Oldal 61 [61]
HUNGARIAN-ENGLISH GRAMMATICAL CONTRASTS: THE VERB PHRASE
Table 4 clearly shows that when it comes to expressing states, English has a
preference for grammatical forms suggesting states (adjectives and participles),
while Hungarian has a preference for grammatical forms suggesting events
(verbs).
The same difference can be seen in the following example:
He was shocked to see the damage. — Megdöbbent, amikor a kárt látta.
The Passive in the English sentence expresses a state that came into being as
a result of a previous event, while Hungarian tends to emphasise the event
rather than the resulting state. English passive verbs are often ambiguous
between event (or action) and resulting state, while Hungarian takes a firm
stand by using a verb in the active:
She is completely controlled by her pimp. — A strici teljes mértékben uralkodik
rajta.
The contrast between the preference of English for predicative adjectives and
the preference of Hungarian for verbs can also be seen in the case of temporary
states involving some activity or characteristic behaviour.
Most kedveskedik. — Now he’s being kind.
Janos mar megint kellemetlenkedett. — John was being unpleasant again.
Repeated characteristic actions and/or behaviour (states in the wider sense)
are often expressed in English through predicative adjectives, corresponding
to verbs in Hungarian:
She is too protective of her son. — Túlságosan is óvja a fiát.
This mode of expression is typical of the scientific domain and written styles:
This is reflective of his character. — Ez tükrözi a jellemét.
There is a large number of such learned adjectives, most of them followed by
the preposition of:
apparent, appreciative, assertive, averse, aware, careful, confident, conducive,
conscious, dependent, expressive, facilitative, hesitant, imitative, indicative, obliv¬
ious, rampant, reluctant, representative, resident, resistant, responsive, suggestive,
unaware
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