fejthetnek

Fejthetnek is a Hungarian verb form used to express possibility or potentiality by a third-person plural subject. It is built from the verb fejteni, which means to milk (primarily referring to cows) or more broadly to extract, and it uses the suffix -het to mark possibility, together with the usual third-person plural ending. The result is a form that signals that the action could be performed under suitable conditions, rather than stating that it is being performed.

In Hungarian grammar the -het/-het suffix functions as a marker of the potential mood, indicating what could happen rather than what does happen. When combined with the plural ending, the form fejthetnek conveys “they could milk” or “they may milk,” depending on the broader context and intonation. The exact interpretation of fejthetnek is governed by the surrounding sentence and discourse, as with other Hungarian mood forms.

Morphologically, fejthetnek is analyzed as a stem to which the potential suffix is attached, followed by the plural personal ending. In some phonological environments and in more formal or careful prose, longer or alternative spellings such as fejthetnének may appear, reflecting the same underlying mood and person marking.

Fejthetnek is primarily encountered in linguistic descriptions, grammar explanations, or example sentences illustrating Hungarian mood and conjugation. It is less common as a simple, everyday assertion and more a tool for understanding how Hungarian encodes possibility and modality in verb forms.

See also: Hungarian language, verb conjugation, mood (grammatical), potential mood, conditional.