ettél

Ettél is a Hungarian verb form that functions as the second-person singular past tense of the verb enni, meaning to eat. It translates to “you ate” in English. In standard Hungarian, verbs are conjugated for person and number, and ettél signals that the subject is the second person singular. The form can appear with an explicit subject pronoun (te) or without one, since the person is indicated by the verb ending.

Usage and context provide that ettél is used in informal, everyday speech. It is common in questions as well as statements. For example, ettél már? means “Have you eaten yet?” and ettél valamit? would be “Did you eat something?” The question particle -e can be added after the verb in questions, yielding Ettél-e már?

Relation to other forms: ettél is one member of a broader past-tense paradigm for enni that includes other persons and numbers, such as ettem for “I ate” and evett for “he/she ate.” The exact endings vary by person, but ettél specifically marks the second-person singular.

Phonology and orthography note that ettél uses the acute accent on the e, reflecting Hungarian vowel harmony and orthographic conventions. It is typically written with standard diacritics in formal writing and is pronounced with a clear, two-syllable cadence.

See also: Hungarian language, enni, verb conjugation, past tense in Hungarian.