mesélte

Mesélte is a Hungarian verb form that functions as the past tense of the verb mesél, meaning to tell or narrate. It is used when the subject told something in the past. As a finite verb, mesélte appears in narrative prose, dialogue, and reported speech to indicate that an event or story was conveyed previously.

In ordinary usage, mesélte is most often translated as "he told" or "she told" in English. It commonly appears with a direct object naming the thing told, for example: A tanár mesélte a történetet. Az eseményről a prezentációban mesélte el, hogyan történt a baleset. The form thus helps situate actions within a past timeline and is a staple in storytelling and reporting.

Relation to other forms: mesél is the infinitive form. Hungarian verbs are conjugated for person, number, and tense, so other subject combinations have their own past tense forms. Mesélte is specifically the third-person singular past tense form used when the subject is he or she (or a singular it) and the sentence centers on what was told.

Usage notes: The form is common in both written and spoken Hungarian. It appears in a wide range of genres, from everyday conversation to journalism and literature. In many contexts, it conveys a straightforward recounting of information, events, or stories previously conveyed by the subject.

See also: Hungarian verb conjugation, mesél, storytelling, reported speech.