Érinthetik

Érinthetik is a Hungarian verb form that expresses possibility or potential action by a plural subject. It is the third-person plural present potential mood of the verb érinteni (to touch). In Hungarian, the potential mood is formed by attaching the suffix -het/-het a verb stem to indicate possible action, and then adding the appropriate person endings. For plural subjects, the ending -ik (as in érinthetik) signals that multiple subjects may perform the action.

Usage and nuance

Érinthetik is used when the speaker wants to convey that several actors may touch or come into contact with something, rather than asserting that they will or would in a definite way. It often appears in formal, instructional, or hypothetical contexts where permission, possibility, or contingency is being discussed. The form can carry a sense of uncertainty or conditionality depending on the broader sentence context.

Related forms

- érinteni: the infinitive (to touch)

- érinthető: touchable or touchable in a general sense

- érintheti: singular or hypothetical form of the same mood

- other person forms of the potential mood follow the same -hat/-het pattern combined with appropriate person endings

Examples

- A résztvevők érinthetik a kiállított tárgyat. (The participants may touch the exhibited object.)

- A protokoll szerint a dolgozók érinthetik a beállításokat. (According to the protocol, the workers may touch the settings.)

See also

- Érinteni

- Érinthető

- Potential mood in Hungarian grammar