The Focus of this Lesson is volt, the past tense form of van, "be."
Milyen volt az út?
"How was the journey?"

Volt is the third person singular form of "to be" in the past tense.

Before giving you examples, here is a table with all the possible forms. As a reminder, we have also provided you with the present tense forms.

The use of these past tense forms is very similar to that of the present tense.

For example:

1. Tanár vagyok.
   "I am a teacher."
2. Tanár voltam.
   "I was a teacher."

In past tense however, even the third person form must be in the sentence. Compare:

1. Fáradt vagyok.
   "I am tired."
2. Ő fáradt.
   "He is tired" (third person form omitted)

But:

1. Fáradt voltam.
   "I was tired."
2. Fáradt volt.
   "He was tired."

Here are a few ready-made sentences:

1. Voltál órán?
   "Did you go to class?"
2. Nem voltam.
   "I didn't."
3. Voltatok a találkozón?
   "Did you attend the meeting?

Note that some present perfect sentences are also expressed with past tense in Hungarian.

1. Voltál már Amerikában?
   "Have you ever been to America?"

In these cases the word már "already" is often used, although this is definitely not a rule.

Rég láttalak

Rég láttalak is an informal expression that means "Long time no see." We have already covered the more formal version (the difference in the conjugation, as usual), which was rég láttam. In the case of the informal sentence rég is of course "long time" and láttalak is "I saw you." In the formal sentence, you have rég again, and than láttam, which means "I saw you (formal)" and "I saw it." This is just a quick reminder—third person conjugation is the same as second person formal.

Én is téged

Én is téged is the answer to the previous, informal sentence. It literally means "I too you." The last word might be a new one, téged is you in the accusative, that is the object of the sentence.

Another example of the use of accusative personal pronouns is szeretlek téged, or "I love you."

Milyen

Milyen is a question word that means "what type, what kind of, what?"

1. Milyen az idő?
   "What's the weather like?"
2. Milyen nap van ma?
   "What day is it today?"
3. Milyen színűt kér? (formal)
   "What color would you like?"

Itthon and otthon

Itthon and otthon both mean "at home." Itthon is used when you are close to the actual location. For example, if someone open's the door and you're looking for Peter, you would say:

1. Itthon van Péter?
   "Is Peter home?"
2. Itthon.
   "He is."

Since both of you are right near the location, you use itthon (which in fact starts with itt or "here.")
If you're looking for Peter on the phone, you say:

1. Otthon van Péter?
   "Is Peter home?"
2. Itthon.
   "He is."

You are far from the location, but the other person is right there. The word otthon starts with ott, or "there."

Holidays in Hungary

Holidays in Hungary are plentiful. Schools are usually out between the middle of June and September, and mid-December to January 6-7. If there is a national holiday on a Thursday or Tuesday, people normally don't have to work Friday and Monday either in order to make a 4 day weekend. While  people have to make up for the lost day on the following Saturday, most workplaces do it very reluctantly or not at all. Even at places where the lost day is to be made up, work is reported to be much less efficient.

Besides the school holidays, the national holidays include August 20, March 15, October 23, November 1, May 1, Pentecost, Christmas, New Year's Day and Easter.