the past tense suffix -ott. In standard modern Hungarian the corresponding and more common form is elfordulhatott.

Meaning and usage: The form expresses a hypothetical possibility about a past action. Depending on context, it can translate roughly as “could have turned away,” “might have deviated,” or “could have escaped by turning.” It is typically found in narrative, reported speech, or speculative statements about past events and is less frequent in everyday speech.

Grammatical notes: The construction shows a prefixed verb with a potential mood plus a past tense suffix. The exact sense is determined by the root’s meaning. Because fodul is less common in modern standard Hungarian, elfodulhatott is often considered an archaic, dialectal, or literary variant of elfordulhatott.

See also: el- prefix; fordul; -hat (potential mood); -ott (past suffix); dialectal variation in Hungarian verbs.