formába

Formába is a Hungarian grammatical form, specifically the illative case form of the noun forma (meaning form, shape). It denotes motion into or into a state associated with form or fitness. The illative in Hungarian expresses “into” when something moves into a form, shape, or condition, and for the noun forma it yields formába. The illative suffix follows vowel harmony rules: for form a back vowel, the illative ending is typically -ba, giving formába.

In usage, formába often appears with verbs that describe entering or achieving a state. A common expression is formába kerül, meaning “to get into shape.” It can also occur in the causative sense formába hozni, meaning “to bring into shape.” The phrase is widely used in sports, fitness, and general improvement contexts, as well as in figurative settings to indicate bringing someone or something into a desired form or standard.

Examples:

- A futóedzéseknek köszönhetően formába kerültek a sportolók. (The athletes got into shape thanks to the running training.)

- Az edző segített formába hozni a csapatot. (The coach helped bring the team into shape.)

- Sokan gyorsan akarnak formába kerülni a verseny előtt.

Related forms include formában, the inessive meaning “in shape” (is, to be in good form), and formákba, formákban for plural and other cases. formába is a typical illustrative case of how Hungarian expresses movement into a state or condition through the illative with the noun forma.