The object: the -t ending

In English, word order tells you who does what: 'the dog sees the cat'. Hungarian marks the object with an ending instead — -t — so the words can move around freely: Látok egy macskát ('I see a cat').

After a vowel, -t goes straight on (and a final a/e lengthens: alma → almát). After most consonants a linking vowel slips in, chosen by vowel harmony: ház → házat, kert → kertet, sör → sört — though after j, l, ly, n, ny, r, s, sz, z and zs the -t can often attach directly.