fordulva

Fordulva is a Hungarian adverbial participle formed from the verb fordul, meaning to turn. It is created with the suffixes -va or -ve and functions as a határozói igenév, expressing a circumstantial action that accompanies or precedes the main verb. The sense is roughly “having turned” or “after turning,” and it is used to compress a sequence of actions into a single clause.

In practice, fordulva is used to set the scene or describe the manner in which the main action occurs. It typically shares the subject with the main clause, and commas are commonly placed before the main clause when the határozói igenév begins the sentence. In everyday spoken Hungarian, speakers often replace fordulva with a subordinate clause (for example, “amikor fordult” or “miután fordult”) for greater clarity, whereas fordulva is more frequent in literary or formal styles.

Examples:

- Fordulva a kapu felé, megpillantotta a kertet. (Having turned toward the gate, he glimpsed the garden.)

- Fordulva vissza, mosolyogva folytatta az útját. (Turning back, he continued on his way with a smile.)

Notes:

- Fordulva expresses a completed action relative to the main clause, and the form is most natural when the subject is the same in both parts.

- It adds conciseness and literary tone, and is a common device in narrative prose to convey sequence and manner efficiently.