[#DuolingoForumGems originally posted on 2020-10-02 on the Duolingo Hungarian for English speakers forum by peter.kristof.hu ] 

Variations on a theme -- Word order

We know the word order of the Hungarian language is relatively free compared to some languages of Latin and Germanic origin. One reason for this is that it is an agglutinative language that marks grammatical cases of words with endings, as opposed to the position occupied in a sentence.

However, we cannot interchange the words in a sentence without any restriction. For example, a noun group forms a unit and can only be interpreted in that order, so the words of "az a szürke macska" (that grey cat) are not permutable. Solely, "az a macska szürke" is correct grammatically, but with a different meaning: "that cat is grey".

Then, through a simple example, let’s look at what words can we transpose within a sentence:
"Imre ismeri Erzsit."
Subjec: Imre
Verb: ismeri
Object: Erzsi

By permuting these three elements, we can produce six grammatically correct sentences. Although basically, each expresses the same relationship between Imre and Erzsi, there is still a nuanced difference of meaning between them. Each sentence presents a slightly different aspect. I think English translations will help you understand them.

A Hungarian sentence can be divided into two parts: Topic and comment (also called predicate). The topic is what the sentence is about, usually a known concept. There can be one or more in a sentence, or it can be missing. The other part of the sentence is the comment that describes what we say about the topic. The main component of it is the verb. In the tables below, the emphatic word marked in bold.

Topic	Verb	Postverbal	English
Imre	ismeri	Erzsit.	Imre knows Erzsi.
Imre Erzsit	ismeri.		Talking of Imre and Erzsi: he knows her.
	Ismeri	Erzsit Imre.	It is a fact that Erzsi is known to Imre.
	Ismeri	Imre Erzsit.	It is a fact that Imre knows Erzsi.
Erzsit Imre	ismeri.		Talking of Erzsi and Imre: she is known to him.
Erzsit	ismeri	Imre.	‘Erzsi is known to Imre.

We can then compose four more sentences by filling in the focus position. According to one definition, the focus is the most emphatic element of a sentence and expresses an identification between the relevant alternatives. The focus is always in front of the verb and is always stressed, with that the verb loses its emphasis. In the examples below, whether the phrase is a topic or a focus is indicated only by stress. There can only be one focus in a sentence, or it can be missing.

Topic	Focus	Verb	Postverbal	English
	Imre	ismeri	Erzsit.	It is Imre who knows Erzsi.
Imre	Erzsit	ismeri.		Talking of Imre: it is Erzsi whom he knows.
Erzsit	Imre	ismeri.		Talking of Erzsi: it is Imre who knows her.
	Erzsit	ismeri	Imre.	It is Erzsi whom Imre knows.

=====================================================================

Going through the variations, however, other types of phase may occupy the focus position, and in the same way, the stress is on the component in the focus position.

Type	E.g.	English
Preverb	meg- -> megszámol	count
Determinerless object	fát vág	chop wood
Goal adverbial	kenyérért indul	set out to get some bread
Result adverbial	laposra ver	beat hollow
Manner adverbial	hűtlenül kezel	misappropriate
Infinitive	enni szeretne	would like to eat
Noun/adjective before copula	katona lett	became a soldier
Theme/patient subject	víz ment (a szemébe)	water got (into his eye
	gyereke született	a child was born by her
Question word	ki, hol, mikor	who, where, when
Negative particle	nem, ne	not, don't
Miscellaneous	okosnak tartják	(he is) thought to be clever
	rosszul volt	felt ill

Let's look at some examples of this as well.

Topic	Focus Pos.	Verb	Postverbal	English
János	meg-	sütötte	a húsgombócokat.	John fried the meatballs.
	János	sütötte	meg a húsgombócokat.	It is John who fried the meatballs.
János	feketére	sütötte	a húsgolyókat.	John fried the meatballs black.
János a barátjának	levelet	írt.		John wrote a letter to his friend.
János	híres	lesz		John will be famous.
János	nem	táncolt	a feleségével.	János wasn't dancing with his wife
	Ki	olvasta	a Hamletet?	Who read Hamlet?

Source:
http://82.132.11.194:8080/Dokumenti/Ucitelji/JOSIP%20JELU%C5%A0I%C4%86/Hungarian%20Language%20Learning%20Pack%20(Updated)/24%20The%20Phonology%20of%20Hungarian.pdf Chapter 2.4.4.

By the way, I've already written about this topic:
https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/31821286
https://magyarbagoly.blogspot.com/2022/02/hungarian-in-focus-word-order.html